I'm Worried About Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender
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- Опубліковано 25 січ 2024
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Let's talk about a trailer! Netflix's latest animated adaptation is about to release, a new version of Nickelodeon's classic Avatar: The Last Airbender. I go over Aang, Sokka and the rest of the gang.
My The Last Airbender (2010) review: • The Last Airbender: Th...
Music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com)
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Special thanks to Andrew Elliott (Stalli111: / stalli111 ) for editing this video
What did you think of the Netflix trailer?
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Avatar is better off Animated.
One piece was realy good
I was waiting you opinion
I think it looks great
I get that you are racist and hate the fact they aren’t all white actors….
Fat zuko and azula 😂
It's miscast for sure.
I can’t think of a single thing live action can offer me that the cartoon couldn’t
“It’s not for you”
“It’s just a kids show”
“Bad excuse #3”
Im excited that my wife will watch this but she wouldn’t watch the cartoon. Also id love to see more politics in regards to day to day life in the fire nation and the war effort in general
An ending that's not a Deus Ex Machina? I love the original show but the Lion Turtle comes out of nowhere
I felt like that too. But the show isn’t perfect. It seems like they’re gonna try to tighten up the story and build on its criticisms. the trailer has exceeded my expectations and I am now very excited
Unfortunately there's a huge market of people who don't watch animation, especially 2d animation, period. Doesn't matter quality or maturity, they just think it's all for kids or simply doesn't appeal to them. I'll never get it, but it's a reality. On the one hand, this is a vehicle for these great stories and characters to reach a new audience, on the other, there's ample opportunity for it to be totally butchered, as we've all seen with past examples.
I think the main reason it exists is to appeal to a wider audience. There are adults and teenagers that refuse to watch anything if it is in cartoon/animated form.
Adults? Definitely.
Teenagers? Not so much. More teenagers have probably watched jujutsu kaisen than the latest marvel film.
@@toopoorandobscure3865 You underestimate how much anime fans refuse to watch Western animation.
@@toopoorandobscure3865 I know a number of anime fans who refuse to watch American cartoons because they think it's made for kids.
Adults and teenagers refusing to watch animation? That's a lie
@@Snow-xd4rvyou would be surprised how many adults to this day, still think anime is cringe and cartoon is only for children. yep, they exist.
The sad truth is that no matter how good this adaptation might be, it’ll never be better than the cartoon. All it needs to do is NOT BE the movie and we’ll probably give it pass. Which, I recognize, is as a low bar as one can get.
I know what you mean.Thats why I never want to have live action Dragon Ball movie or series.Its impossible.Cartoons are very much special , and no real live actor or director can do it better then cartoon
Thats really a pointless argument to make. Nothing ever has ever surpassed its source material thats just how things work lol so for that to be the measuring stick kinda weird
@@marekkos3513 It's possible, Goku is essentially superman and all they need to do is interpret the text and translate it to real life so no more anthropomorphic animals
That goes the same for One Piece, not the same, but it captures the essence. Many people that don't watch anime or cartoons watching something in a streaming service is attainable.
@@yournobody6487 Not true. There have been adaptations that are better than their source material. A few examples:
The Godfather (granted, in that case, the writer of the novel was also the writer of the movie's screenplay).
Jaws
The Boys (the show, while not perfect, is much better than the comics It's based on).
It can't be worse than the Shyamalan movie. It's great to see that the actors pronounce the names correctly 😂
But hey, at least Seychelle Gabriel received a do-over with Legend of Korra.
It can always be worse
@@Urmomsaredpanda Can it? There are few worse examples of bombing an adaptation like that movie, save for Dragonball Evolution.
More importantly, the fight scenes are not super terrible, they take martial arts seriously this time. Heck, they even made a Toph fighting video during their free time too. M. Night of course is just disrespectful even with pretty CGI.
That might be the lowest bar in existence to overcome.
To be fair I think Netflix is playing it safe given the disastrous 2010 movie. If season 1 is a success, then they'll be more confident in taking liberties with season 2 and onwards.
I sure wish that is the case! Although not seemingly as jaded as Cpt here, I too think it is quite pointless of an exercise if they aren't gonna change much - I was hoping for at least some great visuals (having the cartoon come to life) but the trailer lowered my expectations on that front. Nothing can undo the enjoyment I have fromthe original but I guess it is more of a feelinf of frustration given what could be done since it was decided to do a Live Action adaptation
@@hcxpl1 What do you mean by great visuals? The bending looks amazing. And again Avatar is very cartoony. That literally cannot physically translate into live action. Fans need to accept this is most likely going to be a darker and more serious take. Which shouldn't be an issue as the audience that watched the show during its debut are mostly in their 20s-30s now.
@@equivalentexchangeisalie5726Tone wise I have no problem with it bding darker, although I'd reckon it needed to be a more mature take as well, which I'm not convinced by with all this talk about a 12yo being responsible for a genocide bc he didnt step up as the Avatar or something.
That aside, visually I think some things (like Omashu) look stunning, but the bending... although it looks servicible it isn't as wondrous as I'd hope it'd be - It doesnt seem to give you that feeling you'd have if someone started bending in front of you or even if you just watch fire jugglers or something; It feels a little too detached in my opinion, I hope at least inthe Agni Kai we can feel Zuko's fear and things like that; Fire is supposed to be this wild thing, we're meant to be afraid of it by sight alone and, at least in the trailer, it just felt like fireballs or something.
Sorry for the long reply, Im not hating on the series, just, as I said, a little frustrated as what it seems to be they playing it too safe
@@hcxpl1 I'm sure they'll figure out the genocide issue as it's the core of the show and the beginning of the series.
