M. Night Shyamalan has been shooting “
The Last Airbender” for the last few months and it already has a lot of early buzz, even though it's not scheduled to hit theaters until July of next summer.
Shyamalan's upcoming movie is based on the hit Nickelodeon cartoon series “
Avatar: The Last Airbender.” “Avatar” is being dropped from the title in favor of just “The Last Airbender” so as to avoid the confusion with James Cameron's movie “Avatar.”
The film is set in a fantasy world where the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire can be controlled through martial arts called bending, and the ruthless flame-manipulating Fire Nation is waging war to control the other nations of the world. /
enlarge images below/
At the same time a young boy named Aang, the last surviving wind manipulator or Airbender and is also the Avatar, the physical incarnation of the world itself who possesses the ability to manipulate all four elements, is on a quest to stop the Firebenders and save the world, with his friends Katara, a water-manipulating Waterbender from the South Pole, and her brother Sokka. But the skilled and vicious Prince Zuko, the banished Prince of the Fire Nation, is on the trail of the Avatar, seeking to regain his lost honor by capturing him.
Shyamalan has found a very young cast for his film.
Noah Ringer, a 12-year-old first-time actor from Texas, will take on the lead role as Aang, the Avatar (the spirit of the planet manifested in human form), the last surviving Airbender and a monk of the Air Nomads, a race of people with the unique ability to manipulate the air around them. He is assigned with the task of keeping the Four Nations at peace.
Dev Patel, “
Slumdog Millionaire” star, who replaced
Jesse McCartney, stars as the evil prince Zuko.
Jackson Rathbone (
Twilight's Jasper Hale) plays Aang's friend Sokka, a warrior of the South Pole's Southern Water Tribe, a race of people who can control and manipulate water.
Nicola Peltz has been cast as Sokka's fourteen-year-old sister Katara.
Jessica Jade Andres will play the Earth Kingdom's rep named Suki and
Shaun Toub stars as Uncle Iroh.
Shyamalan is planning to develop a trilogy of Airbender films, with this first one hitting theaters on July 2nd, 2010.
Sweet Looks good so far. Scar is my only complaint.
The scar is there its just not as rediculous as it was in the show.
It's now just a scar. He was burnt in a duel.
Any worse and it would have looked like TwoFace.
Well its not like he hit his eye on the stove or something… (It looks like its just a black eye) His face got hit with a huge burst of flame… his dad Ozai wasn’t going easy on him. Plus the two face look is supposed to be a symbolic image of the good and evil inside him.
And does anyone else think the fire nation helmets look too much like spartan helmets? This is NOT SPARTA!!!
It should be a bit more noticeable, at least, but the scar is there. My only real complaint is Zuko's hair. The cutting of his pony tail is a pretty important thing at the beginning of Book 2, and he doesn't have that right now. But still, looking forward to it. Dev will do an amazing job.
This is an Asian based mythology and all the main characters are identified as:
Aang: based on Shaolin and Tibetan Monks.
Katara and Sokka: Inuit/Yupik society.
Zuko : Imperial Chinese/Japanese Mythos.
Paramount Studios decided to make it “Diverse” and cast all main leads with White Caucasian Actors. The extras were cast with Asians.
Dev Patel now plays a character who was originally the palest in the show and he will be running around in an outfit reminiscent of Imperial Japan. As it is, he looks like a Thuggee cultist from Temple of Doom.
We have ended up with the unfortunate situation of the Heroes all being Caucasian and the main Villains played by Actors who are either Indian or look Middle-Eastern.
Asian American groups such MANAA and East West Players have now joined with the protests over the White washing and what we have now termed, Racebending, of the film.
Please visit these sites to learn more and research before writing another article concerning this racist film.
http://aang-aint-white.livejournal.com/646.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/racebending
http://racebending.com/
Thats just ridiculous! I am against any form of Racisim but the show is on Nickelodeon and is initially aimed at the audiance of children and tweens or what not… They don't care about race and they sure as hell won't care about it in the movie…
Unfortunately, that’s not how the world works. Children are the most influential age group out there. And the fact that we live in a society that has a natural predisposition to doing this kind of a separation between races only sets them up for a racist based mind set (And no, I’m not necessarily stating that they’re going to want to go around lynching everyone, but they’re definitely going to have prejudice against different groups, White = Good, Everyone else = pretty shady). It may sound silly, but everyone has their prejudices, whether or not you want to admit it. And trying to create a culture that accepts this diversity since it’s the BASIS of this country isn’t really going to happen any time soon.
I’m sure some people might think that this is too much of a big deal over a kids movie, but there are people who are older who fell in love with the show (i.e. me, and various other people, as it wouldn’t have become such a hit if it were just kids who fell for it), that are going to be taking serious notice. And to be perfectly honest, it was very obvious that pretty much no one in that show was meant to be white. Avatar is one of those rare gems that comes around where you can really take a hold of your own creativity and make it into something Amazing. And what we have here is someone who’s fallen into the typical archetypes and butchered the richness of it.
if you like the cartoon then you should be glad that they are acctually making a movie. dont try and stop movie supporters over one tiny thing. oh and i agree with M-H.
till now it doesnt look bad….
but my two complains are aangs arrow and zukos scar!!
As with many other adaptations of animated works, one of the most important elements seems to be the characters, more so than any other detail. The fans of the Dragonball series knew the movie was going to fail as soon as they saw the cast list. The fans of the Star Trek series were generally far more possitive when they saw who would be playing their beloved characters.
Now… Which senario seems more like Airbenders?
There is a large and active group of people, who have contacted and have the support of MANAA and other professional groups which support Asian actors and actresses, who feel that the casting of the Airbender movie was an incident of racism. The addition of Dev Patel to the cast, fixes nothing, as now the movie seems to be about an imperialistic dark skinned nation commiting genocide and other heinous crimes against smaller tribes of lighter skinned peoples.
