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[Avatar: the Last Airbender]: you DO always come back!
ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
So yesterday, my sister asked if I wanted to watch more Avatar with her. (This was the day after we finished watching The Blind Bandit through to The Library, among others.)
We made it to Tales of Ba Sing Se, and are now on the last disc of book 2.
The action does look good. And true to the series.
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
I'm hoping that's just an egregious example of shoehorning in completely inappropriate music for a trailer that thankfully isn't in the actual movie, but I really wouldn't put anything past Hollywood directors/execs anymore. (I'm still in shock they made an entire movie with the premise of "hey, isn't putting The Rock in a tutu HILARIOUS?!?")
Wordherder on
Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
The action does look good. And true to the series.
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
It's the usual "Superbowl ad" sound. Random, generic chords and guitars. The teaser had the appropriate (and according to the test screenings, usual) epic fantasy music.
The action does look good. And true to the series.
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
Most of the time, music used in the trailer has no connection whatsoever to music actually used in the movie. Which is why you often hear the same background tracks in more than one trailer. I suspect the music in the movie will be well-suited.
You know what I was so hoping would happen in the show and happened?
Bloodbending. Yes.
Still kind of sucked though, the episode where she "learns" it has a great ending, and then they never took it any farther other than to have her briefly break it out on her revenge trip. There certainly was potential to develop that into a much more interesting plot device.
The action does look good. And true to the series.
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
It's the usual "Superbowl ad" sound. Random, generic chords and guitars. The teaser had the appropriate (and according to the test screenings, usual) epic fantasy music.
The action does look good. And true to the series.
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
It's the usual "Superbowl ad" sound. Random, generic chords and guitars. The teaser had the appropriate (and according to the test screenings, usual) epic fantasy music.
I would have rather have an animated avatar movie done by the same people, to be honest
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
My issue with the idea of a live-action adaptation is that I don't see why it's necessary. Animation is already a visual medium, and I don't think there's anything that live action can add to it.
My other issue is the amount of cutting that's going to be necessary to fit the entire story of the first season into a movie. Season 1 was 489 minutes long. The movie probably won't be any more than a third of that.
Because as much as we all love and respect animation, the world at large sees it as a "kids" medium. So a live-action film is sort of like telling the original creators they liked it enough to legitimize it.
I would have rather have an animated avatar movie done by the same people, to be honest
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
I don't understand why Avatar is different from anime. Avatar had all the same tropes - the bad guy from the first season comes back as a pal in the second, all the characters have a goofy side, chosen one who fights with mystical energies - so what's the secret? Why does Avatar stand above the rest if it does all the same things the other Japanese cartoons do?
The other Japanese shows don't have flying bison. That must be the secret ingredient!
Because as much as we all love and respect animation, the world at large sees it as a "kids" medium. So a live-action film is sort of like telling the original creators they liked it enough to legitimize it.
I know this all too well.
I long for the day when the artistry of animation is finally appreciated.
Uhm, not much focus on the actual kids. Not a good sign. Ang didn't speak, and Katara only had like what, 3 lines in the trailer?
Um, what?
Sorry, I can see criticizing the trailer for a lot of things but it covered practically nothing but the kids.
Unless you expected them to make it out like a comedy?
Honestly I don't think they could have cut a better trailer. They cannot assume everyone watching is a superfan, they have to cover the basic story. That story is, lets face it, pretty serious and depressing stuff. I love sokka and toph and the comedy as much as the next guy, but the story also contains war and genocide and they would be misrepresenting the story if they didn't at least reference that fact.
Honestly I thought it looked pretty good. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Then again, I never could tell if an actor was doing a good job or not. I've always been a story and visual person more than a drama geek.
I would have rather have an animated avatar movie done by the same people, to be honest
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
I don't understand why Avatar is different from anime. Avatar had all the same tropes - the bad guy from the first season comes back as a pal in the second, all the characters have a goofy side, chosen one who fights with mystical energies - so what's the secret? Why does Avatar stand above the rest if it does all the same things the other Japanese cartoons do?
The other Japanese shows don't have flying bison. That must be the secret ingredient!
What sets it apart for me is that the characters without bending powers aren't completely useless.
Because as much as we all love and respect animation, the world at large sees it as a "kids" medium. So a live-action film is sort of like telling the original creators they liked it enough to legitimize it.
I know this all too well.
I long for the day when the artistry of animation is finally appreciated.
If the Miyazaki movies didn't crack that nut for America, it can't be done.
I would have rather have an animated avatar movie done by the same people, to be honest
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
I don't understand why Avatar is different from anime. Avatar had all the same tropes - the bad guy from the first season comes back as a pal in the second, all the characters have a goofy side, chosen one who fights with mystical energies - so what's the secret? Why does Avatar stand above the rest if it does all the same things the other Japanese cartoons do?
