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'''Avatar: The Last Airbender(also known in some countries as '''Avatar: The Legend of Aang''')<ref>http://www.nick.co.uk/avatar</ref> is an [[Emmy award]]-winning [[Television in the United States|American]] [[animation|animated]] [[animated television series|television series]] that aired for three seasons on the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] television network and on Nicktoons Network. The show is set in an [[Culture of Asia|Asian]]-influenced world<ref name="NickMagInterview1">{{cite journal|last=DiMartino|first=Michael Dante|coauthors=Konietzko, Bryan|title=In Their Elements|journal=Nickelodeon Magazine|pages=6|year=2006|issue=Winter 2006}}</ref> of [[martial arts]] and elemental manipulation; the series follows the adventures of the main protagonist [[Aang]] and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the [[Fire Nation]].<ref name="Plot Summary">{{cite web|url=http://www.nicksplat.com/Events/200509/07000082.html|title=Watch Out For Avatar on September 10!|accessdate=2008-03-14|format=HTML|publisher=Nickelodeon Asia}}</ref><ref name="DemographicandPlot">{{cite web|url=http://www.mnightfans.com/index.php?start_from=&ucat=1&subaction=showfull&id=1168325285&archive=1170306025&|title=Element of Shyamalan in 'Airbender'
'''Avatar: The Last Airbender (also known in some countries as '''Avatar: The Legend of Aang''')<ref>http://www.nick.co.uk/avatar</ref> is an [[Emmy award]]-winning [[Television in the United States|American]] [[animation|animated]] [[animated television series|television series]] that aired for three seasons on the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] television network and on Nicktoons Network. The show is set in an [[Culture of Asia|Asian]]-influenced world<ref name="NickMagInterview1">{{cite journal|last=DiMartino|first=Michael Dante|coauthors=Konietzko, Bryan|title=In Their Elements|journal=Nickelodeon Magazine|pages=6|year=2006|issue=Winter 2006}}</ref> of [[martial arts]] and elemental manipulation; the series follows the adventures of the main protagonist [[Aang]] and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the [[Fire Nation]].<ref name="Plot Summary">{{cite web|url=http://www.nicksplat.com/Events/200509/07000082.html|title=Watch Out For Avatar on September 10!|accessdate=2008-03-14|format=HTML|publisher=Nickelodeon Asia}}</ref><ref name="DemographicandPlot">{{cite web|url=http://www.mnightfans.com/index.php?start_from=&ucat=1&subaction=showfull&id=1168325285&archive=1170306025&|title=Element of Shyamalan in 'Airbender'
|date=2007-01-09|work=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=2008-05-03}}</ref> In the series' terminology, each episode is referred to as a "chapter", and each season as a "book".
|date=2007-01-09|work=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=2008-05-03}}</ref> In the series' terminology, each episode is referred to as a "chapter", and each season as a "book".


Revision as of 02:49, 10 October 2008

Avatar: The Last Airbender
File:Avatar-TLAlogo.jpg
Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Chinese characters 降卋(世)神通 (pinyin:Jiàngshì Shéntōng) that appear with the English logo translate to "The divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."
GenreAdventure, Fantasy
Created byMichael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Written byMichael Dante DiMartino
Bryan Konietzko
John O'Bryan
Nick Malis
Matthew Hubbard
Aaron Ehasz
Elizabeth Welch Ehasz
Josh Hamilton
Ian Wilcox
Tim Hedrick
Directed byLauren MacMullan
Anthony Lioi
Dave Filoni
Giancarlo Volpe
Ethan Spaulding
Joaquim Dos Santos
Voices ofZach Tyler Eisen
Mae Whitman
Jack DeSena
Jessie Flower
Dante Basco
Mako (Season 1-2)
Greg Baldwin (Season 3)
Dee Bradley Baker
Grey DeLisle
Olivia Hack
Cricket Leigh
Clancy Brown
Mark Hamill
Jennie Kwan
Jason Isaacs
Theme music composerThe Track Team
ComposerThe Track Team
Country of originUnited States United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes61 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMichael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Aaron Ehasz
Running time24 minutes
Original release
NetworkNickelodeon
(2005-2008)
Nicktoons Network
(2005-present)
ReleaseFebruary 21, 2005 –
July 19, 2008

Avatar: The Last Airbender (also known in some countries as Avatar: The Legend of Aang)[1] is an Emmy award-winning American animated television series that aired for three seasons on the Nickelodeon television network and on Nicktoons Network. The show is set in an Asian-influenced world[2] of martial arts and elemental manipulation; the series follows the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation.[3][4] In the series' terminology, each episode is referred to as a "chapter", and each season as a "book".