What other show or movie would you want the bending to look like if you had a choice? It's honestly never really been done before. And we really can't judge the wonder and awe of it in a trailer. We'll have to watch a full blown fight scene first. But like Midnight said, I think the Fire Nation is one thing Netflix can improve upon greatly. So you're right. I expect it to be serious stuff when Zuko gets burned etc.
I understand but again why is anyone surprised they're playing it safe? The 2010 movie and the show has at minimum $120 million budget. That's it.
@@equivalentexchangeisalie5726I think the bending looks petty bad actually, it looks super weak and doesn’t have much weight to it, even Sozins comet fueled fire bending live action looks weaker than regular fire bending in the original
I'm still imagining what happens if Disney starts doing a live action adaptation of Phineas and Ferb 😂
DON’T GIVE THEM ANY IDEAS!!!
@@IsaacV2495 Until Dan and Swampy are dead, they'll likely do it 🤷
Oh god
Please don't 😐
OH HELL TO THE NO!
It may be popular, but itll be very difficult for it to make its own impact. Unlike adapting a video game or novel, I doubt itll drive people towards the original source material as much because they dont feel as different experiences. While it will probably be good, it needs to expand on whats there visually and narratively to become its own thing. I also want to note that the original creators leavimg the project doesnt worry me as much. People leave for a myriad of complex reasons and so much of the show's magic was from other writers.
I second the last bit about the original writers! What people also tend to forget: Bryan and Michael were two out of three writers of the script for the 2010 movie. It ended up being a catastrophe. So: There is no such thing as infallible writers.
Not to mention the original is on Netflix already
@@idroppler9148and they were the writers of Korra. Making many believe that they were not the secret to the ATLA being good
Also to add on to the thread here...Aaron Ehasz was the actual showrunner aka the head writer. Bryke built the world. Aaron made it come to life.
I disagree with the statement. It already has inspired people to go and check out the original series who never have, or started it and stopped. Preview'd watched the new trailer yesterday and decided to start a watch through since Jay had only finished the first season a long time ago and never went back (and he did it while high so he doesn't remember anything). Other reactors have stated they're going to watch the first season before this comes out so they can take it all in when it drops.
When I saw the trailer for this, my first thought was: “Wow. This would look so much better in animation.”
@Isaacv24 What do you mean? You didn't like the trailer?
Well, with Disney doing a live adaptation of every property it has, the field was rife for Netflix to try its hand.
Some stories are better suited to animation, others to live action. The style of the original is perfect for the whimsy of Aang’s world. Live action could tell a different story in the same world, but it can’t improve upon the original.
Agreed
This looks as good as a live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender can reasonably look, and to that extent I’m excited to see it.
Hello Future Me has done some great breakdowns of the trailer and the episode structure which I really agree with.
In total the new show will have a slightly longer runtime than the original, but obviously fewer episodes.
We also know there will be lore changes, like they're changing how/when Aang is able to enter the Avatar State. From what was said when they started making this show, they wanted to be able to tell the story in a somewhat more mature way, and that does look to be the case here to a degree. The trailers show multiple scenes from the Air Nomad genocide, as well as Zuko's duel with Ozai where his face was burned. Whether those justify a remake remains to be seen (but I doubt it).
There do seem to be changes that have a lot more risk as well. Zuko attacking Kyoshi Island seems to be replaced with Zhao, and there's a worry that Zuko won't be seen as a villain before he's seen as a victim. That could really hamper that arc which is certainly one of the best aspects of the original.
I actually wonder if they're even gonna TRY for that or not because they KNOW how GOOD the original did it. They're never gonna be able to top it, so maybe they're gonna do things different.
"The trailers show multiple scenes from the Air Nomad genocide, as well as Zuko's duel with Ozai where his face was burned. Whether those justify a remake remains to be seen (but I doubt it)." I will counter yes at least with the Air Nomad Genocide. In the OG, it often felt like an afterthought. Sure it's touched upon here and there, but I always thought it was so strange that one when they spent a LENGTHY amount of time in the Western Air Temple, Aang never ONCE mentions the Nomads. Or goes wandering around, maybe after the stress of trying to regroup their plan of attack. Or after Zuko tried asking to join. Aang had NO reaction to seeing Sozin, the man who CAUSED his people to be murdered. So yeah, this could definitely cement that "this atrocity happened, the writers can't ignore it".
The Zuko thing could be important, but another way of looking at it is that a LOT of the people watching this *already know* he is going to have a redemption arc so maybe they want to go all in on the dramatic irony and play him differently a little early on.
Although, I could see this not working out when he inevitably sides with Azula at the end of Book 2, it still needs to make sense for him to do that, which it still could depending on how they play it
@@andrewgalati3406The thing is, I don't think Netflix is primarily aiming this show at people who saw the cartoon. As popular as it is, that's still a minority of people and they want as many views as possible.
Future me?
@@robertwatts7894Hello Future Me. He's a youtuber.
I feel the context of the One Piece LA would help in this situation, as the trailer really did show most of the stuff that was very much like the anime and then the full show surprized by moving a lot of things around, wich i think they were mostly appreciated. The whole extra storyline with Garp did a lot for me to sell the marines and its intriquacies at this point in the story where in the original they weren't realy that deep. So i imagine this Avatar show might have some surprizes like that in store too, i guess time will tell, but i'm feeling optimistic.
