M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender

[Jaebird]

The one episode that had me fighting a losing battle of tears was the one dedicated to Mako (the voice of Iroh and Aku from Samurai Jack for the uninitiated).

Such a good story.

[AmazingPjotrMan]

The only problem I had with the show was some of the voicetalent. However, I powered through it and saw the entire show and pretty much loved it.

[What?]

Have there been any good Live Action Anime Adaptations?

I liked Speed Racer.

[zfubarz]

Speed Racer was a fantastic, I can't blame people who don't get it for not liking it though.

Also I kinda wish this was true
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/24/

[Kaseladen]

Speed Racer was a fantastic, I can't blame people who don't get it for not liking it though.

Also I kinda wish this was true
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/24/

Was about to link that myself. And it's freaking true. What's next? Samuel L. Jackson as King Boomy? I can imagine entering the Earth Kingdom

"Sup, Motherfuckers. Go get me my fucking lunchbox."

[Lyinginbedmon]

I personally await Astro boy, because if nothing else it looks like it might, on it's own, be entertaining. I don't think it'll stick to the source material.

Unfortunately, Speed Racer stuck fairly close to the source material, which was a very bad move for it to go in...

[Nevrmore]

Samuel L. Jackson as King Bumi?

[theDreamer]

Morgan Freeman would be much better cast as the little blind earth bending girl.

It makes less sense than Appa, so...

[Jaebird]

George Clooney has an excellent animal voice-acting talent that no one takes advantage of anymore

[Master Gunner]

When doing a project on how to cast The Importance of Being Earnest, I came up with the suggestion of casting all the guys as Morgan Freeman, and all the women as Samuel L. Jackson.

You know you'd want to see that.

[theDreamer]

I would, ONLY if Samuel L. Jackson was not the old aunt lady thing. Morgan Freeman would have to be her, too.

[Kaseladen]

Samuel L. Jackson as King Bumi?

So I can't spell fictional characters names. It's not like they sat and spelled it out in the show outside of the credits

[meisbored]

I totally thought James Cameron was making this movie for the longest time, until I saw this thread, and IMDB'd the James Cameron movie "Avatar", and found out it's completely unrelated.

And I have not seen the show apart from the first episode or two way back when.

+1 to my fail count

[zfubarz]

It's worth your time.

Only thing better in recent years is samurai jack.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Why are all the great things these days cancelled before they can even finish their story?

[zfubarz]

Networks suck.

[Dutch guy]

I will have to admit I watched all 3 seasons of Avatar. And I liked them.

For the movie I'm kinda worried about the whole dynamics of the different fighting styles. In the animated series the differences are very obvious and every fighting element has their own fighting style. All of them are based on the martial arts, but they are very different for every element.

Earthbenders have the very deliberate, tight and rigid way of bending. All positions are strong and balanced.

Waterbenders have a flowing way of fighting. One move flows into the next.

Firebenders have an agressive style with a lot of straight punches and every move has power and determination behind it.

The airbenders have a style that is very much like water but with a lighter and more subtle way of moving (More like Thai-chi)

I don't really like the style in the trailer, it's too much show for Aang. There shouldn't be any "loose" moves. I'm afraid in the movie the different fighting styles will be too similar. Making everything blend into the standard martial arts again, which I would find very disappointing. The whole point of the differences in the anime is to show the differences but also the similarities between the element and thefor the bond they share.

[Nevrmore]

The airbenders have a style that is very much like water but with a lighter and more subtle way of moving (More like Thai-chi)

The airbending style (Ba Gua) is really pretty different from the waterbending style (Tai-Chi). Airbending is faster and all about circular motions; Aang is always making circles with his arms or legs or just in the way he moves around his opponent.

I don't know why I felt it was important to point this out, but meh.

[zfubarz]

I was gonna say I always thought water bending was very much tai chi. Lots of back and forth movement, and very purposefully moving your body weight.

