When news of a readaptation for Avatar the Last Airbender was announced, fans were thrilled. The
original animation was an integral part of so many kids’ childhoods, and when the first live action movies
came out, the story felt almost ruined. Not only did they whitewash all of the actors, but they also took
out core parts of the story. So with a messed up plot, inaccurate actors, and bad CGI, the new readaptation
couldn’t possibly be worse, right?
Unfortunately, things aren’t looking too hot. While the CGI has improved, this adaptation is bringing in
issues of its own. The live-action series writers recently released crucial information about the movie
script, leaving many fans, myself included, frustrated.
Taking a very risky move, they have chosen to make the main character Aang less childish and one of the
main characters Sokka less sexist. Now, this probably sounds controversial, but for avid fans of the show,
they understand the importance of these key attributes for these characters.
Taking away Aang’s childlike tendencies takes away from the core fact of his being – he is a child. Aang
was a 12-year-old who was frozen in ice for 100 years. When he came out, he was constantly told by
everyone that he must save the world. A big part of his character involves others realizing that he’s just a
kid who is stuck in a bad situation. His own struggle between being the Avatar and being a kid is so
important to his character. Removing that from the story pushes him into a two-dimensional box, diluting
him into only being the Avatar – not a real character.
Moving on to what sounds like a controversial take. Sokka not being sexist not only takes away from his
character development but it also takes away from the Kyoshi warriors. The Kyoshi are a group of skilled
women warriors who have been fighting for generations. When Sokka encounters them, he is quickly
humbled and asks them to teach him to fight. After that, he very quickly learns to respect women and
often credits them for his growth as a fighter and a person. For a lot of kids growing up, seeing this arc
was so important. For little boys who grew up in more misogynistic environments, it showed them how
someone similar to them grew out of that mindset. The Kyoshi warriors represented sisterhood and
strength, taking away from them proving themselves steals away incredible story arcs.
I’m not quite done with Sokka either. When news of his character casting was released, fans immediately
did what they do best: researched everything they could about the actor. After minimal searching, they
revealed that Sokka’s actor was, in fact, not Native American. He had falsified records in an effort to
qualify for the audition. Somehow, he passed all the casting directors and landed the role. When news of
it came out, the film was still in its early stages. Instead of replacing the actor, the filmmakers choose to
try and sweep the issue under the rug.
The biggest change, however, is the time skip the directors have implemented. The original animated
series of the franchise originally takes place over a year. Because the actors are so young, filming it all in
less than a year will not allow them or their characters to grow up in the slightest. The reasoning for this
change is logical, so it is understandably less frustrating than some of the other changes that have been
made.The easiest and most difficult part of creating adaptations is creating an exciting story for audiences while
still respecting the source work. The changes that have been made to this adaptation have mostly been
unnecessary and ruined important parts of the original story. As someone who has loved the series for
over a decade, I hope the live action does it justice.
There is a chance that regardless of these changes, the movie will bring out a story just as captivating as
the original. Let’s hope these changes have only enhanced the story and not knocked it down completely.
The movie comes out this Friday, February 22nd, so make sure you turn on your TVs and give it a shot!