The Last Airbender TV Spot

A new TV spot got my attention, and I am certainly glad I watched this.



After seeing this I took note of a few things.

Still haven't seen much with Patel's Zuko character, but he really evokes the presence of Zuko. He really does, and Zuko's presence was emphasized in the show quite a bit.

From :32 to :39 we get to see one on one bending a little bit more, and while Aang vs Zuko is too short; Katara vs Zuko was really awe inspiring. Patel's execution is really something, and Nicola Peltz as Katara...

She's been like the only worry to me, in terms of embodying her character she seemed more like a supporting character than the care taking individual from the show. That scene with her fighting Zuko ("I won't let you take him") gives me more confidence in her. Once again she seems to have trouble delivering on lines, but that one scene leads me to believe that they just edit her into the trailer badly. I think they edit her lines for "promotional" effect for the movie.

at :40, we see them on Appa. That blew me away, the fact that they were flying on Appa. The detail on just his fur looked so, wow I don't have a word for it. How much is Appa going to be in this movie? I'm really curious. If i'm mistaken, do I also see Momo on the left of Katara? It's probably her arm, and this scene probably starts toward the episodes before Momo even comes in. Would Shayamalan even put Momo in the movie?

at :50, is that Aang? If that is, Ringer has a scratchy voice. Not saying anything bad by that, but I am used to the voice of Zach Tyler Eisen in the show.

July 2nd release eh? I don't know if they told us this in earlier trailers, but this is a decent place to release it.

I am even more excited for this movie, between more confidence in Nicola Peltz, the bigger role Appa seems to be playing, and the bending. This is a movie that now could be great or a beautiful yet tragic failure.

Shayamalan, you better be on your top game.

The Last Airbender Full Trailer

The full trailer finally surfaced, and my god it looks great.

Notes about the trailer

Character wise Rathbone as Sokka looks pretty good, Nicola Peltz as Katara seems a bit younger than the show. Katara did look a bit older than Aang and certainly sounded older, but here they are about even in terms of age and maturity. At one point you can hear Aang screaming, and with that I’m hoping they keep the innocent feel to Aang. Someone who hands him a big responsibility he has no choice but to hold, I was afraid Shayamalan would make it too stiff serious like some of his movies are. Nope, looks like he is listening to the creators. I know Brian Koneitsko and Michael Dimartino are Executive Producers, but they clearly are overseeing this movie more than other producers with Executive credit do.

When they designed Aangs tattoos I wasn’t sure how they’d go about it. I thought it would just look silly, the peeks at his airbender tattoo’s designs are pretty damn cool.

The visuals of the iceberg scene, the skulls littered around the air temples, and the temples themselves once again make me very excited. If the creators are doing one thing right as executive producers, its ensuring that Industrial Light and Magic as well as production values are staying true to the flavor of the show. Where things are different from the show such as the designs for Aang’s tattoos is where the clear differences the movie should have from the show. Big bold blue lines all over Aang would have just looked silly for a movie that REALLY is trying to be the first cool Nick movie. This is being produced by Frank Marshall’s company, and they know production values from all the Steven Spielberg movies they’ve handled.

I want to personally mention Dev Patel as Zuko, Slumdog Millionaire didn’t appeal to me as much as it does to others. However Patel was able to give a genuine appearance in terms of his character, delivery is one thing in an actor. The interesting thing about Dev Patel is that in terms of facial expression and the presence he exudes is so believable, and in the trailer I could believe he is the prince of the Fire Nation. He didn’t even say lines, and I totally see him as Zuko. Many complain about his scar being not as “overbearing” on his eye like in the show, I find that argument a bit silly. Once again animation is different from live action in key areas, and a scar on an eye in the style of the animated show would be pretty damn distracting. When Dev Patel is suiting up at 1:04, the movie reminded me of a scene in the show when he’s suiting up for episode 1. YAY more homaging.

The actor for Iroh, which was a great character in the show seems like another personal mention because this trailer is the first time we see him, the Fire Lord and so many others. I even distinctly heard Katara’s grandma at the end. The casting is just looking so good, but I was afraid they would miscast Iroh. Doesn’t look like it, I’m pumped.

Overall, the movie is looking so good. And while it isn’t quite anime, this is a clear lesson for the idiots who made Dragonball Evolution and adaptions in general that you need competent directors, you need to really understand the characters, and so many other things that seem to go right for this movie.

The bending, the casting, the story, the visuals, all look like the people involved in the show gave their two cents about the movie. Could this movie be M. Night Shayamalan’s greatest work? If it critically scores well , it is going to be a BIG BIG BIG talking point. I could probably see a special long podcast for this movie.

Wow, even Princess Uwe (spelling?) makes an appearance. How long is this movie? It's packed with soo much stuff from the show.

The Last Airbender TV Spot

I thought they were supposed to keep a lid on these TV spots? Lol.

Oh man, this movie looks good.

Nickelodeon acquires TMNT

While looking for news, I came across an article concerning two things I never thought would go together. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Nickelodeon.

I kid you not, Nickelodeon plans to make a CG animated series of TMNT, and have even provided a premiere year of 2012. I loved Nickelodeon as a kid, but the lineup they have today is quite pathetic compared with the 90's. Sure there are some bright spots like Avatar: the Last Airbender, but most shows have dumbed down and former fans like me see how lost Nickelodeon is. Want a perfect example of why I think this way? watch any of the live action shows and you'll probably be as frustrated as I am how bad they are and how many there are.

Although, acquiring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that is just something I would never expect. Is it a bad thing? not necessarily, because it can't be worse than how 4KIDS handled it. They ruin pretty much EVERYTHING they touch, so in a way it is an improvement. Can Nickelodeon, a chunk of my life when I was growing up, make TMNT as good as it should be like the last movie. The 2007 film surprised me, and I liked it. Let's hope Nickelodeon doesn't mess this up, they talk about the comedy aspect when explaining their buying of the franchise rights. That's okay because the movie had its shares of laughs too, but let's hope they don't milk the franchise and bring a good show to their network. I say this because today they don't really put effort to make shows as good as they used to, or at least allow some creativity, lets hope that changes.