And this is aimed a children…
can't you put the CARTOON characters on here?! for avatar's sake I'm making a project for my favourite cartoon and I NEED CARTOON PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can find plenty on these sites.
http://community.livejournal.com/racebending/
racebending.com
Studies have already shown that children do learn about race from an early age.
[youtube xGDMevuZZVM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGDMevuZZVM youtube]
Here's a video, but others exist.
This film will have a Barbie Katara.
Oh come the hell on people.
Who gives a damn about the race.
I myself am of Asian heritage and you're only fuelling racism by making a big deal out of it.
Don't make the bloody separation between races at all and just enjoy the movie.
Shyamalan is of Indian ancestry. Wanna accuse him of being racist against Asians?
It's racist to insist on a particular colour of skin, including Asians.
I'm positive Shyamalan picked them based on their acting abilities.
Now get over this pathetic debate.
And by the way. Zuko is not a villain.
He's confused.
Whoever made the racebending website shouldnt' stamp villain all over his face.
Those of us who have seen the series know he turns out to be one of the noblest characters.
And your whining about all this is just doing nothing except making you angry.
A tiny minority of die-hard avatar fans are going to whine… you racebending campaigners comprise the tiniest minority. The normal cinema-going audiences won't care. You guys are taking this way too seriously.
I REALLY HATE THE CASTING IN THIS MOVIE, They should have use asians for the fire nation people, SPECIALLY ZUKO the director here sucks BIG TIME
By the way Dev Patel is of Indian origin and therefore something to do with Asian. I guess you would have meant ‘Oriental’ or rather Chinese orgin. I couldn’t agree less (if that’s what you meant). I prefer a more Oriental looking actor for Zuko.
Then I mean Oriental or Chinese origin it definitely will suit the character rander than Dev Patel, I really hate the casting of this movie… Isn’t the indian role would be better if it was katara and soka.., damn the driectors!
I love the cartoon, hate the racebending. Forget this movie, it’s going to bomb anyway.
Honestly I think Dev Patel would have been better playing Sokka because Sokka is the more tan character in the show, and the actor playing Sokka probably would have even been better for Zuko even though they probably could have found a much better fit. But since Dev Patel is playing Zuko apparently his scar should definately be more visible and his hair needs to fixed because the ponytail was a very imported aspect in the show.
The kid playin Aang is scary looking!
OMG i love avatar i can’t believe they are making a movie from it and all the guys in the movie are CUTE! : D
I absolutely loved the cartoon and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the preview for the movie, but I’ve got to say, I’m disappointed with the casting. Nobody looks like the cartoon characters at all. If I didn’t already know who they were supposed to be, I never would have guessed. They wrecked Zuko!!!!! :(
Aang looks ugly and why jasper?
I got hooked on the show because my kids started making me watch, and I am 43. I think there are three aspects of the show that must remain intact, or this movie will fail:
1. The story. The movie must stay true to the story line. If this changes the movie will fail, because those of us who know the plots will sink it on web quick fast and in a hurry.
2. The characters. The movie must remain true to the characters as presented in the cartoon. Any deviation is suicide. Aang’s arrow must be blue, more visible. Zuko’s scar and haircut (ponytail) must be made to be correct.
3. Hair color. If there is one blond character, other than Uwe in this movie it will fail, because then it will be seen as pandering to a caucasian audience. (no I am not race baiting this is just the facts).
With that said I hate the trailer, and more than likely not pay to see the movie unless my children drag me. From what I see it is not going to be true to the cartoon’s story line. I can tell, because they are making Aang a 10 year old, and he is 12 or 112 depending on how you look at it.
Greg
S’not Shyamalan’s fault, he chose great characters so shut your faces. He wasn’t given much to work with in the first place. Avatar is an AMERICAN born and bred cartoon. People are just so uptight about racism these days. Why can’t people just get over themselves? I personally think Aang is adorable. It sounds like Shyamalan’s doing the best he can, so give him some slack. Shut up about how you’re upset because the cast is mostly white. We’re all God’s children and we’re ALL beautiful. No CHILD is going to care about racial issues going into making the movie. All they’re going to care about is getting to see their hero Aang, and have a chance to believe he, and his fantasy world, are real. You want to take that away just because the cartoon is a white AMERICAN-cartoon?
Has anyone but me noticed that nowadays, nobody notices when a hero/heroes of a movie are black or Mexican or Indian or asian or whatever, but the ONE time a director casts a WHITE HERO because the characters the movie is based off of are WHITE, all hell breaks loose? What? It’s not racist as long as there’s never a white hero? And when there is, the most favorable character is of a different race? If you ask me, EVERYONE’s reaction to the CAST is RACIST.
Who cares whether someone is white, Asian, black, Mexican, Indian or whatever… You shouldn’t. Children don’t. If only every human could share the faith, ignorance, and acceptance of a child’s heart. I do, and I’m an adult. My best friends are Mexican, and I think black people are awesome. I love Asians: they’re culture is interesting and they have awesome food. Indians make the coolest art and their homeland is beautiful.
I’m the one white weirdo in my crowd full of multi-racial friends and I’m proud of it.
No CHILD cares that EVERYONE in the CARTOON is WHITE, so STICK THAT IN YOUR JUICEBOX and SUCK IT!!!
That’s all fine and dandy but none of the characters are white. Even their cultures are influenced by Asian cultures that we see today.
But boy, oh boy, do I love hear people justify their stance by counting how many minority friends they have. That’s always a representation of an open mind. Because, you know, if race means nothing to you, you’re totally going to keep track of how many of your friends are mexican/black/etc (and I’m sorry. What? Black people are awesome? What kind of statement is that? all you’re doing is portraying a different kind of ignorance).
Applause!
Question? What kind of WHITE KID HAS THE NAME AANG?!?!?!?!?!?!
and since when did JASPER HALE get the name SOKKA?!?!?!?!?!?
thats right, bitch. you suck it.
