‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Manages To Do Right By The Animated Series
by Frank Martin
Adaptations are hard. They’re even harder when following a previous adaptation that was largely panned. That was the situation the live action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender arrived to — though the promise of the show did have several factors in its corner. It was a series rather than a movie. It was also being produced by Netflix, who has a track record of great television. The original creators were initially involved, but ultimately left due to creative differences. However, their fingerprints can still be felt all over the series. As the animated series had long seasons, it would be impossible to adapt it all. But the Netflix show feels as if it has an intimate knowledge of the source material, making it a pleasure for fans to watch unfold.
The show more or less follows the same plot from the cartoon as Avatar Aang (Gordon Cormier) wakes from being frozen in ice for a hundred years. Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) discover him and assist him on his journey to prevent a great tragedy at the Northern Water Tribe. But Aang, always ready lend a hand, keeps stopping along the way to help people affected by the war. Meanwhile, Fire Nation Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) continues his pursuit of the Avatar to win back his father’s trust.
The show wisely keeps a lot of popular elements from the series and weaves them into a new-yet-familiar narrative. Omashu, the Earth Kingdom city, is a great example of this. Several popular characters from later in the animated series appear during the city’s multi-episode arc, which was more or less unique to the live action adaptation. Also, Zuko’s sister, Azula (Elizabeth Yu) doesn’t show up until the second season of the cartoon, and yet she plays an integral part of this first season, along with her father. Their story, in addition to seeing the destruction of the Air Nomads, provides more context that fans of the show can appreciate as the same yet different.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is now streaming on Netflix.
