I just watched the majority of the series this week and I understand why everyone loves this series so much. I would have to say that Iroh is my favourite character and I don't know why.
It's because Iroh is the best! He has a very quiet wisdom about him.
Don't forget that he also loves tea, you can't forget that! ^_^
I found the final battle to be totally awesome until the end. (SPOILERS: Energy Bending? Seriously? Way to pull something out of your ass, guys!) But the actual end of the series was very solid.
I can't wait to see what the Shyamalanian twist at the end of the movie will be. Maybe all the characters will realize that they're actually fictional cartoon characters. They all break down upon realizing this and we fade to black and the credit rolls.
Or better yet, in the middle of a big fight the scene fades to white. We then cut to an autistic boy staring into a snow globe transfixed at the characters of Avatar within it. "All he does is stare into that globe hour after hour." Then we fade to black and the credits roll.
I lost any hope when Shyamalan was announced as the director.
Why? He isn't writing it, he is directing it. Whether you like his writing or not (and it is hit-and-miss for me), his direction has always been decent-to-good.
Why does ANYONE care about voice actor's race? Does anyone flip out when a bunch of white people do the voice acting for anime dubs rather than a bunch of Asian actors? Not that I have heard of. While the cartoon is influenced by Asian and Eskimo cultures, it was a Nickelodeon production primarily intended for a U.S. audience. Last I checked, in the U.S. when a studio makes an animated movie they find a balance between who they can afford, who fits the role, and who is the biggest name. Personally, I think the original voice acting cast would make the most sense, but that is for continuity, not for race. BTW, I didn't here anyone complain when Monsters Inc.had a mostly white cast. Who is to say that all monsters are white? Also, Donny Osmond is white and his voice was great in Mulan (and they do not make men whiter than him). This is ridiculous. It is an animated film and they wanted some big names that connected with their audience, suited their budget and the roles. Race isn't a factor and shouldn't be a factor.
Mrs. Macross, are you implying that people on the Internet would throw a hissy fit over something that has relatively little direct influence over the final product? Ludicrous!
Mrs. Macross, are you implying that people on the Internet would throw a hissy fit over something that has relatively little direct influence over the final product? Ludicrous!
I lost any hope when Shyamalan was announced as the director.
Why? He isn't writing it, he is directing it. Whether you like his writing or not (and it is hit-and-miss for me), his direction has always been decent-to-good.
Why does ANYONE care about voice actor's race? Does anyone flip out when a bunch of white people do the voice acting for anime dubs rather than a bunch of Asian actors? Not that I have heard of. While the cartoon is influenced by Asian and Eskimo cultures, it was a Nickelodeon production primarily intended for a U.S. audience. Last I checked, in the U.S. when a studio makes an animated movie they find a balance between who they can afford, who fits the role, and who is the biggest name. Personally, I think the original voice acting cast would make the most sense, but that is for continuity, not for race. BTW, I didn't here anyone complain when Monsters Inc.had a mostly white cast. Who is to say that all monsters are white? Also, Donny Osmond is white and his voice was great in Mulan (and they do not make men whiter than him). This is ridiculous. It is an animated film and they wanted some big names that connected with their audience, suited their budget and the roles. Race isn't a factor and shouldn't be a factor.
I thought the movie was going to be Live action, thus making the actual casting important.
Apparently the movie is intended to be live action, hence the hubbub about the all-white cast. This is actually something I agree with now. All-white voice actors is something no one would really care about, but picking an all-Caucasian cast to star in a film that uses characters who are very pointedly not Caucasian is a bit stupid IMHO.
Source: Wiki Look at the last paragraph in the top section.
EDIT: Also, from the photos I could find on the internet, it's pretty painfully obvious that they didn't care how much the actors look like the characters and went for name-recognition in Nickelodeon's likely demographic.
Apparently the movie is intended to be live action, hence the hubbub about the all-white cast. This is actually something I agree with now. All-white voice actors is something no one would really care about, but picking an all-Caucasian cast to star in a film that uses characters who are very pointedly not Caucasian is a but stupid IMHO.