Wow you’re mature. IT’S AN AMERICAN CARTOON
What does it being American have to do with anything? Does American mean, by default, white now? Because last I checked, we were a melting pot of multiple cultures. But hey, I could be wrong.
“No CHILD cares that EVERYONE in the CARTOON is WHITE, so STICK THAT IN YOUR JUICEBOX and SUCK IT!!!”
“Wow you’re mature. IT’S AN AMERICAN CARTOON”
Carrie’s words. Not mine.
Please, read what you’ve posted and really absorb it.
Read Slowly…
And as sarcastic as you tried to make one statement sound, you didn’t notice the actual negativity subtly implied.
“I’m the one white WEIRDO in my crowd full of multi-racial friends and I’m proud of it.”
I’m happy the multi racial kids gets their white friend, the weirdo who truly sees the racism of other whites. Thank you for being a martyr and sticking up for the non-white kids. It isn’t your fault. Race relations in our country haven’t been the best. We will all learn.
Posts submitted by Dev-Gina, is the one who should’ve hung by his balls, pulled his head from under to seperate his balls from his body. Because this fuck**g guy is the dirtiest and racist bastard i have ever known. Guys, read his comments and you would love to burn him alive. Seriously, if u dont like it, zip ur fucki**g lip and don’t see the movie, instead of making a racist comment and a big deal out of it..Don’t you have any stripping to do or something. Sorry for using fowl language, its cuz of these kinda bastards, people like me turn arrogant. Even me, i would’ve preffered Jesse McCartney by his looks, i didn’t make a big deal outta it. AND I AM AN INDIAN, but i feel that jesse is better then Dev Patel (INDIAN) and i didn’t get pissed off. I’m sure that the movie will turn out OK………………….Seriously, be amazed by element bending and the Visual effects rather than being considerate about race….. Sorry for my language again..
So what if the series is American in the sense that it was created here in America by American producers?! The point is that even the creators who were white purposely made the setting Asian themed fantasy world with an Asian based mythos as well as Asian characters!!
This talk about “race not mattering” is B.S and those of you repeating this know it!
Because what would you think if say a European themed fantasy saga like Lord of the Rings if produced into a movie would have an Asian lead or predominant cast??! Those of you read the books or are familiar with the story know damn well that it would make NO DAMN SENSE! Yet we are to accept an Asian saga produced into a movie with a white leading cast??!
people who think that race is not an issue here might want to reconsider something called reality..of course its an issue. thats why tom cruise was the “last samurai”…when i first heard about this movie, i already knew that it would be filled by white actors..so there was no surprise when my assumptions were validated…
its what makes money….nobody wants to see some asian kid up there..they want to see something that they can relate to…white..white..white..
if you already didn’t know this..then you’re an idiot..
personally, i take offense to crap movies like this…so if you have a problem with it…like I….don’t waste your 10.50 on it…just watch it for free online…thats what i plan on doin
First I want to say that my name is ROmina and I’m form a country from latino america called Chile. When I discover the avatar I instantly fell in love with it, I suffer with Zuko and Aang, and it really caught my attention that it was a work sooooo well done. In a interview the creators were talking about how the storyline came up because they liked the Asian culture, and in the show we could see how everything was inspired in that, but can we really state that the characters were Asian? last time I checked the story was developed in a fantasy world were people could use bend, where the world map is a square divided in four and if you are from a nation you have to dress with a particular color!! I belive it was done that way so that everybody could relate to, so that everybody could have the hope of being a bender and eventually marry Zuko or something like that (XD, did I mention I’m 21?) and besides if we say: “oh! WE want Asians for the movie, white people shouldn’t be there” wouldn’t that be racism as well? (and in more than a way!) I been hoping for this movie, and for it success, shouldn’t we all pray for that? even more if you are a fan of Avatar! I belive we all want to enjoy this movie so let’s stop this racism nonsense so the creators can concentrate and give us a worthwhile movie. (Really long XD) I would really like to hear what Dimartino or Ehasz thinks about all this racism thing….
I love how racism runs rampant in our world with serious issues left and right, and no one gives a shit till their cartoon characters don’t have the perfect skin tones. Hollywood has been biased for years, and no one seems to care until a Nick cartoon gets it wrong? There’s bigger things to worry about then your fandom.
Also, the characters aren’t from Earth. Hence they can’t possibly be “Asian” any more then the could possibly be “English” or “Swedish”, and there’s a lot more to think about when casting characters then just that (Acting ability, salary requirement, skills which would be highly important in a film of martial arts, availability, name recognition, etc etc.) Yeah, the casting director should have gone the extra step to find a much more diverse cast, but it’s also not like casting is the simplest thing in the world. Why not, when kids ask why so and so skin isn’t dark enough, take this as a chance to educate them on these issue in a way they can relate to. Saying “The film company’s racist so we’re boycotting.” will probably not teach them anywhere near as much as taking them to see it and then having a long talk about culture and racism on their level if they notices. Just, you know, don’t leave it up to a cartoon to teach your kids these things.
Yo, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Those are excellent points and ones I think everyone should think about before shouting about racism. Personally I think M. Night isn’t recieveing enough credit for all he’s doing for the fans of Avatar. Then there are those who are unhappy because ‘Blank isn’t attractive, ‘Oh the scar isn’t like the one in the cartoon’, ‘Oh it doesn’t look like the cartoon, that character is nothing like…’ Well big surprise but, it’s not the cartoon. There’s a reason there’s a difference. They already know they have the fan base who are dearly devoted to the series. (I’m sure true fans will see it no matter what they feel unhappy about now, which is what, a couple of still photos and one trailer? Actors and actresses we’ve yet to give a chance? Unbelievable). But since they have the fans they’re going to reach out to a larger audience. Those who are unaware of the cartoon, who are discovering the world of Avatar through a movie, they’re going to appeal to those people as well. And that just might make the movie a little different than the cartoon.
Oh and by the way I thought the DB live action was pretty good for a low budget film.