I can already tell from this trailer that no there’s a lot different from the original the mechanic he’s living in omashu that is a very big change but I like that change
Yeah but 2 different studios made avatar and one piece . Different writers, directors , producers
My main worry is the interpersonal character dynamics of the main group. The thing about the One Piece Live Action is that while it truncated and deviated from the story at certain points, it absolutely nailed the character chemistry and group dynamics of the straw hats. You can see it even when the actors are hanging out together off set and that group chemistry really drove the emotional buy in for that series since it’s just a joy to see the strawhats on screen together just interacting with one another. At least from the trailer, I’m not feeling that same spark from the child actors for team avatar (which fair they’re child actors), but that group dynamic or lack thereof will make or break the emotional engagement for many people
The fact that the original creators left this live action adaptation show as showrunners due to creative differences seems to be a sign to lower our expectations at best
The word is that Mike and Bryan wanted to CHANGE wayyy more things than Netflix was comfortable with because Netflix wanted to play it safe and actually have a win in terms of live action adaptations. So when Mike and Bryan were offered Avatar Studios they jumped ship. BUT they've given their best and 2 of the scripts they wrote are even being utilized and they're given credit as the writers of those eps, so.
@@dresdenwarlock7978 Well despite the fact that they got credit, Mike and Bryan still made it clear that everything you saw in the adaptation is not their vision. So I assumed somebody got their original script for the show and rewrite it into something else thus ending a writing credit for Mike, Bryan and the other writer
No guarantees, but chances are that the people behind it have a significantly different vision in a number of notable ways.
@@BryanCostnerto be fair, their "creative vision" also gave us Korra, so if there's any lesson here I think it's that those two need to have a good supportive team of creatives and shouldn't be given 100% free reign on everything. If it's true that they wanted to change, or even worse, "fix" plot points from the original series, maybe they shouldn't be on the project.
@@BryanCostnerOk. but what part of "they wanted to change WAY MORE THINGS" is lost on you? Their vision would have imploded the original story.
What does it bring? People who still hold out from watching because it's a cartoon. And if some of that audience falls in love with the characters, they may go back and watch the original in all its perfection. Because no matter how good this adaptation is, it can't replicate the perfection that is the story structure, voice acting/personality and Mako perfecrion that is the original. Not to mention it couls signal-boost Avatar right as Avatar Studios off the ground. It could do for the Aang Gang what Jackson did for The Fellowship.
Also, what does it bring? Slightly different story lines a lot like how one piece did it the mechanist in the original lives in the northern air Temple, while in this version he lives in omashu that is a pretty big difference
... If they wouldn't watch it before, I can't imagine them going back.
Animation is not for everyone. Just like live-action adaptations aren’t for everyone.
This new project is going to spread TLA to a new audience that prefers live-action. I don’t think it needs to change the story up or bring something new to the table for it to be allowed to exist. Simply spreading a great story to a different audience is enough I think.
This is what I’m saying the thing is people who complain like this I understand it, but if you don’t like live action remakes, it’s as simple as not watching it. The original creators are actually continuing the original storyline I’m worried a little bit about this but I’m 70% more excited and hope everything looks really good
There is one thing that Netflix don't understand when they creating these nostalgic live action adaptations of anime and animated series. Animation can offer more than live action (emotional investment, action, episode structure), so this version of Avatar will clearly not be as popular as the original. But it will bring them a huge number of views and subcribers from people who watched the show as child and wanted to experience the same emotions as it was in childhood. That's why this live action version exists. Will it be successful? It's definitely get a second season (or a second book, like in the show) or things could go wrong and the show will be destroyed by fans, but there's no point in thinking ahead until it's released.
The one thing that made the showrunner want to do the show when he was offered it was the fact that it can be made by and for Asian and Indigenous kids to see themselves in. That's the point of it. When he was offered the gig he didn't understand why they'd bother with doing it at all because he knew it was perfect already.
Based on how much Netflix has invested in animation (Arcane, Castlevania, Trollhunters, Voltron, Hilda, The Sea Beast, Cuphead, Klaus, etc.)... I'm inclined to say that they understand it enough.
"Animation can offer more than live action"
So you're saying every la-show would be better in animation? Including the big ones like Game of thrones or Breaking bad? Genuine question.
I loved both trailers and am looking forward to the show. I liked the fights, the magic looks pretty good for a Netflix show and these won't be cheap. The show will definitely have some cool, memorable nostalgic moments. But I also understand that this is Netflix, they can change the canon outside of the trailers, do things that the animated series would never do. Death Note and Cowboy Bebop are excellent examples of what they can do wrong despite their conventional adherence to canon (One Piece was an exception to the rule). That's why I'm also worried because this is one of my favorite cartoon series from childhood, but hope for the best.
Magic?
A point of hope I'd like to bring up to hopefully sway you a little is a live action format can introduce the show to new people who would otherwise never watch the original because it's animated, like my mom. She typically doesn't care for animated things or engage with them on any sort of deep or emotional level and didn't grow up reading comics or watching cartoons but she absolutely LOVED the One Piece live action adaptation. It can expose people to things they otherwise wouldn't even know they'd enjoy and they could want more content and the original will be there for them to seek out and watch if they want to.
Sadly this is the reason Captain alluded to… Animation itself is not a respected medium, so only a live-action version can capture more people’s attention. I get that some people will always think “cartoon is for kids,” but it’s just a sad reality, not a reason to be hopeful.
We just had a year of Miyazaki still making wonderful feature length animation and Spider-verse still pushing the boundaries of this art form, and yet…
Yeah I really hate the 6 & 8 episode trend we've been in. You hit the nail on the head when you talk about how not having the time to breath won't give the characters time to bond and to establish a friendship. That was one of my main complaints with the live action as well. That's actually why I love filler in anime.... you get more time to see these characters interact with each other and establish bonds
This 8 episode run has more run time than the animation. Not sure what he meant by “cliff notes” version.
Yall always choose to ignore the runtime. Take out unnecessary episodes like The Fortune Teller, or The Great Devide and you can explore so much more. They are already giving us more showing the genocide. And maybe Zhao will more than just a water downed version of Ozai and have some humanity to him😊
Hey captain midnight, I don’t normally leave comments and I generally love your video essays as they give me new things to think about. You leave some valid points but I do wish you researched a bit more before making this video especially on the actual purpose of the show.