Source:WikiLook at the last paragraph in the top section.
Live action?! WHY? I probably would not watch an Avatar live action movie regardless of casting, but the casting does suck if it is live action. This is like casting Jews as Native Americans in Westerns. EDIT: The casting is still just rumored and not confirmed, yes/no?
According to IMDB, it looks like the cast is just rumored at this point. Shyamalan is quoted as offering the roles to the actors mentioned in the wiki, and even Admiral Zhao is also rumored to be played by Jason Isaacs, another white actor.
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they make some smarter choices in the cast, because the fan-hoards will go into revolt otherwise, resulting in the movie possibly failing, but more importantly us having to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth on the intar-webs for years.
EDIT: Here is another article in relation to the issue, but there's still no real confirmation.
because the fan-hoards will go into revolt otherwise
The minority adult/unintended audience will. The majority child audience won't even know there was ever an issue.
If you have any doubts as to who they were selling this show to (despite it accidentally being good), look at what advertisers were buying into it on Nick.
Shyamalan has been tapped to write, direct and produce the live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated series...
He's writing it, too? I am not sure about this. As long as he stick to the spirit of it, it shouldn't be too bad. The casting may not be racially appropriate, but it is a case could be made that it is a fantasy movie.
Shyamalan has been tapped to write, direct and produce the live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated series...
He's writing it, too? I am not sure about this. As long as he stick to the spirit of it, it shouldn't be too bad. The casting may not be racially appropriate, but it is a case could be made that it is a fantasy movie.
Problem is, the series kinda makes a social commentary on discrimination/race, an all white cast would kinda trample over that and even worst, I bet they will cast "racially appropiate" people for the extras and secondary characters, making the all white cast pop out even more. I can see it right now, a pasty white Sokka talking to his brown/asian/eskimo grandmother.
I can see it right now, a pasty white Sokka talking to his brown/asian/eskimo grandmother
Augh! That would be fail. Why do they do this all the time? Here is a movie where they could actually have some interestingly diverse casting and they make all the main characters super white?
Problem is, the series kinda makes a social commentary on discrimination/race, an all white cast would kinda trample over that and even worst, I bet they will cast "racially appropiate" people for the extras and secondary characters, making the all white cast pop out even more. I can see it right now, a pasty white Sokka talking to his brown/asian/eskimo grandmother.
I got more of a Nationalistic based discrimination thing more than race. Regardless, it is tasteless to cast a bunch of white people in Asian roles. This isn't 1946, Rex Harrison can no longer pass for the King of Siam. If they were to pick one of the nations and make that a predominately white group, I guess that could make some sense. Just mixing it all up (while the way things should be in a perfect world) doesn't make sense.
Question: Would a multi-racial cast lead to noticeably different sales or is this just a result of the expected cast of a children's movie being predominantly white (I may be wrong on that one.)?
My biggest gripe about the movie is that it's going to be live action. You could probably count on one hand how many "cartoons made into live action" movies are actually good. Off the top of my head, the first two TMNT movies come to mind, after that, I'm drawing a blank. The Alvin and the Chipmunks movie wasn't bad, but my opinion on that might be slanted due to outside factors.
The few movies that are pretty good are definitely not the norm. Most cartoons turned live action movies are around the same level of terrible as "Inspector Gadget". Inspector Gadget was probably my favorite cartoon as a young child, and sadly the movie they based on it is so painfully bad that I think it's used a form of torture in some countries.
I fail to understand why people in Hollywood are so eager to take good animated shows and turn them into crappy live action movies. Why not just make a feature length, theatrically released, animated movie?
My biggest gripe about the movie is that it's going to be live action. You could probably count on one hand how many "cartoons made into live action" movies are actually good. Off the top of my head, the first two TMNT movies come to mind, after that, I'm drawing a blank. The Alvin and the Chipmunks movie wasn't bad, but my opinion on that might be slanted due to outside factors.
The few movies that are pretty good are definitely not the norm. Most cartoons turned live action movies are around the same level of terrible as "Inspector Gadget". Inspector Gadget was probably my favorite cartoon as a young child, and sadly the movie they based on it is so painfully bad that I think it's used a form of torture in some countries.