Will there be anthoer one.Who ever is playing Zoku you don’t look like him that much.But all of the other people look the same. PS.Big fane of ange kartar touf souk maie.
before you guys denouce the casting you need to really do your research. you guys will find, that the casting was sadly intentional…it’s a shame that this cannot be discussed outside the internet widely.
they should fix the scar on his face.make it more red. aangs scar should be more of a bluish color. and that kid does not look like aang at all.i can mind that though but wh the hell is he wearing a cape? i dont understand
they should fix the scar on aangs head! it should be all design and stuff it should be the normal blue! there should be asians as the fire nation! there should be a better director for this movie! i dont think the workers on this movie have done there research! zuko doesn’t even look like zuko… zuko is confused and the casting in this movie really sucks! I HATE IT! the race shouldn’t matter cause every1 is saying it should! it shouldn’t! i just think the director should have done his research! i dont think this movie is going to be as good as it should be!
I dont care if it’s white black or asian, but where’s the rest of the characters? and prince Zuko’s face isnt fawked up enough, aang looks 9 yrs old and not 12, and his arrows arent blue enough! ughs! I wouldve made a better director.
“but the ONE time a director casts a WHITE HERO because the characters the movie is based off of are WHITE, all hell breaks loose?”
What?
The characters in Avatar aren’t white, so you point holds no weight. They are, at least, of ambiguous racial heritage (or none at all). If anything, they’re most closely connected to Native American and Asian peoples. Whites of the ilk that play the main characters in the Avatar movie do not have the same cultural heritages. They are EUROPEAN. THAT IS IT. They ruined this movie like they did DBZ. People who think this isn’t important can just shut up if they truly think as such. If they don’t care either way, then they have no reason to submit or oppose. I’m sorry but this isn’t some Euro Flick, this is Avatar. And Americans =/= White.
The actors/actresses currently in the movie are Americans, but they are also white and therein LIES the problem.
This shit is going 2 fucking suck…. white people steal & destroy everything. And fuck you if u think im racist 4 this comment im just saying what no body else had the balls 2 say!!!
all you people that say”what is an asian played superman” and shit like that..my response is that i wouldnt care. i would still see a superman movie if superman was asian. they changed green lantern to black in the cartoon and no one cared. you people have to get an open mind about things. i mean would you rather have a look alike with bad acting or and actor that could actualy act like the character
it better be good or u but it looks pretty good so for now ill give it a a+
i truly believe m.night should have made the movie the way the cartoon is seen on tv. afterall it is the children that has everyone lookig forward to seeing the movie,and m. night should have catered to the children(making the characters like the ones on tv).children notice everything,and are smart enough to know when things are different from what they have seen on tv.(thanks to all the wonderful noggin shows)so the movie may or maynot bomb. it’s just funny how grownups make things about them, when THEY ARE NOT!
Hello??? The scar in the show was NOT ridiculous it was realistic… he got torched in the face!
Everyone should calm down about the race thing because ang is supposed to be european lookking zuko asian and so on and as far as the other people they probably just picked the people with the best acting they probably couldn’t find some people of the races that they wanted who could act and if you’ve seen the commercial it looks pretty awesome.
i think what they did was to put a distinction in the characters depending on what nation you belong to. For the fire nation, if you looked closely most are like of indian descent. While those of earth kingdom, are the ones of chinese descent.
Check out the casting for yourself @ this site.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938283/fullcredits
I think theyre trying to put some distinction since they really cant place the color differences that the cartoon has. (air-yellow, water-blue, earth-green, fire-red)
Although i agree that some aspects must be retained like Zuko’s “ponytail” and also Aang’s tattoos. (but i think theyre making it bland so when it glows when he first goes into avatar state then it will be very obvious)
And some characters are still not here because this is just the first chapter. Toph will e introduced in the 2nd chapter and Azula will have a very minor role here.
Hope the movie does well because i liked the cartoon series.
Sorry for the long post. =)
the racebending campaign is a joke. if apparently the MANNA organization is pissed off or against the casting, why didin’t they campain for asians to be casted beforehand. I see no evidence, what so ever of racism at all. the voice cast is not completely comprised of asians how is that any different. Also, am i wrong here, but is it not racist to complain about white people as well. P.S. Dragonball had a crappy EVERYTHING includinga sorry budget, not this movie.
Some people say that children won’t care about the strange casting, but what about those darker skin girls that are proud that they look like katara or those asian boys who were proud to share a heritage with Zuko? Kids arn’t stupid and will notice that their favorite cartoon characters don’t look at all familiar.
For us older folks the races portrayed in the cartoon were even more significant. Different races and cultures fighting is not something out of a fairy tale…the inspiring story of these very different people and races coming together, working together and bringing peace to the world is a message we want our children to understand and grow up with. I believe that this is why people are getting so worked up about the casting. Changing the races and confusing the cultures does change the story.
In one scene Zuko cuts his ponytail off to show his remorse. As adults we understand this powerful gesture. It’s these moments that set The Avatar apart from other cartoons. Although our kids may not get it, there is a powerful message there, and in many of the aspects of this movie. I just hope that in the end they won’t lose too much of the story.
im a huge fan, and from looking at this for five seconds, i can see a lot of things wrong. wuts up with ang’s arrow, why does zuko hav hair, why does ang look serious, why is zuko not pale, he looks indian. this is infuriating
ppl have there own opnions and such, thats jus how the world is,but seriously tho, ppl that want every little thing to b perfect in the movie jus so that they can see the serious in real life. thats jus a waste of money. that jus wants everything in the movie jus like the main series, jus dont buy the ticket and instead use the money on the Avatar: TLA dvd and forget about the movie. but if u really lik avatar alot then watch it for your interest dnt care about wat other ppl say its wat u want.
They could have used an Asian Actor because the kids I see from there more look more like Aang.
When they do the scene’s for lines they could have used takes so when they spoke Enlgish, Chinese, Asian and more they won’t have to do dubbing. Still keep the coulter in it.
Sorry for my spelling for the word coulter!
its a movie nerds all of you stop crying seriously if you dont want things to change keep watching the cartoons.his arrows not blue enough his scar isnt red enough blah blah its a movie based on the cartoon not the cartoon itself.If you dont like what they look like dont watch it plain and simple stop crying about it
The director had to make a few changes to the cartoon to make it more suitable for an action movie. A straight blue arrow tattoo would have looked kind of strange… The new design of the arrows is, i think, very complimentary to the Avatar state, as each inidividual swirl / line will glow, and might make for a much more aesthetically pleasing effect. Zuko’s, and other fire nation soldiers’ ponytails have been substituted with ponytail features on the helmets. I agree though, Zuko’s scar SHOULD be more prominent, as it acts as his reminder and punishment through the cartoon. Even still, everyone should just be happy that they’re actually making an Avatar movie!!
omg i wanna see this movie so badly
I am so excited about the movie! I wish this cite showed pics of Sokka and Katara and Toph. I agree with those who think Zuko’s scar could be a tad darker. But Aang’s arrow is realistic for the movie. Does and one know where i could find pics of Sokka, Katara, and Toph?
we’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t think these photos are “official final” photos. Maybe they plan to darken the mark where his scar is with computer technology? (I would hope so)
Still, its just a whole sit back and wait to see what happens. I’ll judge more when I see a longer and more detailed trailer.
I really think u guys need to get over yourselves. The CREATORS of the show are involved and if they dont care that the cast is white why are u pitching a fit? Yes the movie itself has its flaws but why judge it already cos of wat colour the actors are? I mean seriously a white guy played ghandi and he was brilliant. Stop lookin for racism where there is none. And children learn about racism early cos people like u wont let it go. Im south african. 15 years of democracy we still talk about racism, cant we forget about the colour of peoples skin at last and just live. Seriously life is too short to get this angry over a movie.
And guys, the demographic is 6 – 11. Do u really think a 6 year old can handle a proper half face burn? Its all well and good animated but real burnt flesh not so easy on the eyes for the kids. Lighten up
Im not one to be racist…I dont care if their Asian or white or black or blue!!! It dosent really matter to me. Im 14 and have loved avatar ever since I first saw it…I love it and would hate to see them screw it up, but I really doubt they can make EVERYONE HAPPY…If they change all the actors to white people the people who want asians will hate it and if they change all the actors to asians theres gonna be people mad about that too…I think we can all agree the show is better and WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER…because thats what everyone is used to…but lets just be happy with the actors they picked…as long as they stick to the charaters and can get the peosonalitys correct, im happy…
ugh…
this movie is not racists, my goodness, how can this be racist, if they have an indian,and asian well atleast one i guess but, they said that they have many people from different race in this movie , how would that be racists, also they are (not) racists because they are not saying anything bad or insulting to someon’s race :P
i think this film will turn out great, veeeeeerrrrry awesome!! awesome!! awesome!!
ive seen noah’s fighting skills in weapons he won first place in tournament, fight skills also,he’s very talented haha soooo ya!
im sooooooooo EXCITED FOR THIS!!!!!
OH YEAH AND THE CREATORS THAT (CREATED) AVATAR ARE HELPING M.NIGHT PRODUCE THIS FILM SO THAT HELPS ALOT!!
ok first off, the character playing Aang is ok, but Dev, should be playing Sokka, and Jasper should be playing Zuko, and where the hell iS Toph?, she’s an important role in the show she should be in the movie as well!
i think this is going to be a great movie hell with the race who was the peson to say they were sopose to be asin and if they was it just a movie so stop your winning! fuck.
where is Toph?????
Toph will appear in the sequel
mannn wat da fuk yaw tawkin bout dis muvi bout to go haard
the water tribe suits need to be BLUE. Were is katara? Were is momo and appa? They better not look dumb.
best movie of 2010..
ZUKO IS UGLY.
o and the bald kid is scary!!!
maybe you shouldnt watch the movie just incase you get nightmares!
Well, I see alot of racist chat but not one person pointing out that in the cartoon, Katara has caucasian features. (IE large, blue eyes, lower set cheekbones, Brown wavy hair as opposed to darker, thick, staight hair) As typical with most anime, heroes possess larger eyes and “white” features, where villians tend to have eyes set at a closer to normal or smaller size to give a more sinister appearance. And YES, THE BURN SCAR SHOULD BE MORE PROMINENT.
Ugh. Cosplayers look more like the characters than these people. I bet they could act better, too.
This Pissed me off. Im not racist, or anything.
I personally think the actors will ruin the movie.
Katara is supposed to be an angelic girl, and Nicola Peltz doesn’t look like her at all. Neither does Dev Patel to Zuko, i think Jessie would’ve been a much better choice. Even aang looks ridiculous. Why can’t they just use the animated characters,i want to see the sequel to the ending of my favorite tv show.
This is regrading the racism on the movie…..In short i am doing my theis on racism and media..also on how it effects american culture. If you look at all movies, cartoons specially disney. The heroes tend to be the caucasian and the villains or comedic relief is of another race mainly dark skin. Look at aladdin, he was suppose to be meiddle eastern why does he has caucasoid features? Then look at the ones who are the villains, why do they look that way and don’t have caucasoid features? I remember in my undergrad i took a class that showed us all of these movies and cartoons and it pointed out these themes. Look at commercials you will always find an asian person with electronics, whites with a complete family, blacks with just on parent, they are dancing or doing some sort of entetainment. Hispanics are shown in a service position or with an imcomplete family. These things exist racism is still there in different forms. Most of the people that think others use it as an excuse are ignorant and should open their eyes. Please before answering look at what racism is….The dominating race will always try to keep minority race down in order to keep what they view as balance
Wow, for those shouting no harm its just a movie tell that to the little black girls who continue to choose the white doll instead of the one that looks like them.
If this wasn’t such an issue then we wouldn’t need four white actors in the lead hero roles.