The other Japanese shows don't have flying bison. That must be the secret ingredient!
What sets it apart for me is that the characters without bending powers aren't completely useless.
And its American, not Japanese, and Anime refers to Japanese Animation.
And the story makes sense and deals with real life concepts instead of glossing over everything with massive yellow haired powerups.
And Zuko was never really the bad guy. It was pretty obvious from the get go that he was more misguided than bad. They even had the Admiral for a real bad guy.
But hey, if you want to call it Anime, go for it. Does that mean we can't like it?
But hey, if you want to call it Anime, go for it. Does that mean we can't like it?
You can love it to pieces. I'm just pointing out Avatar has plenty of anime cliches throughout the series. Too many cliches weigh any show down as things become predictable yet Avatar still manages to be something great. The Avatar state isn't that far off from Goku growing yellow hair and grunting a lot. Picking up rocks and streams of water during fights isn't unlike Jedi using the Force to toss objects around. A group of plucky teens hiding from the evil empire is every JRPG ever made. Plenty of stuff's been seen before but Avatar is still a good watch.
My issue with the idea of a live-action adaptation is that I don't see why it's necessary. Animation is already a visual medium, and I don't think there's anything that live action can add to it.
My other issue is the amount of cutting that's going to be necessary to fit the entire story of the first season into a movie. Season 1 was 489 minutes long. The movie probably won't be any more than a third of that.
Let's be fair. First of all, you're counting the intro and the credits for every episode in that count. Even then, that only accounts for 470 minutes, so you're adding another 19 there that came from god knows where. The intro is 45 seconds, and the credits are a full minute. That knocks off 35 minutes from the full 470, down to 435.
Now, that's still a large number, but this was a weekly kids show. There is a lot of fat there that can easily be cut. You need the Aang's introduction at the south pole, which can easily be cut down to 15-20 minutes. You need the southern air temple, the Warriors of Kyoshi and the King of Omashu, the last two of which can be combined into one plot segment, since they're both part of the Earth Bending Kingdom. The Blue Spirit is necessary for Zuko's development, but could probably be pushed back to the next movie. And the Winter Solstice, which again, can be cut down dramatically. Jet, the Great Divide and several large chunks of the second half of the season can be excised completely. Basically, after King Boomy and the Warriors, they can get straight to the Northern Water Tribe, and have plenty of time to develop the climax and resolution.
Not to mention, Shayamalan is working closely with the creators on the script, and they're actually advising him to cut stuff, and slim it down.
I would have rather have an animated avatar movie done by the same people, to be honest
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
I don't understand why Avatar is different from anime. Avatar had all the same tropes - the bad guy from the first season comes back as a pal in the second, all the characters have a goofy side, chosen one who fights with mystical energies - so what's the secret? Why does Avatar stand above the rest if it does all the same things the other Japanese cartoons do?
The other Japanese shows don't have flying bison. That must be the secret ingredient!
What sets it apart for me is that the characters without bending powers aren't completely useless.
And its American, not Japanese, and Anime refers to Japanese Animation.
And the story makes sense and deals with real life concepts instead of glossing over everything with massive yellow haired powerups.
And Zuko was never really the bad guy. It was pretty obvious from the get go that he was more misguided than bad. They even had the Admiral for a real bad guy.
But hey, if you want to call it Anime, go for it. Does that mean we can't like it?
Why even try to classify it? It is what it is, and it obviously borrowed heavily from anime tropes, but there's all sorts of other influences to be found as well.
As to cutting down the first season, I don't think it will be too hard. Honestly there's not a small amount of filler to be found throughout the show's entire run.
Posts
We made it to Tales of Ba Sing Se, and are now on the last disc of book 2.
The infection has spread. Mua ha ha ha.
The Good: The bending looks nifty, especially fire and earth; Aang's avatar state glowiness looks good.
The Bad: All the footage is teh seriouz bidnezz; metal soundtrack.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/02/04/the-last-airbender-superbowl-tv-spot-new-footage-and-a-feast-for-blueorange-conspiracy-theorists/
(On a side note, I've gotten my wife completely hooked on the series.)
I watched with no sound. Please tell me there's not going to be any metal in the movie. Not that I dislike metal.
I'm hoping that's just an egregious example of shoehorning in completely inappropriate music for a trailer that thankfully isn't in the actual movie, but I really wouldn't put anything past Hollywood directors/execs anymore. (I'm still in shock they made an entire movie with the premise of "hey, isn't putting The Rock in a tutu HILARIOUS?!?")
I will give you Five Internet Dollars (actual amount = $0) to make Toph a blue alien and change your sig to "Avatar Avatar avatar".
It's the usual "Superbowl ad" sound. Random, generic chords and guitars. The teaser had the appropriate (and according to the test screenings, usual) epic fantasy music.
Also, link to the trailer:
Clicky clicky.
Most of the time, music used in the trailer has no connection whatsoever to music actually used in the movie. Which is why you often hear the same background tracks in more than one trailer. I suspect the music in the movie will be well-suited.
wish list
Steam wishlist
Etsy wishlist
I made this:
in an avatar avatar avatar format:
image shack url: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8527/tophav2copy.jpg
...this is helping right?
Not Toph.
not a pedo
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43869
Oh, check out the top left corner around the :10 mark in the trailer.
Must not get optimistic.
I'm glad I left you and Rev to die in N'awlins.
Steam | Twitter
:^:
Can't say the trailer really interested me, which rarely bodes well for the actual film.
Yeah, same here. It just doesn't seem to click, though it might just be that I'm not used to seeing human actors playing those characters.
Yeah but the story's finished. Which is something I actually really liked about the series. It had a beginning, middle, and end. It introduced characters, built them up, and had it all finish in an awesome climactic series finale, whilst tying up the loose ends.
I wouldn't want them to tack on stuff to it after that.
My other issue is the amount of cutting that's going to be necessary to fit the entire story of the first season into a movie. Season 1 was 489 minutes long. The movie probably won't be any more than a third of that.
Steam | Twitter
That said, the action didn't look as if it was going to be all that good either.
See now it just sounds like nitpicking.
What I mean is it sounds like you said "I won't like this", and are qualifying it after the fact is all.
I don't understand why Avatar is different from anime. Avatar had all the same tropes - the bad guy from the first season comes back as a pal in the second, all the characters have a goofy side, chosen one who fights with mystical energies - so what's the secret? Why does Avatar stand above the rest if it does all the same things the other Japanese cartoons do?
I know this all too well.
I long for the day when the artistry of animation is finally appreciated.
Steam | Twitter
Um, what?
Sorry, I can see criticizing the trailer for a lot of things but it covered practically nothing but the kids.
Unless you expected them to make it out like a comedy?
Honestly I don't think they could have cut a better trailer. They cannot assume everyone watching is a superfan, they have to cover the basic story. That story is, lets face it, pretty serious and depressing stuff. I love sokka and toph and the comedy as much as the next guy, but the story also contains war and genocide and they would be misrepresenting the story if they didn't at least reference that fact.
Honestly I thought it looked pretty good. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Then again, I never could tell if an actor was doing a good job or not. I've always been a story and visual person more than a drama geek.
What sets it apart for me is that the characters without bending powers aren't completely useless.
Steam | Twitter
If the Miyazaki movies didn't crack that nut for America, it can't be done.
And its American, not Japanese, and Anime refers to Japanese Animation.
And the story makes sense and deals with real life concepts instead of glossing over everything with massive yellow haired powerups.
And Zuko was never really the bad guy. It was pretty obvious from the get go that he was more misguided than bad. They even had the Admiral for a real bad guy.
But hey, if you want to call it Anime, go for it. Does that mean we can't like it?
You can love it to pieces. I'm just pointing out Avatar has plenty of anime cliches throughout the series. Too many cliches weigh any show down as things become predictable yet Avatar still manages to be something great. The Avatar state isn't that far off from Goku growing yellow hair and grunting a lot. Picking up rocks and streams of water during fights isn't unlike Jedi using the Force to toss objects around. A group of plucky teens hiding from the evil empire is every JRPG ever made. Plenty of stuff's been seen before but Avatar is still a good watch.
Let's be fair. First of all, you're counting the intro and the credits for every episode in that count. Even then, that only accounts for 470 minutes, so you're adding another 19 there that came from god knows where. The intro is 45 seconds, and the credits are a full minute. That knocks off 35 minutes from the full 470, down to 435.
Now, that's still a large number, but this was a weekly kids show. There is a lot of fat there that can easily be cut. You need the Aang's introduction at the south pole, which can easily be cut down to 15-20 minutes. You need the southern air temple, the Warriors of Kyoshi and the King of Omashu, the last two of which can be combined into one plot segment, since they're both part of the Earth Bending Kingdom. The Blue Spirit is necessary for Zuko's development, but could probably be pushed back to the next movie. And the Winter Solstice, which again, can be cut down dramatically. Jet, the Great Divide and several large chunks of the second half of the season can be excised completely. Basically, after King Boomy and the Warriors, they can get straight to the Northern Water Tribe, and have plenty of time to develop the climax and resolution.
Not to mention, Shayamalan is working closely with the creators on the script, and they're actually advising him to cut stuff, and slim it down.
Why even try to classify it? It is what it is, and it obviously borrowed heavily from anime tropes, but there's all sorts of other influences to be found as well.
As to cutting down the first season, I don't think it will be too hard. Honestly there's not a small amount of filler to be found throughout the show's entire run.