The show-runner Albert Kim has been pretty vocal about why he decided to pursue it after bryke left. These reasons are namely to expand on lore we haven’t seen, to set a new benchmark for representation by featuring an all Asian and Indigenous cast, and to bring the world of avatar to a new generation.
Obviously whether this is successful or not has yet to be seen but so far the trailer seems like its trying to achieve that by showing the genocide of the air nomads which is something that happened offscreen in the animation. I also recommend watching the creator’s breakdown of the trailer. It seems like they’re fans of the original and want to do it justice.
Ultimately I appreciate that despite your apprehension, you’re willing to hold your judgements until after the show comes out. As fans of ATLA, we can only hope it does well. Cheers!
Part of me believes the original creators left the project they didn’t need to help. Could spend more time on their Avatar Studio projects.
That’s exactly what happened. They said this in an interview and they are still helping Netflix avatar. They gave them a lot of books so they could help them with more of the Lord which is really good, it shows there is no bad blood from this trailer I’m really hyped. It looks like they’re doing things different. I am a longtime fan of the original series and if it’s bad, then it’s bad the original craters are continuing their own series either way, everyone kind of wins
That's the most positive spin I've heard on the creators leaving yet 😅
I wouldn’t really be worried about it being an abridged version of the cartoon. Since the episodes are more than double the length the total run time of the first season is actually almost identical to the cartoon.
whether or not they are actually do a good job of combining or cutting certain episodes is another matter.
Edit: thinking about it a little 8 hour long episodes will almost certainly have more story to work with than 20 24 minute long episodes because of the opening and credits being played 12 less times
The issue with this will come with the fact that they will have to change the pacing big time as mashing two episodes together that were apart in the show will be hard.
There’s actually quite a few new things coming from this.
I'm so glad to hear this take. Everything I've seen online has been praise and excitement and I just don't feel the same. The furthest I'm willing to go is calling myself cautiously optimistic. But I honestly feel exactly the same as you do. I think Shyamalan set the bar too low; people are legitimately celebrating that they're saying the main character's name right. I, for one, have slightly higher standards than that.
Actually seeing how Zukos face gets burned in the live action version could make his story hit a bit harder. It was something that the original series didn't show on screen but I think it would work well for the live action series.
I don't trust Netflix to handle a story about the aftermath of genocide and the toll of war as well as a generation-defining animation.
I'm expecting this to go full live-action Mulan, and anything above that will be a win in my eyes
It looks like a great adaptation when compared to the original, not compared to the movie that doesn't exist in ba sing se
What is it bringing? Albert Kim (the showrunner) said that when he was offered the job he didn't understand the point because the original was perfect, why fix what isn't broken? But then he realized that a faithful adaptation of A:TLA would be an ideal chance to put a live action fantasy epic out there for Asian and Indigenous kids to see themselves in for once. If you mean in terms of story what does it bring that we haven't seen before? The genocide of the air nomads during Sozin's comet 100 years prior. Azula and Ozai's machinations at the Capitol in the midst of season 1, Zhao's finding of the moon and ocean spirits in the Great Library (Based on Wan Shi Tong's voice being cast). Honestly, there's a lot more than I'm even aware of.
Who says a wink and a nod of Aang crashing into a statue is the full justification for the show existing? It's just a wink and a nod and honestly a sign of respect that the people running this show KNOW there are things that are deeply entrenched in the A:TLA community that need to be seen and given even a brief moment. Basic respect, honestly.
Not vibrant? One of peoples main complaints is that the clothes are too bright, or that the world is too colorful. When they need to be that.
It can't POSSIBLY be a cliff notes version or truncated because over 8 hours it actually has a longer runtime than the original animated series did, and with them dropping filler episodes, they have even more story time to expand and adapt characters that they didn't get to do before.
Humor was one of the main things they knew they needed to nail. It was one of the many focal points. Sokka has multiple dry wit moments in this trailer alone.
Them being kids.. laughing at Momo landing on Sokka's head.. played stiltedly? Huh? It's adorable.
Mike and Bryan (rumor has it) left because Netflix wasn't allowing them to change even more things as Netflix wanted to play it safe and have a good adaptation on their hands instead of contuing to be mocked. Netflix put more producers on board to make sure Mike and Bryan as first time live action directors/showrunner could get it done on time and on budget. Those things combined made Mike and Bryan jump ship as soon as they were offered Avatar Studios (which is a GREAT move. more animation from them is a better use of their time than rehashing something they already completed imo).
Again, the reason for its existence is for a live action epic fantasy for Asian and Indigenous kids (and adults) finally see someone who looks like them and isn't some sort of side character amongst a group of white characters. THEY are the focus and so is their heritage.
Interesting review, but I think you might be looking at the trees instead of the forest.
Yeah, I think Cap might be wrong on this one. But everyone’s a critic these days. Best to just wait and see.
I would rather get a new animated movie/show that builds on the already existing lore but this is nice and I think it will be fun. In 2025 more animated stuff should be released so i think this will be a fun time even if it doesnt NEED to exist.
@@blakelandry9313He meant that making an original story with new characters set in the Avatar world would be better than retreading an already existing story with already existing characters.
@@shawnellesmith Yeah that is what I meant. I also wasnt trying to hate on this new thing netflix is doing, im honestly pretty excited. But yeah, i think i would prefer something new because we havent gotten anything new (tv-wise not comics/books) since LoK
But you are lol the original creators are making something continuing the original story if you’re not excited for this, and if you don’t like remakes, then don’t watch it there’s your solution
@@shawnellesmith well the thing is they are going to have to do some of their own stories. They’re going to have to combine some story elements
@@blakelandry9313 Dude, they didn’t have to remake an already existing story that still holds up. They could’ve just did what they did with Korra and just made a new story in the Avatar world that’s live action.