Wow, all this debate of racism in this movie. This is a movie intended to be set in an alternate reality where people control the basic elements of the earth through martial arts. How are we able to suspend our disbelief of the impossibility of a twelve year old who can literally bend the laws of science in a world with six legged flying bison and a political structure that is categorized through what basic impossibility you are apt to perform rather than the more realistic socio-political norm we experience in our world and yet still somehow have the suspicion that M. Night was sitting there twirling his bad guy mustache and thinking to himself “hmmm, I wonder how I can get around casting asians in this movie as the hero (what a twist!)”
Here’s the reality of movie making: Though you have a director whose primary job is, well, directing, there are literally hundreds of people working on this project and making it into the final cut it will be released as for your entertainment. Do you know why the people who were picked for the roles were picked? Because they auditioned with many other people and the casting director felt they were best for the role or because the director of photography felt an attribute or an ability they have would come across better on a screen for your viewing pleasure.
If you don’t like the casting or are offended, don’t pay the money to see the movie.
If you just feel the need to get fired up over a cause, go donate some time at a local homeless shelter or work with disabled children. Go be a big brother or a big sister and make a difference in an individuals life and stop wasting time trying to feel superior about your opinion, via the internet, about the social ramification of a fantasy movie about the impossible.
Thanx beango. you are correct and i also tell people who discredit the movie that its their problem and they shouldnt turn new fans away
I was excited to see the trailer, was like way !
But the first thing that stood out is the arrow on aang, is the makeup artist blind ? Maybe the makeup artist will play toph. Hope they make fixes or at least try to make the characters more to look like their cartoon counterparts.
Sadly it seems that this movie will just be another Dragon Ball, not only is the cast horrible but M. Night is a horrible director. This great cartoon which captivated children and adults alike is going to get butchered. I doubt he’ll get approval for a second movie let alone a whole trilogy.
Replace the entire cast as well as the director with let’s say Peter Jackson and then we’ll have a good movie until then this movie is going to bomb!
I’m going to sabatage his movie I will blow them away by 2011 by killing all the actors and actresses I want to see the movie fail I will blow up all the studios causing chaos among people.
dis movie sucs
its so very good i like avatar so i let my hair nothing
If people actually payed attention they would know that the movie is inspired by the show NOT a copy. The director has said that they are making the different races instead of like the origanal cartoon which is why the water tribe is white, the earth kingdom is of asian descent and the fire nation are of asian descent. I know that people are concerned that their favorite show is being destroyed but people should realize that many cartoons and tv shows have been remade into movies and were pretty decent. The reason that Zuko’s scar and aang’s arrow do not look right is because in the cartoonthey were darkened to emphisis them and if you have seen a close-up of aang’s arrow it actually has a very intricate and beautiful design. Zuko’s ponytail may be gone but all of the fire nation helmets have ponytails on them. I am a 13-year-old girl and even i realize these facts even though some adults are too ignorant to realize them. I have loved the show and i plan on seeing the movie and think i will enjoy it. If you dont not want to see a great movie it is up to you but I think you should reconsider your opinion.
@Erin
Agreed to you. Expecting a movie to be an exact copy of the series would be a bore. What would be the point of spending a budget just to remake an animated series?
Can’t wait to see the results of M Night’s work. I hope this isn’t going to be similar to “Dragon Ball Movie” that was released recently. That was horrible.
yeah
I watched the show some with my sister, I loved the world that was created-even if I sometimes couldn’t wrap my head around the ‘kiddie’ part of the show.
I was a little annoyed when I first saw that the casting was a little weird. Yes to be true Sokka and Katara should be darker skinned with darker features, the fire nation should appear more imperialist Chinese and the earth kingdom from what I noticed in the show had some lighter toned Asians as well as darker less Asian inhabitants. That is what I would prefer being a fan, however there are things I understand about the business that clearly some people making a fuss do not. I have family who works in the movie industry, I’ve toured sets, I’ve met creators, and I actually am trying to get into visual effects.
Casting-
In casting you can’t always be accurate because you need to hire people that are talented enough for the job, that you can afford to pay, that have the clear schedule and so on. People are saying there are so many Asian actors or Inuit actors that could be hired for this. Ok…….have you considered that none of them showed up for the casting calls? Or that some of the ones that showed up just were not talented. Maybe that had a super talented dark featured actress for Katara, but couldn’t find one for Sokka? What do you do then? You have to go with what you can find. There are a lot of factors to consider, so realistically speaking racism was probably the last thing on the casting directors mind.
Arrow-
Some things just do not translate from cartoons to live action. Paint a big blue arrow on your forehead and you’re going to look like a dumb ass. Take Batman for example old school batman in tights looked lame, it didn’t translate. New age batman in awesome black rubber/leather/armor looks great on screen. A blue arrow probably didn’t look very good on the live action actor so they had to do something else. Also I noticed that it looks a little more ceremonial in nature now, like a real tattoo would be where as the arrow looked like war paint.
Scar-
I think the scar is fine. The shot on this page is not an accurate representation. I have seen other images where it’s very prominent. But also it’s good they aren’t doing it all two tone and weird like the cartoon because a burn scar wouldn’t really look like that and in reality half his face would be mangled. I always felt his scar was a little too obvious and over done in the cartoon. However it’s harder to make the skin shades of scar tissue show up in an animation than it is a real person.
So people be logical about things. Yes it’s sad that it’s not being done true to form, but do they ever adapt things true to form? No they do what they can to appeal to a new audience while still keeping the fans happy. As for the people screaming racism that is your right to do so, but this may be one of those cases where you’re so desperate for a foothold in a battle you’re losing that you’ll scramble to attack anything. That being said I’m not a racist or a prejudiced person at all. I think the oppression of any race, gender, FAITH (not religion, but that is a whole separate conversation), or sexual orientation is just horrible…….but I seriously doubt that this was an attempt at racism. Also people saying it’s teaching kids people of different colors are “shady” or bad when they are the “bad guys” in this. You may think that way because…..you think that way. I highly doubt that an Indian director is going to confirm the casting of Indian or Middle Eastern people so he can make them the bad guys and promote racism against his own people or his children for that matter.
