Morgan Cogo ‘25, Entertainment Editor
Water, earth, fire, air. Long ago, in 2005, the original Avatar the Last Airbender (ATLA) show aired on Nickelodeon. It has gathered an immense cult following that has stayed loyal to the show nearly two decades later. With an already unsuccessful movie adaptation behind them, Netflix is tackling the beloved show once more. Following the trend set by Percy Jackson and the Olympians, we have already seen improvements in adaptation accuracy; however, the original fanbase is apprehensive about the upcoming release.
Although we have seen immense accuracy in casting, sets, and CGI, fans are displeased with the direction they are going with story and character development. For instance, one of the main characters, Sokka, starts off in the original show as sexist, consistently saying how even though his sister is a waterbender, he is much stronger than her. As the show continues, Sokka encounters more powerful, strong young women and changes his mindset. The adaptation has cut that from his character entirely. This might sound like a good thing at first; however, it is such an essential facet of his character. It is Sokka’s biggest character development, and without that storyline, half of his characterization and conflicts are stripped away.
Another aspect cut from the show is the so-called filler episodes; the original cartoon aired many episodes of the main characters getting into hi-jinks and having fun. After all, it is a kids’ show, and to make the young characters more relatable, the kids need to act like kids. However, the live-action has taken a different approach, the director being quoted as saying: “This show is a lot more serious than the original, the show is going to be more like Game of Thrones.” ATLA is essentially pulling out everything that made it a kids show to make it available to a larger audience. But by doing so, it is losing the fanbase’s interest. The show being innocent and fun, while also dealing with important topics well, is one of the main reasons ATLA has stayed relevant for so long.
However, fans are immensely pleased with the casting choices made, as said by longtime ATLA fan Munchymonk on Instagram. With the iconic Daniel Dae Kim as the big bad of the series, Firelord Ozai. And with some new, young, ethnic, actors taking on the roles of the ‘Gaang’. Fans are excited to see the growth of the actors’ careers, and how they portray their beloved characters.
Needless to say fans have mixed feelings about the upcoming release but one thing is for certain. Fans have high hopes for the adaptation, and hopefully they won’t have to say there is not a show in Ba Sing Se either.
Lyon Life 