"Avatar: The Last Airbender," Nickelodeon's show that ran from 2005 to 2008, is my favorite television series of all-time.
Not just animation, my favorite show in all television.
It might be my favorite form of visual media of all-time.
It may even be my favorite form of art ever.
It might be my favorite thing to have ever been existed ever.
I believe that every town or village in the world with a population of at least 100 should have a tribute to the show such as a statue, plaque, or bust.
For those who have lived under a rock the past 13 years: "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is an epic saga in a world where some people have the power to bend one of the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. The only person in the world, the Avatar, has the power to use all four elements and bring balance to the world. Avatar Aang is a 12-year-old boy who lives in frozen solitude for 100 years as the Fire Nation wage war on the other nations and takes over the world. With only his friends Sokka, Katara, and Toph, Aang has little time to master all four elements and defeat Fire Lord Ozai.
I like to describe it as "Stars Wars" and "Harry Potter" in a world inspired by Asian culture and spiritual mythologies.
Which is why when I heard that Netflix will be producing a live-action series version of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" I thought just one thing:
They.
Better.
Get.
It.
Right.
They better get it right with respect to the original masterpiece, and with a refreshing and compelling vision that would make fans want to binge-watch the show. They need to do the following:
1. Maintain the spell-binding visuals and choreography that made the original series legendary.
2. Be consistent with the chemistry, character development, and comedy relief that made the "Avatar" characters immortal.
3. Expand and capitalize on the vast universe and lore in the show that's too good for a Nickelodeon and, quite frankly, too good for Netflix.
4. With ignorance to that 2010 experiment, some call a feature film by M. Night Shyamalan (Even though I still support M. Night because he's a local Philadelphian who does a great job representing the city in his other films.).
5. With a genuinely authentic casting of every character in the series and accurate representation of the ethnicity and culture they're based on. In other words, no white-washing again!
Now to be fair, "The Last Airbender" movie came out nearly a decade ago. Although the controversy behind a white-washed cast became one of its downfalls, it'd be even MORE DISASTROUS if they tried that today.
Thankfully, times have changed well enough for the entertainment industry to know that white-washing would be bad for business.
Even more good fortune: the creators of the original animated series Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko will be overseeing the production of the show.
Now with a chance to right the wrong of 2010 and bring the legend to life, Netflix better not let this opportunity wasted again.
And who knows? If this show is good, maybe they can do a live-action adaption "The Legend of Korra"!
Good luck Netflix, you've been warned...
Yip-Yip!