People need to gather all the information, examine it, then talk instead of going off half cocked or using their opinion as a basis for facts. Facts need to be what you base your opinion on.
This concludes my rant/lesson/explanation for the day.
Also dear god people I understand spelling a word wrong, or forgetting your punctuation, or even thinking faster than you type causing errors…..but some of you are just so illiterate it hurts me. Not to be mean, but if you want to be taken seriously now or ever sign yourself up to repeat your English courses so you can learn how to write properly. You’re making a fool of yourself and something tells me your ability to speak in a way that sounds intelligent is probably lacking too. Which is not to say you’re not intelligent…..you just don’t SOUND like you are.
Ok… I know it’s not gonna be spot on but there was so much potential. I’ve noticed quite a bit of negative reviews on the way Zuko looks. Yes, I think it’s alittle ironic that the Fire Nation is populated with very pale people and the actors chosen are not exactly fair skinne. To be honest, I don’t care to much about that as long as the characters are potrayed well.
I am slightly put off by the lack of Zuko’s ponytail and the extreme look of Aang’s arrow. I’m also dissapointed to see that the Fire Nation uniforms are dominatly black with only a little red here and there.
I have hope for it though. We can’t expect all the aspects to be well covered. It’s only a movie that ultimately can’t capture the entire feel of the series. Live action film adaptations almost never live up to our expectations and must keep that in mind. As long as the important things are included I believe it’ll be worth watching.
All in all, I don’t expect it to capture the same feel, but I believe it swhould be fairly amusing to most fans. A good cast can make or break a film. I really don’t see race as an issue here, but the actors should try and get into the acient Chinese way of thinking for there roles.
To Jeremy I agree 100 percent!
for me,,,the last airbender is the best…..don’t argue with me,,it’s true………
the main person (I can not remember his name lol) was older looking in the show….and Zuko looks like a fag! But he did not in the show.
oh and the helmets are awesome!
For all you people calling this film racist because of some whit cast: NEWS FLASH
M. Night Shyamalan is INDIAN!!!!!! Here is how it was in the comics!
Earth Kingdom: Chinese
Water Tribe: Native American
Fire Nation: Chinese
Air Nomads: Chinese
Shyamalan stated he wanted to separate the movie from other martial arts films by going with more diverse races. Such as
Earth Kingdom: Chinese
Water Tribe: White
Fire Nation: Indian
Air Nomads: So far unknown (Though Aang is white this culture could be a mixture, who knows!)
Anyone who tells me that adding more races to a movie is being racist is INSANE! That is a difference in adaption, not racism!
completely agree spiderfan
I completely agree with Jeremy for this one, you just should be grateful that they made this amazing story for the big screen, it is so freaking hard to be able to transform a cartoon to real life, and they were able to develop it as good as they could. And you should realize that racism has nothing to do with this, its stupid to even think about it…ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS: YOU ROCK JEREMY!!! FOR PUTTING EVERYTHING I THOUGH SO THAT WAY I DON’T HAVE TO WRITE AND GO THROUGH SO MUCH RAGE AS I USUALLY WHEN I WANT TO WRITE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
PS
I’m a very passionate girl…LOL!!!
Spiderfan. Your list is very narrow minded and ignorant.
Earth Kingdom: Ancient Chinese
Water Tribe: Eskimo/Inuit
Fire Nation: Imperial Chinese/Japanese
Air Nomads: Tibetan
PS The TV series came out before the comics. You ignorant simplistic knuckle-dragger.
PSS I /facepalmed when you said the Water tribe were based on Native Americans
PSSS M Night SHAM alan is a terrible director (see lady in the water). If he had his way he would have Aang be kataras long lost brother(lol plot twist, I bet i can be a great director /end sarcasm) making their relationship forbidden.
The people did an ok job, but I think they should make changes to Zuko’s scar and Aang’s Arrow. They need to be more noticeable!
1. Let me see… all asian/mongoloid culture, food, clothing, writing, style, martials arts, asian names… leads are white, makes a lot of cents… I mean sense! Wouldn’t it be logical to think that the ppl that inhabit this world be of asian decent? Why would you presume they’d be white, because they don’t have slit for eyes?!! Study up on it’s influences, Japanese anime and Disney.
2. One of the creators recently drew a poster of Aang and shows that he is clearly asian, and stated he had nothing to do with the casting.
3. Yes, there is was clearly a racial bias/racism during the casting when the casting sheets state: “Caucasian or other ethnicities.” Stating a racial preference.
3. Zuko was originally Jesse McCarthy, but now is Patel. WTF. Already way off from the original source material.
4. For all those who still think Aang is white, in season 3 Aang grows out his hair, his JET BLACK & STRAIGHT HAIR! How many white people you know has straight black hair and very light skin.
5. If you’re white, and don’t know what the big deal is… EXACTLY.
this is really sad grow up americans wrote the story in the first place second off im pretty sure kids will not be paying any attention to race 3rd off AS LONG AS THEY ARE GOOD ACTORS WHO GIVES A BIG F***?
You people are only further perpetuating the stupid ideology that is race, as an actor a black one at that,I can say that the only thing wrong with this movie are the people who are bashing actors like dev patel who only did one thing sign on to do a movie and get a pay check dont u think with how jacked up stuff is right now in this world he would have seen an issue with this quote on quote race-bending bullshit yall are talking. stop getting so caught up on color and focus on content this movie will rise or fall based on its cinematography, story line and the actors not because u got together and formed some anti-racebending website were all the same people same 46 chromosomes same planet stop pulling the race card its not that deep. If me a African American whose people both in Africa and America have been the most systematically oppressed and raped people on the planet can see past it, i sure as shit hope the rest of yall can grow up and see it too. Via con Dios
i dont care so much bout zuko’s scar…even though his scar should be bigger n his eye should be a bit squinty… i want to see more of appa! & where’s momo @ toph? she is afterall “the greatest earthbender” what about tai lee? & mai? so many questions…. cant wait to see it. praying it lives up to my expectations! please please
I’m so mad nobody looks like nobody in this movie.
i think they should change everybody
i was so happy when i found out they was going to do a movie of the avatar. but when i saw the cast i was like nooo.
I think Sokka and Katara look pretty good but Zuko needs more of a noticeable scar and Irou should be a happy fat guy. Also, Aang should be sort of a silly kid. M. Night doesn’t have any movies that would match this caliber so I hope he doesn’t screw it up and change it too much. I hope he remembers that what made Lord of the Rings so fantastic was the closeness of the images to the books description. I am keeping my fingers crossed that M. Night will do an excellent job.
Forget the kids, the Avatar has a tremendous adult following. I, myself, am 55 years old and totally engrossed in this cartoon to the point that I bought the whole series on DVD.
I am asking Asians to deface any and all Avatar posters by spray painting RACISTS on them. Also, I heard they are makig a Genghis Kahn movie starring Mickey Rourke. Jews in Hollywood and the media have always been racist towards Asians. Unless Asian Americans take a stand and stomp these assholes out in their tracks, they’re going to keep on commiting to their divisive and racist policies against Asians. All it does is minimize Asian Americans who have been in this country for the last 150 years. These racist Hollywood Assholes don’t want Asian Americans to be Americanized. It’s always been about divide and conquer with them. There are enough starving actors looking for work. Stuff like this is racist and these idiots will keep on doing it unless Asian Americans come togther as a group and threaten them with either physical, fininacial or social consequences. This country has a problem with selective racism. Apparently, it’s only racist if something negative is done to blacks, Hispanics, gays or Jews. With Asians, they just don’t care.
It’s a movie. It’s full of action & talented actors based on a cartoon/anime. What does ‘racebending’ have to do anything with it? I’m asian & i wouldn’t care if the actors were black, white, yellow, blue or talking animals as long as it’s entertaining. IT’S ENTERTAINMENT! Stop thinking so much of things that cause you upset. If you wanna do something about it, than simply make your own movie with your own actors.
its gonna be awesome!forget the cartoon!
I love the cartoon and the film looks cool stop all the racebending and enjoy. (1 bad thing tho STOF is not in it :( )
why does hollywood always ruin good stories. 2 thumbs down for the director and the casting. The cartoon has a good story to tell, i dont think the movie will even keep true to even that.
Obey Gravity…great point. Funny but the can’t help that the fact that the 1st time I watched the previews during the Super Bowl the very first thing came to my mind was WHAT? Who casted this? Telling people to GET OVER IT when they’re pinpointing the obvious simply shines the light on your debt of ignorance (since we know it can be bliss). I’m not even Asian & I was taken aback by the obvious, after being a fan of the cartoon for a few years. Something’s NOT right about that. Let’s stop it, whether you’d like to ADMIT or COME TO TERMS with this fact or not, there’s something definitely odd about the casting that took place.
Remember Toph didn’t join the group until the 2nd season. So we shouldn’t be surprised to see Toph’s missing. But am sure that would have been pretty nice to see her…she’s a very likeable character! Regardless, I’m still going to enjoy seeing the movie this weekend. There’s so much other things in the world we should be more concerned with & protesting over than a lovable/thoughtful Cartoon turned Movie!
A few comments on out dear friend “Peter’s” post,
“I am asking Asians to deface any and all Avatar posters by spray painting RACISTS on them.”
Right here is the biggest prejudicial thing I have seen on this site.
“Also, I heard they are makig a Genghis Kahn movie starring Mickey Rourke.”
This could be down right hilarious.
“Jews in Hollywood and the media have always been racist towards Asians.”
Wow, this one was anti-semitic.
“Unless Asian Americans take a stand and stomp these assholes out in their tracks, they’re going to keep on commiting to their divisive and racist policies against Asians.”
Anyone for fueling a “race war”?
“All it does is minimize Asian Americans who have been in this country for the last 150 years. These racist Hollywood Assholes don’t want Asian Americans to be Americanized.”
Last time I checked the term was “Westernized”.
“It’s always been about divide and conquer with them. There are enough starving actors looking for work. Stuff like this is racist and these idiots will keep on doing it unless Asian Americans come togther as a group and threaten them with either physical, fininacial or social consequences.”
More en-citing of a “race war”.
“This country has a problem with selective racism. Apparently, it’s only racist if something negative is done to blacks, Hispanics, gays or Jews. With Asians, they just don’t care.”
Ok, I have a huge problem with this IGNORANT statement.
What you really meant to say was… “This country has a problem with selective racism. Apparently, it’s only racist if something negative is done to blacks or hispanics. With asians, they just don’t care.”
Negative things to gays and “jews” as you called them have nothing to do with racism whatsoever.
the avatar was a good movie it was awesome-mane i cant wait for part 2 when toph comes in the movie with her strong ability of earth bending and sence of hurmore then part 3 is goin drop dead tastic when fire lord oizai and aang finllay end the end the war with peace inthe world
peter i’m asian too and that was just a horrible post.
think about what you type before you actually click that ‘submit’ button
I was disappointed there were no black people in the movie. WHERE ARE THE BLACK PEOPLE?
I love the comment made by Gemini…All of you people who have a problem with the casting,writing,names,ect;
there is an easy solution MAKE YOUR OWN MOVIE!
i also agree with gemini..
haha
I’ve just seen this movie yesterday in Barcelona (Spain), my boyfriend and I and 3 other guys at cinema. About this film…EXCELLENT: it respects the TV show storyline, the characters awesome and the cast is one of the best I’ve ever seen (Aang is so cute). The principal characters did a great job during the martial arts scenes. I’ll be on first line for the release of the second film of the trilogy.
PD: I didn’t get the racism topic until I get to this web, I think there is not place to that except in the mind of sick people.