ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
A few winters ago, there was a weekend when I came down with a particularly nasty cold, which meant I was homebound and basically welded to my recliner because I was in no mood to do anything. That weekend, I was surfing through Netflix for something to watch while working on getting better, and I came across the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” cartoon. I blew through the series in less than a week and ended up absolutely falling in love with it – the animation is fantastic, the voicework from the entire cast is amazing, and the writing is some of the best animated series writing I’ve come across ever. I could probably write an entire series of essays about why I love the original series, but I know I’ve got limited space, so I’ll just encourage you to either watch the show or do some research online.
When I heard earlier this year the show’s immediate story would be continuing with a new movie, “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” I got EXTREMELY excited and couldn’t wait to see where the story took our heroes after all this time. The movie follows Avatar Aang (Eric Nam) and his allies as they discover Tagah (Dave Bautista), a surviving airbender, and join him in searching for a staff that could bring back the Air Nomads before it gets in the hands of the Denied, an aggressive group of non-benders.
To start off, the animation for the film is absolutely stunning. The movie really captures the vibe of the original series, and it’s absolute eye candy from the opening scene. Everything is so bright and flowing and gorgeous, and it almost felt like the animation team from the original series was back, and the end result is just such a visual feast. The scenes that feature the various forms of bending are especially eye-catching, and there were multiple scenes I felt deserved to be somehow framed and turned into pieces of art. Overall, there was definitely A LOT of care and effort put toward the animation, and the end result is simply dazzling – I can’t imagine how much time and sweat and tears the crew put toward this project, but they totally deserve all the recognition.
In terms of the story, the movie fell slightly short to me. While the overall story isn’t bad, it was kind of predictable and I was able to see a few of the major twists coming from a while away. I would have definitely liked to see more about the Denied, I felt like they were almost kind of an afterthought for the writers – I definitely would have liked to see them fleshed out more and their motivations more explored. With how big the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” fanbase is, and given how much fanfiction is online, I felt like there could have been some improvements made to help the overall story be stronger. The movie’s ending was kind of open, so if there end up being more projects, hopefully the overall storytelling gets strengthened.
While I will always praise the voicework of the cast from the original series, the actors chosen for this movie did a great job stepping into the “Avatar” universe’s shoes. Eric Nam is fantastic as Aang, and he’s able to blend both youth and wisdom into what ends up being a great performance. Dave Bautista also does a great job as fellow Air Nomad Tagah and conveys multiple emotions (sometimes in the same scene), making for a very nuanced performance. I know some fans have asked why the original cast members weren’t recruited for the project, and while that would have been great from a nostalgia point of view, I can guarantee many of those same people would say “They don’t sound ANYTHING like they did before!” which, DUH. Overall, the voice actors that did end up being part of this project did a fantastic job.
Along with being eye candy, the movie also has a lot of great aural moments as it goes along. The music is done VERY well and helps capture the mood of every scene, especially at the end, and the people in charge of that definitely deserve some recognition. The crew in charge of sound design also did a great job and did not skimp out in that regard – whether it’s a bending effect or an explosion or something else, everything ends up also sounding just absolutely amazing, so everyone involved with the sound also definitely deserves a shoutout.
Overall, I enjoyed “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender” and would give it a B-plus grade. The animation is stunning from the opening scene, and the movie is just so gorgeous to look at. However, I did feel the story could have been a little stronger, especially given how big the fanbase is, and I hope there is some strengthening of that if there are future projects that get the green light. I also thought the cast was very well chosen, and everyone did a great job with their performances. Overall, if you’re a fan of the “Avatar” The Last Airbender” franchise, this latest movie is a great one to cue up.