"I really hope this won't be an 8-episode cliff notes version of the show." Congratulations Captain Midnight, you can see the future, because that is exactly what the show turned out to be.
I look forward to you doing another video on how much you enjoyed this adaptation!
I've been rewatching the original series, and every time I see a beautifully animated impressive feat of bending, I ask myself, "How can a live action version possibly top this?" After watching the Netflix trailer, the answer is a resounding "it doesn't." I'm with you, I'm not nearly as hyped as many people are. I'll still watch it and hope it defies my expectations, and I fully expect it to be better than the live action movie, but I'm just really not all that excited for this.
I love these comments coming out before the show itself. Have you never watched martial art movies? Live action CAN be great.
@@invinciblemode Of course it can be, but nothing I’ve seen so far looks to even match the spirit and energy of the original. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
One thing about remakes and adaptations like this that always irks me is that they tend to rush character developement or spoil any mystery. It feels like foreshadowing is usually the first to go when writers need to cut something. From the trailers and episode titles, it seems we're getting Zuko's tragic backstory early, making him more of an anti-hero than a villain turned hero which feels less compelling to me.
To be fair the show started showing Zuko in a positive light in episode 3 when we see him as an underdog in the fire nation so I don't think its that farfetched
@@newthejsterjacob408 But we didn't get the full backstory until right before The Blue Spirit in the original show, and Zuko's full redemption was still up in the air throughout season 2
I would have loved a Studio Mir remaster of the OG series. Same voice acting with re-recorded, improved music from Jeremy Zuckerman and new animation with more detail, 4K and a modern aspect ratio.
For me as a Gen X dude...I watched my kids grow up with this show. I loved it then. I am hoping for a good adaptation of this. The story arcs are amazing. If we get close to the same arc as Zuko I will be happy
Personally, i think the trailer LOOKED great. The visuals, the costumes, the sets, the effects, the bending, overall looked fairly good and accurate to the animated show. Now, the only things i'm concerned about are the actual story pacing and storywriting, and the acting.
Avatar's main cast is so central to the show. The main trio's dynamic and interactions are what really sold the show to a lot of fans. The goofiness, the comedy, but also how serious and down-to-earth the trio can be in various situations they're thrown into.
Personally, i think the Netflix adaptation's biggest challenge is to sell us the main trio. The plot and story can be acceptable as long as they more or less follow the animation's chronology. But adapting animated characters and their interactions to live-action is really challenging, as the way they express their thoughts and emotions is really different to how real life people do. You can't have Sokka's weird facial expressions and have him get punched and fall to the ground in a hilarious manner in real life. It's too weird irl, like an uncanny valley effect. So unlike the plot, they can't adapt the characters and the dialogue 1 to 1. So i'm concerned for the character dialogue writing.
Also, the actors really need to sell the dynamic of the characters. I may be wrong about this, but i thought that Aang & Katara's actors felt a bit stiff in the scenes we see in the trailer. To be fair, they don't get too much screentime or dialogue time in the trailer, but from what i've seen, it seems like it could be a bit stiff.
So yeah, i'm concerned for the characters' acting and their dynamics & dialogue, but otherwise, the show seems pretty good
Here's hoping they make the Kyoshi books into a series.
Also, are you saving the Percy Jackson series for when all the episodes have dropped?
Sometimes you want to bring people into your world, even if they are not inclined towards a particular medium (like cartoons). Maybe a good live action version can lead them to check out and enjoy the original with you.
I agree that’s what I’ve been saying the thing is a lot of people are not understanding that to me if you don’t like a remake or an adaptation and it’s a simple simple it’s just not watching it if you’re not into that kind of genre, then just don’t watch it
I have always been in the camp of "There's nothing wrong with adaptations and remakes". Whether they're good, bad, adapted into a new medium or the same I don't think there's any harm in them. We already know the story is changing slightly. Less episodes, but more runtime means more focus on the more important storylines. Is that good or bad? We'll see, but I can definitely see positives to that change. Ozai and Azula are obviously in it earlier than the cartoon, Zhao attacks Kyoshi instead of Zuko, and in the trailer you can briefly see Teo's wheelchair glider flying with Aang, but they're in Omashu. Just from that alone, we know the story is NOT going to be a 1 to 1 adaptation, which means they're bringing something new to the table.
The Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon will always be here for us. It's considered one of the best animated series to have ever aired, and is a classic. A new adaptation is getting people excited and breathing new life into a 20 year old series, and it's doing it in a way that I don't think a sequel series would. I hope the Netflix show does well enough to get all three Books so we can see how these show runners handle it.
Also, not a lot of people notice the mechanist is actually living in omashu which I actually like that change that’s a good change and as a longtime avatar fan that got me excited. I can’t wait till February 22. Obviously if it’s bad then it’s bad oh well cause the original creators are making their own thing but I’m 80% sure that’s probably gonna be another one piece situation
Finally someone with a clear mind Fully agreed, well done! 👏🏻
Would like to see new stuff before we go to the beyond in our lives. Instead of remake remake remake
@@animesubway7433 what would you like to see?
The trailer actually has me looking forward to it more than I was. I am more or less looking at this as a way for more people to give Avatar the proper recognition it deserves. It's a random reason but Avatar is one of the greatest stories ever told, yet it gets shunted to the side when people talk about great stories because of the fact that it's a cartoon. I am hesitant with what they will do with the story because it seems they will have to do a lot of adjusting, but I actually think it has a genuine chance to be something.
I won’t judge it till I see it but I enjoyed the trailer a lot. Also I think it’s nice for a show like this then a kid now comes on Netflix and watches this and wants to know the original show thus bringing in a new and fresh audience.