I fail to understand why people in Hollywood are so eager to take good animated shows and turn them into crappy live action movies. Why not just make a feature length, theatrically released, animated movie?
Wouldn't that be a little unoriginal? I'm not saying I'm for the live-action take right now (I'm neutral at this point), I'm just saying that if they did do a theatrical movie, they would have to dumb it down for the people who don't watch the show who just see it on a total whim. A great example of this point is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, they chopped up the plot to hell on that movie. Also, need I remind every one of The Clone Wars fiasco last year? My point is, is that this is the fate all movies based on TV, comics, and video games take eventually and there ain't nothing we can do about it. That doesn't mean I'm not pissed, I mean Jesse McCartney as Zuko?! Come on!! You can do better than that, Hollywood!!! What makes this especially distressing to me is that I'm going to be a professional film editor soon (because I got accepted into the New York Academy of Film), and I'm going to have to be surrounded by all this schlock and idiocy in a few years.
A great example of this point is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, they chopped up the plot to hell on that movie.
Who is this "they"? Douglass Adams wrote the screenplay to the movie, and the changes were made to give the story a three act structure rather than the book's structure of most of the book being the beginning and then going straight to the end with no middle.
Whoever is cast to play Zuko should look more like this:
Yeah, they should just get the guy who played Zuko in the show to do the role in the film, at least he will look slightly in place.
Dude, the one in Union Square? Hee. Be prepared for the NYU Tisch kids around the corner making fun of NYAF and then you can make fun of them back because they have no monies anymore. Seriously, though I did not know you wanted to be an editor! Become skilled so I can put you in my little black book.
Comments
Any hope I had for this movie is gone.
Its the sci-fi channel Earthsea series all over again.
Or better yet, in the middle of a big fight the scene fades to white. We then cut to an autistic boy staring into a snow globe transfixed at the characters of Avatar within it. "All he does is stare into that globe hour after hour." Then we fade to black and the credits roll.
...what a twist!
Why does ANYONE care about voice actor's race? Does anyone flip out when a bunch of white people do the voice acting for anime dubs rather than a bunch of Asian actors? Not that I have heard of. While the cartoon is influenced by Asian and Eskimo cultures, it was a Nickelodeon production primarily intended for a U.S. audience. Last I checked, in the U.S. when a studio makes an animated movie they find a balance between who they can afford, who fits the role, and who is the biggest name. Personally, I think the original voice acting cast would make the most sense, but that is for continuity, not for race.
BTW, I didn't here anyone complain when Monsters Inc.had a mostly white cast. Who is to say that all monsters are white? Also, Donny Osmond is white and his voice was great in Mulan (and they do not make men whiter than him).
This is ridiculous. It is an animated film and they wanted some big names that connected with their audience, suited their budget and the roles. Race isn't a factor and shouldn't be a factor.
Source: Wiki Look at the last paragraph in the top section.
EDIT: Also, from the photos I could find on the internet, it's pretty painfully obvious that they didn't care how much the actors look like the characters and went for name-recognition in Nickelodeon's likely demographic.
EDIT: The casting is still just rumored and not confirmed, yes/no?
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they make some smarter choices in the cast, because the fan-hoards will go into revolt otherwise, resulting in the movie possibly failing, but more importantly us having to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth on the intar-webs for years.
EDIT: Here is another article in relation to the issue, but there's still no real confirmation.
If you have any doubts as to who they were selling this show to (despite it accidentally being good), look at what advertisers were buying into it on Nick.
The few movies that are pretty good are definitely not the norm. Most cartoons turned live action movies are around the same level of terrible as "Inspector Gadget". Inspector Gadget was probably my favorite cartoon as a young child, and sadly the movie they based on it is so painfully bad that I think it's used a form of torture in some countries.
I fail to understand why people in Hollywood are so eager to take good animated shows and turn them into crappy live action movies. Why not just make a feature length, theatrically released, animated movie?
and less like this: