Avatar: The Last Airbender is a classic animated series that ran from 2005-2008, and it came back February 22, 2024 as a live-action remake. The remake has caused an uproar within its audience, with a heavy mix of positive and negative opinions, and Mission Hills students have a lot to say about the series.
“Since I was born, I’ve been watching the show. The live-action was a disappointment in every regard, except for visual design,” senior Jacob Lawrence said.
To Jacob Lawrence, a Mission Hills senior, the live action Avatar was a “disappointment.” He continued by also voicing that his expectations were low before the series was released, but it was worse than his worst expectations.
A large source of this dislike and disappointment comes from the characters and the writing behind them. Compared to the original animated series, the way the characters fit into the plot felt poorly done, as if they were being forced to belong, not as if they were meant to belong. The depth and story-telling behind the characters also misses key parts that the animated series had, such as lacking in building their true personalities and missing key components of what makes them the character they’re meant to be.
On the positive side, Lawrence also mentions the visual design, pointing it out as his only compliment. Said visual design is high quality, with set design, outfit design, and CGI effects that keep up with the latest television and truly give the series some reality to it,even if the story that accompanies it is not considered the best.
“One of the major disappointments was the deviation from the rich character development and intricate storytelling that made the animated series so beloved…the live action adaptation struggled to capture that depth and complexity of characters like Aang, Katara, and Zuko…” senior Lizzy Aguilar said.
On the same boat as Lawrence, Aguilar agrees that the series was not a satisfying remake, and clashed against many high hopes and expectations it held. More specifically, she heavily criticized the character building and development of the characters in the live adaptation. In comparison to the animated series, the characters in the adaptation seemed “bland” and “lamer” with less traits and points to help them stand out as a “good” character. A common criticism for the characters is the erasure of a lot of their humor, which was a key part for many in the animated series.
“It lacked the heart and soul that made the animated series resonate with audiences, ultimately resulting in a lackluster and underwhelming viewing experience.” Aguilar added.
Everything seemed to point towards the series writing and presentation being the main issue, which became a very disappointing experience for its viewers. Because of this disappointment and let-down, most of the Avatar audience have now turned to raising their voices, trying to make their criticisms loud to get change for the next season.
But not everyone feels that same way.
“I believed that the original creators and writers had a lot of influence on this one…you can still kind of feel the same vibe, they still have important parts of the story that they don’t skip over, so I feel like it does honor the original.” teacher Shehan Sirimanne said.
On the polar opposite side is Sirimanne, who is strong and confident with his opinion that the live action was a good adaptation of the animated version, and is not as bad as people are claiming it to be. Taking the original version into account, Sirimanne supports that both versions were similar in the way that they remained true to key points and elements of the story, which many people seem to argue against. He makes a point to acknowledge that the original creators worked on the live adaptation, therefore he trusts their creative decisions and trusts they were able to make it the way they wished to see it. After all, who knows a story better other than the people who made it?
“If we as a culture give too much pressure and too much criticism for the adaptation of original things we love, they will never be able to hold up to that, and they’ll just stop making [adaptations].” Sirimanne finalized.
Sirimanne ends with a strong statement about criticism, stressing the damage that an excess of hate and criticism can cause. It’s not the first time excessive criticism has changed the series; a positive example is the re-editing of Sonic for the Sonic movies, and a negative example are the rumors of Stranger Things being canceled due to backlash. Ultimately, if people want to keep adaptations a real concept, it’s likely they’ll have to start changing the way they speak, and become more accepting.
Whether people love it or hate it, the show has its problems and its loveable moments. Why settle for either when both exist?