If you watch the trailer breakdown by the show runners, they explain that they are focusing on the fire nation and even the fire lord much more in their version than Book 1 of the cartoon did. To me they made it sound like they adapted it with still a new lens and not just a 1 for 1 remake.
In germany they got all the original voice actors back on the show. That's super nostalgic for us here, hearing all the old voices. *_*
im excited to see jin from Lost.
We will see more of the firelord.
We will see more of the past avatars
We will see more of azula
Those are big changes i am interested in and exited for
Not just that zhao is invading the Kiyoshi Warriors the mechanist lives omashu we see our group in a big cave with a bunch of people which is probably a remix for the storm They’re obviously going to do a few things different and a few things the same as the original. It’s probably going to be a lot like one piece.
I'm glad to hear I'm not crazy. I'm seeing so many comments about how good it looks and I'm like....what are they seeing that I'm not??
Wow. You were spot on with your analysis here (watching this after watching the show).
I don't understand why "tell a good story" isn't enough for a live action remake to justify itself? It's not like they're going to make a 100% exact, shot-for-shot remake. How often does a significant change please the fans anyway?
The thing is, it’s not just doing that if you watched the trailer, you wouldn’t know that they are doing some stuff different which I’m a big fan of the series been there since it first released and I’m excited and again, if it’s bad, which I don’t think it will be then guess what avatar studios is making their own thing
As a fan of animation, I largely agree.
As an Korean American who still sees Asian representation and Asian actors in American media lagging behind white actors in leading roles, i am genuinely excited for this and thrilled to see a predominantly Asian cast in all the major roles of a beloved adaptation.
They just announced they wont have many of the side stories in avatar and that sokka won't be sexist, which is everything to his character arc in the beginning, they also said they are going to show the air bender genocide........ WTF IS GOING ON AT NETFLIX
I can appreciate the skepticism, after being burned so badly by a theatrical release that we won't discuss. It was alarming as a fan of the original animated show when the creators backed out of the Netflix series due to creative differences. But I've since learned that the show will be showing more scenes that were alluded to in the animated show (like the Fire Nation attacking the Air Nomad temples) and more stories that show how the war really got underway in the first place 100 years before Katara found Aang in the ice. It could cut into the group dynamic and team building, like you suggested, but I think this one is trying to show more unity beyond their small group riding to bring the Avatar to the Northern Water Tribe. You see cameos from secondary characters, like Jet, and Bumi, and Teo, along with scenes from episodes that really get into the world-exploring episodes of the animated show. Ones that draw attention to nature preservation, and life for occupied people under seige. Is there no realistic parallel that we can draw from in our current state to those themes? I think the inclusion of the physical comedy and iconic slapstick is an attempt to show that the tone of this series will hew more closely to the animated show, allowing the kids to really live and act as children in this show, rather than some matured, gritty variety of the same story. The costuming, the set design, the battle scenes, the sensitivity to race inclusion, the beautiful rendering of CG characters like Momo and Appa, you can really see the efforts they've made to honor the source material. I am trying not to get too giddy about this just yet, but first impressions are already giving me tingles when I hear the theme music soaring over the title card.
It's a re-telling of an amazing story in a different medium, length wise it will be the same but fewer episodes means cutting out the worse parts and combining some stuff like the omashu episode with the mechanist. The action is looking good, the visuals of the world and animals. It seems to have some heart and if they incorporate Azula and Ozai in a good way we might have something really good here. ATLA for many is the best animated series ever and imagine if this can do the same for live action! I wonder how they would do season 2 and 3 though, there are a lot less episode that can easily be cut out.
If the first season is really successful, then my hope is that Neflix will have the confidence to make the following seasons a couple episodes longer. Since Book 2 is comparatively more serialized, with several episodes that directly flow into one another, I think they could have an easier time transitioning it into an hour-long format without needing to make too many drastic changes.
I feel like Book 3 would be trickier in that regard; several of its episodic stories, like The Avatar and the Firelord, The Puppetmaster, and the Zuko field trip episodes are all really good and/or important to the overarching plot, but I'm not sure how one would go about combining them with other episodes in a way that flows well. Since The Day of Black Sun is a pretty climactic two-parter in its own right, I wouldn't be opposed to them splitting Book 3 up into two slightly shorter that would give the material more room to breathe.
2:30 eight 45 minute to an hour long episodes is roughly the same runtime as the first season had, and considering story lines such as the great divide and fortune teller are likely to be partially or entirely skipped, I do not think it being a cliff notes version of the original is something to worry about.
Plus, we can clearly see there’s differences. I’m honestly curious if he actually watched the trailer seeing the air nomads being wiped out the mechanist we see is living in omashu those are pretty big differences that I like
The fact it's a live action remake of a cartoon dissuades me from caring. I've never see any do better than the original but I just don't think LA anime/cartoons aren't for me because the whole reason you do stories in animation is to take advantage of the medium.
As mentioned in the video , Sokka is just gonna hit different because it's live action.
So I thought this channel did a bit on what if a live action avatar came out and what it would mean but maybe it was another channel.
What I learned from. That is that a faithful live action isn't necessarily for the fans, its for those who missed the show and/or don't like to watch cartoons. If more people get into avatar then future projects could be better funded and have more hype which is great for everyone.
I hope the fans can enjoy the show even thought it'll certainly be similar and lose a lot of the charm we all love in the OG. I pray though that the fans won't eviscerate the show because it doesn't live up to their expectations
So I've committed the sin of not actually seeing the animated series. Saw the trailer and thought it looked cool. Fans of the show were gushing about it, and so I started watching it (just finished the first season). I'm enjoying it and I think I'll enjoy the live action as well (assuming they don't butcher it).
So far I’m 80% sure that it’s probably going to be good everything that we’ve been saying has been really good. It seems like they actually care about this I mean you don’t put this much money into something that’s probably going to fail and I’m a little excited if it’s bad, then bad because craters are continuing their original series to so I have faith that this will probably be another one piece situation specially, as a longtime avatar fan
@@blakelandry9313 plenty of money has gone into flops, but I saw the interview with the producers and they seem like huge fans. Also, the original writers tapping out, from my understanding, was they wanted to tell a different story then re-tread the original story. Which I get.
This is why you're my favorite, you put everything I was thinking about this show in such a great way
I thought the trailer looked very promising but we mostly just got confirmation on the visual quality. Since the trailers for the Netflix Dark Crystal show also looked great but was ultimately a huge disappointment in regards to the quality of writing I'm still feeling cautiously optimistic with the fact that Mike and Brian left the project over disagreements on the direction of the story.
I'm seeing it this way: the trailer is to make people assured this is not like the movie, that everything they visually loved (the aesthetic, the characters, the humor, the bending, the moments) are going to be there. It's a mini-showcase to have fans happy. But I'm pretty sure there are going to be deviations from the original (Azula seems to be introduced earlier, for example). Is it going to be another surprise like One Piece or another Cowboy Bebop that tries to look the part and fails? We'll see. But I'm definitely giving them a chance.
I was lost the moment the original creators left and that they changed Katara and Sokka’s ages.
I mean right out the GATE they're showing the Air Nomad Genocide, Azula is being introduced early, and we're seeing more of Swolzai. We're going to be seeing Avatar Kuruk as he is cast as well. We didn't see him until season 3 and he only appeared for like 1 minute. We could see more of Kyoshi and Yangchen as they are also cast. They've said they tweaked the rules for how the Avatar State works. To me this feels like a PROPER retelling, not a REMAKE. They're telling a different story but with the same characters...it'll be canon compliant, but it could be thought of as an AU too. The fact that they DECIDED to showcase Gyatso vs Sozin was a conscious change too, because they felt like we needed to further and fully explore the stakes. And I like that. Because oftentimes in the original...the Air Nomad Genocide felt like an afterthought. That CAN'T happen here because the START of the show isn't the narration but the slaughter of the Air Nomads.
Possibly throw more hints about the Lion Turtles so him getting the power doesn't feel so convenient by comparison.
You brought up a good point about the fire nation. Apparently that is something they’re going to explore a bit more. As well as showing us scenes that were only referenced in the animated version. Like the actual destruction of the air temple before Aang ran away. I’m hoping it’s good! 🤞🏾
i find it so weird how excited people get for these live action copies instead of something completely new and original but wtf do i know
You just might know "art"
Here’s what it offers for me: a glimpse into the world of Avatar that’s not 2-dimensional, making it feel more real to me. Growing up, I imitated what I would see on Avatar wishing I could have bending abilities. My inner child is jumping and screaming with joy that almost 20 years later, I get to see people actually get to do it. This live action adaptation offers me to immerse myself into a familiar world on a different scale and medium. As an adult now, I get to enjoy Avatar all over again with more mature themes and elements that I could appreciate that the younger version of myself couldn’t.
This looks really good so far. It's actually showing respect for the source material. The cgi creatures, especially Appa and Momo, look great, and the characters seem fantastic so far.
But does it need to even exist?
@@danculbert6349 sure I don’t care. The original creators are making their own thing if Netflix wants to remake this then heck yeah if you don’t wanna watch it just don’t watch it it’s that simple and it’s doing a lot different if you watch the trailer
@@blakelandry9313 😂 just feels pointless. The cartoon exists, It’s a bit too childish for me but it’s perfect for what it is, doesn’t need a “live action” adaption. Just seems like they’re making money off idiots
@@danculbert6349 Well if you've seen the trailer and read/heard about some of the things the showrunner and other have said you'll know that this won't be a 1 to 1 remake and that there are changes/expansions of the lore coming.
Sounds like somebody needs a loving cup of tea from Uncle Iroh
with all the creators who have been putting out avatar content for a while now (you included) I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions when the Netflix one actually comes out
thank you! you articulate so much of what i was thinking/feeling. I get that more people found it during the, and N saw that and wanted to cash in, but personally.I would have LOOOOVED if they turned the graphic novels into live action or cartoon. I love the original show and i'm tired of them remaking things that worked. Remake things that didn't have the budget, but worked.
Daniel Dae Kim of Lost is in this as Fire Lord Ozai? DUDE! That's super cool.
I've read (and own) the subsequent 5 Comics that follow the end of the anime, and I agree that I'd like to see an older audience aiming point, and that addressing the messed up family aspects get more addressed in the comics, especially the second book I think it is, which they search out Zuko's mother, who went on to lead another life, and has taken a new face.
I am so freaking hyped for this to come out
One thing this show could do that the source material did not, is explore the identity of Zuko's mother Ursa, which-- as of the main show's conclusion-- was still never expanded on. If done tastefully, that could be the 'fresh element', drawing from the Avatar comics. But if the original writers are not on board, there's no chance they'll do this -- your prediction of a truncated 1:1 8ep live adaptation is likely spot-on.
As they recast almost all original german voice actors I will be interested in it.
It does look cool and I look forward to it.
Watching the trailer, it hasn’t sold me just yet, but I can tell that heart was put into it.
Talk about a nostalgia trip! I got the air launching aang and appa back in 2006 for my 8th birthday! Feels like yesterday.
honestly i do not want any fancy retelling or more information. i just want the cartoon show with real ppl. and i am pretty excited with this coming show
There are actually some differences that I’ve seen in the trailer the mechanic is living in omashu which that is a big change but I like that change zhao invading the Koshi Warriors instead of Zuko and a few more so it looks like it’s gonna be like one piece. It’s gonna be faithful, but also do a few things different which I think is a good thing
Awesome commentary and thanks for sharing your thoughts mate.
I don't you will be disappointed. I honestly didn't get the sense from all the articles published and teaser and commentary from the team working on the live action series that it will be a 1:1 with the animation I don't know anyone who would want that and it's impractical.
While it is true the creators left they where interviewed and asked about some areas of the series not explored in the animation, like were was aangs parents and what that would look like if I am not mistaken, also I think the scene where Souzen attacks the air temples will be added to the live action further illustrating the difference yet core to the storyline just recently we've been told that the timeline in the series moves differently because of the growth of actual humans.
One thing I do think they show could improve on, is giving us a more fleshed out version of the Firebird. By keeping him in the shadows for the majority of the show it left us with a pretty one note villain
I feel like this video is going off the assumption that a ton of the story and characters are gonna be cut, which the creators have explicitly said that the biggest changes they are making are expanding the story and showing us things we only got to see a little bit in the show
The thing that I think the show has a lot of liberty to change or perhaps *gasp* maybe do better involves the music. Music for a live running tv show such as the original avatar or any show is very limited. There’s a great video about avatar specifically from a dude named Sideways here on UA-cam (check it out). But in this case releasing a whole season if you at once means they have more liberty with what tracks and sounds appear where and take advantage of the themes and sounds everyone knows but also say incorporate other awesome bits in here and there
What it jas to offer to add to the original is an exploration of the more mature themes that couldn't be explored in the cartoon, such as (as we already see in the trailer and have heard about in interviews) the genocide of the air nomads. I'm excited to see a more realistic depiction of war in this universe as most of the time in the cartoon the fire nation was played off as incompetent jokes until the northern invasion, the black sun and the finale.
There’s also a ton of differences I spotted in this trailer, the mechanist he lives in omashu in this version that is a pretty big difference and there’s many others I could go about it looks like it’s gonna be another one piece situation
I like to think of shows and movies in terms of live theater. Sure, it’s the same play, but it’s always fun to see what different people bring to that performance.
I think a big tell is the fact that so far when you look up the show premier, it’s all set to drop at once. Having people be able to all tune it at once and watch it and discuss it online together episode per episode is a huge thing. Like the Percy Jackson show is one episode at a time and it’s doing numbers. People all watch together and then talk about it online together. I think for that reason it’s not a good sign that it’s dropping at once and I think shows Netflix not having faith and maybe a tell for its quality
I need to rewatch the series. Because I haven’t seen it in YEARS. It’s a been a show, a franchise, that I’ve only had temporary interest in, and then that interest was lost for a while. But now I’m kinda hoping to get back into it, especially since this series is coming out. So all I can say is, the new live action version looks pretty good. But can Netflix actually do something special with this like they did with One Piece, and not like Cowboy Bebop.
The only thing that I'm a bit worried about is the fact that apparently this first season is not going to include the Sozins Comet thing. From what I understand this was done to accommodate the actors ages, they're already 3 years older than when they started filming so they needed to leave possibilities for time jumps so that the actors ages made sense.
This doesn't mean that Sozins Comet won't be in the show at all it just means it won't be a big part of the first season. My guess is that either Sozins Comet will be brought in during season 2 when they go to the library (instead of finding out about the Eclipse) or if Sozins Comet really isn't going to be a part of this at all then just have The Day of Black Sun be the finale instead but this time the invasion succeeds.
you have the best transitions
What was the video you did of the previous air bender?
Season 1 does have a few filler episodes but they’re for us to invest in their characters. For example, you can put these characters in any situation of your own creation, and you will be able to tell how each character will speak, react & think in that scenario.
Avatar is as character-driven as it is narrative-driven.
Also, why did we see the Firelord in a trailer for Book 1? I don’t mean the announcement of who’s playing him, but like why is the Firelord’s face in Book 1? They don’t reveal what he looks like until Book 3.
He’s an unseen force of evil until that point in show.
I like live action remakes for the same reason i like different outfits in videogames. It's fun seeing the same thing in different styles. Also live action can be FAR more cinematic and spectacular than cartoon. Imagine if James Camerons Avatar was made into a cartoon the same style as ATLA. It would not be as good because it just wouldn't capture the scale of the spectacle in the same way.
The only thing I can't understand about live action remakes is how they often go so wrong. Like they have the winning formula for a good story, just follow it
Glad to hear someone else thougjt that laugh with momo was awkward. Feels like you missed the joke when they laugh. Maybe Sokka says "and of course you too momo" after momo knocks on his head or something.
I am glad that creators said they are not going for a shot for shot remake.
I feel the trailer looks great! I'm excited to watch this with my kids!
if you look at the episode names, it looks like they're going to cut some less important episodes to expand on other episodes. This could give a similar appeal to the One Piece show - they had to condense things a lot, but they still found the time to add things that were never in the original & had interesting new takes on the manga material.
I also struggle with the befenit or added value there will be for watching the live action show over the original
The One Piece live action did a lot for the anime, created new fans and after 25 years the show is now popular again.
It even had a lot for the old fans because it did some stuff slightly different. It fused some episodes together, which is what’s happening with avatar which is why as a long time avatar fan I’m excited this trailer. I couldn’t find much to complain about. It was pretty good.
i’m personally hoping they’ll continue the story in the live action; like the team avatar (the promise, the search etc) adventures after avatar tla series but before lok series
The fact that the creators of the original series left the project tells me all i need to know
I'll wait until I see it before deciding or speculating. I'm looking forward to it but whether or not I'll be pleased or disappointed, who knows?
Isn’t the runtime actually longer?
I heard were getting Kyoshi, yangchen and Kuruk among Roku with advising aang