Back in 2018, a live-action remake of the iconic 2005 cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender was announced by DiMartino and Konietzko, the original show runners and creators. Fans were both fearful and hopeful in light of this announcement. Of course, any Avatar fan is plagued by the tone-deaf diversity and insensitive ethnic casting of M. Night Shyamalan movie rendition of the first season. However, most fans were relieved after learning that this time, the creators of the original show were on the project.
After the first announcement, many proceeded to forget about the show until 2020, when it was announced that the original show runners had left their positions due to creative differences. This announcement destroyed most of the hope fans had for a good live-action remake. Luckily, they still received writing credits for episodes 1 and 6, so their influence wasn’t entirely removed from the show. Another aspect that remained even after DiMartino and Koniezko’s departure was the casting. It was of top priority to cast ethnically accurate actors for each character, especially after seeing the amount of anger sparked by casting entirely white people to play these Asian and Native characters in the live-action movie.
Casting was an overall success. In 2021, the names and pictures of our main four characters (Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko) were released with great excitement. Gordon Cormier, the actor of Aang, was one of the fandom’s favorite castings, which was solidified even more after the show was released. Fans were also over the moon to finally see an Indigenous actress portray Katara. Kiawentiio, whom many may recognize from CBC’s Anne with an E, hails from the Mohawk tribe, which mainly resides in southern Canada, upstate New York, and various other states in New England. The Water Tribe from the Avatar universe is based on various Northern Canadian and US tribes, such as the Inuit and Yupik peoples. While Kiawentiio does not come from those two tribes, she is still a Northern Indigenous person, which most fans were still pleased by.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t smooth sailing for all the cast members. Ian Ousley, who portrays Sokka, Katara’s older brother (so they share the same ethnic background), was questioned about his status as a Cherokee tribal member. It was revealed by the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper to be published by Native Americans in their native language, that Ousley was not enrolled in any of the three recognized Cherokee tribes in America. While the truth about his heritage was never discussed by Ousley himself, it is important to note that over 200 tribes remain unrecognized by the United States government. Being a part of an unrecognized tribe does not diminish one’s indigenous status. The Snohomish of Washington State are an unrecognized tribe, even though the third-largest county, Washington, is named after them. Many tribes, such as the Snohomish, have been fighting for the United States to recognize them as a registered tribe for decades. The validity of a tribe cannot be determined by their registration status as long as this issue still exists.
After all the controversy the show dealt with before its release, how does it hold up? It’s fine. The show landed a respectable 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 7.3/10 on IMDb. Since viewers entered the show with floor-level expectations due to the various pre-production issues and the disaster that was the first attempt at live action, it wasn’t too difficult for fans to be positively surprised. The season consisted of 10 episodes, each ranging from 47 minutes to an hour. The season covered the same story that the first season of the animated series did. The episodes themselves didn’t feel too rushed, even though it was around three episodes of the animated show smushed into one. Most of the changes made to the original show were questionable. The main issue upsetting fans is that they removed Sokka’s sexism arch. Yes, people are complaining about a character not being sexist, and I agree. Sokka grows throughout the animated show because he learns how to be a stronger leader, which includes learning that women can be just as good warriors as men, an important lesson for many young boys.
The script is what lowers the show’s quality. The writers fell into a trap that many other animated-to-live-action writers fall into: telling rather than showing. Instead of showing Aang’s insecurity about being the Avatar, he straight up says that he doesn’t think he is good enough to be the Avatar. Instead of showing Sokka’s weak leadership, he just says he isn’t a good leader. Very creative writing, I know. A lot of depth is removed when the writing is dry. There isn’t much to dissect and theorize about because the characters are so shallow and straightforward. I find this phenomenon very strange since live actions are typically seen as “more adult” compared to cartoons, so why are we dumbing it down so much? Sometimes it just gets to be insulting to the audience. When your show is aimed at people 14 and older, it’s extremely strange to have characters explain things to the audience like we are toddlers. Audiences have the ability to understand the complex subjects that Avatar: The Last Airbender tackles, as did the children for whom the show was originally made.
Would I recommend this remake over the original animated show? Absolutely not! Would I discourage new audiences from watching the live action? Definitely not! It is perfectly fine for the live action to be your first interaction with the series. Though I believe every fan should watch the original animated series, I won’t diminish anyone who hasn’t. The new series is a lot more appealing to older audiences, and that is the reason behind its creation. It was made for the kids who grew up with the animated series and are now young adults. If you are already an Avatar fan, I’d say give the live action a watch, even if you end up hating it! The live action has already been renewed for seasons 2 and 3, so you better catch up while you can.
