I recently finished watching the live-action Avatar TV show version of the original animated series in 2005 created by Michael DiMartino. My honest opinion about the show is that it’s beyond better than the so-called garbage movie we don’t speak about but the overall series I found quite enjoyable on how a lot of places, characters, and CGI looked amazing in every possible way it did. To me some emotional scenes had me saying “wow” and some had me drenched in tears the way the actress or actor performed it. For people like me who are new to Avatar, the genres are Action, Adventure, Mystery, and many other elements that make it as it is.
The general plot of the story is a war broke out between the four elements water, earth, fire, and air all the nations lived in peace among each other made possible by the avatar who gets reincarnated every time one dies then Fire Lord Ozai the leader of the fire nation decides to attack and conquer the world but then in order he must kill Aang a 12 yr boy Airbender who later finds out that he’s the new avatar destined to bring peace back to the nations and protect the world. The main characters of the show are Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Iroh, Ozai, and a lot of supporting/featured characters.
My thoughts on some of the characters
Aang who is played by Gordan Cormier made me laugh, cry, and feel real joy seeing him on the screen and I felt that he made Aang into his own thing while honoring the quality traits that the original Aang had in the animated series. During an interview, Gordan was asked “ What did you want to add to make these versions of characters uniquely your own?” He responded that he wanted to add that he saw Aang experience what he is going through compared to the cartoon since it was made for younger kids we didn’t get to see a lot of the genocide or what Aang is going through which can be heartbreaking for him. What I didn’t like about his character was he felt repetitive and unlike the original Aang character who was bubbly/funny the creators of the live-action made him so serious that he felt one-noted and didn’t have a lot of that fun-loving personality to him.
Katara who is played by Kiawentiio Tarbell is a mostly shy, quiet, and helpful 14-year-old girl who is a waterbender and the only one in her tribe. I felt that this version of Katara had some great moments including making fun of her brother Sokka. What I liked about her was that she was willing to help people considering Aang even though she hardly knows them. While seeing Kanentiio on screen her smile and beauty were so incredibly addicting for me during the series. What I didn’t like about her character was the blend and felt like a side character in Aang’s journey moving forward in the series then the Katara story arc felt rushed. Even though her character development fell off, Kiawentiio is only 17 years old and still has room to grow as an actress.
Sokka who is played by Ian Ousley is a 15-year-old teen boy Responsible, Sarcastic, and protective of the people he cares about mostly his sister Katara and Aang. What I liked about Sokka in the series was that he cares a lot about the people he loves and he has this huge burden on his shoulders that adds a little bit of depth to his character that feels relatable to a lot of people who carry a lot of burdens every day in their everyday lives. What I didn’t like about this version was that a lot of the comedy aspect of Sokka was lacking in this series and also the sexism was cut out during this version which made a lot of people mad because his sexism was a big part of his character development.
Zuko who is played by Dallas James Liu is a 16 year teen boy who is a fire nation royal and firebending. In the show, he is very angry, broken, and Sullen but Zuko’s original main goal is to capture the Avatar and reclaim his status from being banished by his father Lord Ozai to regain his honor in the fire nation while secretly wanting love/respect from his father and his nation.
During an Interview, Dallas was asked the same question as Gordan “What did you want to add to make these versions of characters uniquely your own?” He said, “ I wanted to certainly keep from the original series Zuko’s relationship with Uncle Iroh and how comfortable he was and how he was willing to lash out at him but also be extremely vulnerable with Iroh because at the end of the day like in our series you see that certainly in the first half the only person that is willing to put up with Zuko is Uncle Iroh and you know to support him on his journey even though he might not even though he knows that it might not end the way Zuko wants it to.”
Honestly, in my opinion, I didn’t find anything I disliked about Zuko because for me Dallas and his acting skills carried the show. Zuko and his uncle Iroh were the only characters that didn’t have a single moment with them in it.
Lastly, Uncle Iroh who is played by Sun-Hyung Lee is wise, compassionate, and funny. He is the Uncle of Zuko and the brother of Lord Ozai while also being a general of the United Forces. What I liked about Iroh in the show was that he tried to guide and teach Zuko different ways of handling things. He cares so deeply about Zuko that he puts himself in danger just to save Zuko’s life. In my opinion, he portrayed Iroh very well. In some moments he shed some tears and seeing him on TV made the scenes extra wholesome/funny. I didn’t have anything I did not like about Iroh and Zuko’s relationship carried the series for me.
The overall life lesson that I learned from this show was that our society and family do not define us. I feel like this message relates to people who think that society puts them in a box without giving them a chance to be who they want to be and judge them based on their past experiences/mistakes. The lesson relates to Zuko Because being who he is, a lot of the other characters think he is just a mad and evil person who cares about finding Aang but on the inside, he wasn’t always like that; he had a soft soul that got beaten down by his father. Zuko’s character in some moments is seen as caring a lot about the people he loves like Iroh he decides what he is now and going to be in the future that’s his decision.
The show is rated TV-14. It had some serious, scary, funny, and gruesome moments but it is ok for younger children under 14 who love Avatar.
Scale from 1-10
I give it a 7 it could have done way better.