[korri]

I never watched the show, I do want to see it thought because part of it was filmed in my hometown, Reading. There are apparently some shots of the Pagoda which I think it pretty cool

[Dutch guy]

I was gonna say I always thought water bending was very much tai chi. Lots of back and forth movement, and very purposefully moving your body weight.

The airbenders have a style that is very much like water but with a lighter and more subtle way of moving (More like Thai-chi)

The airbending style (Ba Gua) is really pretty different from the waterbending style (Tai-Chi). Airbending is faster and all about circular motions; Aang is always making circles with his arms or legs or just in the way he moves around his opponent.

I don't know why I felt it was important to point this out, but meh.

You guys are right. I was having trouble formulating the differences, but waterbending is indeed more like tai-chi.

(Katara actually makes the comment: "You've really got to shift your weight trough the stances" to Aang on the episode "the waterbending scroll")

[Brad]

I am unimpressed by the casting. Saw a thing where Shamwow says his favorite character was Zuko and the Fire Nation people. We all see some of ourselves in our favorite characters and stories, so, I mean I get it why he cast the fire nation with Indian and Iranaian actors - he sees himself in that role. But come on... Aasfi Mandvi as Commander Zhao? He's the plucky little indian guy from John Stewart! And I love Shaun Toub as an actor, but Iroh was the most Japanese character on the whole show. He was stereotypically so. Practically Mr. Miayagi. I just don't see a Persion guy pulling that off, and he's probably the best actor on the whole cast. The kid he's got playing Zuko is a little weird too. Was in Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't see it, but just from the photos of the kid he looks very Disney after school special peppy. Not brooding scarred warrior.

With all the racial hype over the casting I wonder if Katherine Houghton as Gran Gran is meant as a joke (she was in the original "Guess who's coming to dinner")

[Lorithad]

Now, I love Avatar. It is one of my favorite cartoons to come out in the past few years. Amongst all the crap that has come out, Avatar is pretty much the only one that held my attention through out it's entire running.

And when I heard that a live action movie was being made, I was horrified. Something that I loved was going to be turned to garbage like so many things before it.

However, the strangest thing happened this past Saturday. I saw transformers for the first time. And in the previews, was the Avatar trailer. A trailer I had deliberately been avoiding, cause I just did not want to witness the seemingly obvious atrocity this was going to turn into.
The trailer had me awestruck to say the least. Everything in it (with the exception of Aang's tattoo) was perfect. Even Aang's staff was clearly his glider. Fire nation tanks scaling the cliffs via chains, Boats launching incredible fireballs. It just seems too...perfect.

What was once a horrified belief is now a clinging hope that M. Night Shymalan can actually pull this off.

In the show, all the different bending styles were based off real life martial arts forms. They even had martial arts instructors teach the animators the various styles so that the characters would actually be doing the moves somewhat realistically.

I can only hope they go to such lengths with the actors on the movie.

Also, I cannot imagine that the entire series could be done in one movie. Even a bastardized version of it. There's just too much story. A trilogy, perhaps. Single film, I highly doubt it.

[Ben]

I am unimpressed by the casting. Saw a thing where Shamwow says his favorite character was Zuko and the Fire Nation people. ... The kid he's got playing Zuko is a little weird too. Was in Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't see it, but just from the photos of the kid he looks very Disney after school special peppy. Not brooding scarred warrior.

Just be happy he was pressured into changing the actor from Jesse McCartney.



Dev Patel being badass


I was super stoked to hear there was a movie being made (a little less so about M.Night), I heard about it just as I was finishing watching the series a few months ago. I hope this Jackson Rathbone guy can pull off someone as goofy as Sokka.

[Brad]

I don't know who Jesse McCartney is, but in the photos, even the one of Patel being badass there, were I in their school as a lad and McCartney was a bully and Patel was a bully with fire powers, I'd still probably be intimidated less by Patel.