The show made its debut on February 21, 2005, and the last episodes were screened on July 19, 2008; it is now available on DVD, the iTunes Store, and the Xbox Live Marketplace, as well as its home on Nickelodeon.[5] Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko co-created the series, and serve as executive producers alongside Aaron Ehasz.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was popular with both audiences and critics,[6] garnering 5.6 million viewers on its best-rated showing and receiving high ratings in the Nicktoons lineup, even outside its 6–11-year-old demographic.[4][7] The first series' success prompted Nickelodeon to order second[8] and third[9] seasons. Merchandise based on the series include scaled action figures,[10] a trading card game,[11][12] three video games based on the first,[13] second,[14][15] and third seasons, stuffed animals distributed by Paramount Parks, and two LEGO sets.[16]

Background

Avatar: The Last Airbender was co-created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California. According to Bryan Konietzko, the concept of the program was conceived in Spring 2001, when he took an old sketch of a balding, middle-aged man; he re-imagined the character as a child, and the show began to develop.[2] Konietzko drew the character herding bison in the sky, and showed the sketch to Mike DiMartino. At the time, DiMartino was studying a documentary about explorers trapped in the South Pole.

Konietzko described their early development of the concept:

We thought, "There's an air guy along with these water people trapped in a snowy wasteland... and maybe some fire people are pressing down on them..."

The co-creators proceeded to successfully pitch the idea to Nickelodeon VP and executive producer Eric Coleman just two weeks later.[17]

The show was first revealed to the public in a teaser reel at Comic-Con 2004,[18] and aired February 21, 2005. In the United States, the first two episodes of the series were shown together in a one-hour premiere event. At the conclusion of the first season, Nickelodeon ordered a second twenty-episode season that premiered on March 17, 2006, and concluded on December 1.[8] The series maintained its success during the second season, causing Nickelodeon to order a third and final season, which began on September 21, 2007 and featured twenty-one episodes rather than the usual twenty.[9] The final four episodes were packaged as a two-hour movie.

Premise

A map of the four nations. The characters at the top, 群雄四分, mean "the heroes divide [the world or the country or the land] in four." The characters of the four lands are 水善 (Water Peaceful), 土強 (Earth Strong), 火烈 (Fire Fierce), and 气和 (Air Harmony). The phrase at the bottom, 天下一匡, reads "correct all things under heaven." The "correct things" phrase, with roots of the Confucian analect phrase 一匡天下, refers to reunification.[citation needed]

Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a fantasy world that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and supernatural spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Each nation has its own natural element, on which it bases its society. Within each nation exists an order called "Benders," who have the ability to manipulate the element of their nation. The show’s creators assigned each Bending art its own style of martial arts; inheriting both the advantages and weakness of the martial arts it was assigned. The Bending types are Waterbending, Earthbending, Firebending, and Airbending.[19]

Each generation yields one person who is capable of Bending all four elements. This being is referred to as the Avatar, the spirit of the planet manifested in human form. When an Avatar dies, he is reincarnated into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. The Avatar Cycle parallels the seasons: autumn for the Air Nomads, winter for the Water Tribe, spring for the Earth Kingdom and summer for the Fire Nation.[20] Legend holds the Avatar must master each bending art in order, starting with his native element. This can sometimes be compromised when the situation requires it, as Aang demonstrates in the show. For the Avatar, learning to bend the element opposite his native element can be extremely difficult. This is because opposing Bending arts are based on opposing fighting styles and disciplines. Firebending and Waterbending are opposites, as are Earthbending and Airbending.[21]

The Avatar possesses a unique power called the Avatar State. It endows the Avatar with the knowledge and abilities of all past Avatars and acts as a self-triggering defense mechanism, though by learning how to unlock one's own chakras, it can be entered into at will.[22] If an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle will be broken, and the Avatar will cease to exist.[22]

Through the ages, countless incarnations of Avatar have served to keep the four nations in harmony, and maintain world order.[19] The Avatar serves as the bridge between the physical world and the Spirit World, allowing him or her to solve problems that normal benders cannot.[23]

Plot summary

Main article: List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes

One hundred years before the start of the series, the Airbender Aang learned he was the new Avatar. Faced with the heavy responsibilities of stopping an impending world war, Aang fled from home on his flying bison Appa. Encountering a fierce storm, they crashed into the ocean, triggering Aang's Avatar State, which froze them in a state of suspended animation.

They are awoken when two siblings of Southern Water Tribe, Katara and Sokka, find them.[24] Aang learns that the Fire Nation had indeed ravaged the world with decades of war, he realizes that he must fulfill his destiny of becoming the Avatar and return balance to the world by defeating the Fire Nation. Along with Katara and Sokka, Aang sets out to master the four elements of Air, Water, Earth and Fire (in that order); as he is already an Airbender, he heads to the North Pole to find a Waterbending master.

Aang soon discovers that Sozin's Comet, which sparked off the war, will return within a year, giving the Fire Nation enough power to win the war for good. Aang must therefore master all the elements and as the Avatar, end the war before then. For most of their journey to the North Pole, the group is pursued by Zuko (along with his uncle Iroh) - banished Fire Nation prince and son of Fire Lord Ozai, obsessed with capturing Aang to restore his lost honor.

Aang travels to the Earth Kingdom to master Earthbending. The team meets Toph, a blind girl who is nevertheless an Earthbending prodigy and becomes Aang's second teacher. The heroes go on to discover information about a solar eclipse, which would leave the Fire Nation powerless and open to invasion; they struggle to reach the Earth King with this vital information. Opposing them are enemies old and new: the conflicted Zuko, his sister Azula and her two friends Mai and Ty Lee. Azula engineers a coup from within that topples the Earth Kingdom and destroys any hope of a large-scale invasion of the Fire Nation.

On the day of the eclipse, Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph and a small, determined group of allied warriors go ahead and launch a smaller invasion, which although brave ultimately fails thanks to Azula's cunning. Zuko finally learns the true side of himself and confronts his father. He later manages to gain the trust of the protagonists and becomes Aang's Firebending teacher.

Sozin's Comet arrives and Fire Lord Ozai is on the brink of total victory in the war. Now, having finally mastered all four elements, Aang and his friends face Fire Lord Ozai and defeat him, finally restoring harmony to the world.

Characters

Main article: List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters
  • Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) is the fun-loving, 112-year-old protagonist of the series. He is biologically 12 years old but was frozen in an iceberg for 100 years. He is the current incarnation of the Avatar, the spirit of the planet in human form. Aang is a reluctant hero and would prefer adventure over his job as the Avatar and making friends over fighting the Fire Nation.
  • Katara (Mae Whitman) is a 14-year-old[19] Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. In the opening of the show, Katara discovers and frees Aang from an iceberg which he was trapped in for one hundred years. With her older brother Sokka, she accompanies Aang on his quest to defeat the Fire Lord, and bring peace to the world. In season 3, she reluctantly learns the rare art of blood bending (using the water in another's bloodstream to control their movement). In the original unaired pilot episode, Katara's name was Kya.
  • Sokka (Jack DeSena) is a 15-year-old warrior of the Southern Water Tribe. With his sister Katara, he accompanies Aang on his quest to defeat the Fire Lord. The joker of the group, Sokka describes himself as "meat-loving" and "sarcastic".[21] Unlike his companions, Sokka cannot bend an element, but the series frequently grants him opportunities to use his true gifts: ingenuity and use of weapons, including his trusty boomerang and a sword he forged from a meteorite after training under the greatest swordsmaster in the Fire Nation.
  • Toph Bei Fong (Jessie Flower) is a 12-year-old,[19] blind Earthbender. In the second season of the show, she leaves her wealthy family and home to join Aang on his quest, with a plan to teach him earthbending. Though blind, Toph "sees" with Earthbending; she feels the vibrations in the ground through her feet. After being captured by two Earthbenders, she learns to bend metal, as it is merely purified Earth.
  • Zuko (Dante Basco) is the 16-year-old exiled prince of the Fire Nation and original antagonist of the series. In Book One, Zuko is obsessed with capturing the Avatar. Due to events in Zuko's past, his father, Fire Lord Ozai, deems him a complete failure. Over time, Zuko struggles to deal with his anger, self-pity, and familial relationships; meanwhile, he grows sympathetic to the peoples his nation has terrorized. In Book Three, he defects from his father and the Fire Nation, and joins Aang and the team in order to teach Aang Firebending. At the end of the series he is crowned Fire Lord of the Fire Nation.
  • Azula (Grey DeLisle) is the 14-year-old[19] princess of the Fire Nation. She is Zuko's younger sister and is one of the major antagonists of the series. Azula is considered a firebending prodigy, and is one of the few living firebenders capable of summoning lightning, as well as the only shown to bend a hotter, blue fire. She has no qualms about bullying and threatening her relatives, reserving any familial loyalty for her father, who greatly favors her over Zuko.
  • Iroh (Mako in Books 1 and 2, Greg Baldwin onwards) is a retired Fire Nation general and Prince Zuko's uncle and mentor. Being the older brother of Fire Lord Ozai, Iroh was the original heir to the Fire Nation throne.[25] On the surface, Iroh is a cheerful and kind old man, but underneath his exterior remains a competent warrior and a devoted surrogate parent to Zuko, especially after losing his only child in battle. He is a Grand Master of the Order of the White Lotus, a secret society of men from all nations, and helped in the retaking of Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet.

Influences

Cultural references

Avatar is notable for borrowing extensively from Asian art and mythology to create its fictional universe. The show's character designs are heavily influenced by anime; the show, however, is not considered an "anime" because of its origination in the United States. Explicitly stated influences include Chinese art and history, Japanese anime, Hinduism (India), Taoism (China), Buddhism (India),[26] and Yoga (India).[27] The production staff employs a cultural consultant, Edwin Zane, to review scripts.

Avatar

The term "Avatar" comes from the Sanskrit word Avatāra, (Sanskrit: अवतार), which means "incarnation." In Hindu mythology, gods manifest themselves into Avatars to restore balance on earth, usually after a period of great evil. The Chinese characters that appear at the top of the show's title card mean "the divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."[28]

When Aang was a child, he unknowingly revealed that he was the Avatar; he chose four toys out of thousands, each of which were toys of the previous Avatars (among other trials. In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a similar test for reincarnations of a Tulku Lama. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel, "a number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things which were theirs in their previous life."[29] The show's official site states "the successor is expected to show signs of continuity with the previous Avatar, such as being born within a week of the death."[19]

Elements

Avatar draws on the four classical elements common to most ancient philosophies (rather than the five classical Chinese elements) for its bending arts: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Although each has its own variation, most ancient philosophies incorporate these four elements in some way: examples include the classical Hindu, Buddhist, Greek and Japanese elemental traditions.

In the show’s opening, each element is accompanied by 2 Chinese characters: an ancient Chinese seal script character on the left, and a modern Chinese character on the right:

Western culture

Film series such as Star Wars, as well as book series such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, were a heavy influence when it came to developing the story of Avatar. The creators wanted to tell their own epic Legend & Lore story.[31]

Asian culture

Calligraphy

Traditional East Asian calligraphy styles are used for nearly all the writing in the show. For each instance of calligraphy, an appropriate style is used, ranging from seal script (more archaic) to clerical script.[28] The show employs calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee as a consultant and translator.[27]

Fighting styles

The fighting choreography of the show draws from martial arts; the fighting styles and weaponry are based on Chinese martial arts, with each bending art corresponding to a certain real-world style. The creators use Ba Gua for airbending, Hung Gar for earthbending, Northern Shaolin for firebending, and Tai Chi for waterbending.[19] The only exception to this is Toph, who employs a Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis style.[32] The show employs Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a martial arts consultant.[33]

Each fighting style was chosen to represent the element it projected:

  • Tai Chi focuses on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization. This technique is the foundation of "Waterbending" in the series.[19]
  • Hung Gar was chosen for its firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes to represent the solid nature of earth. This martial art is the basis of "Earthbending" in the series.[19]
  • Northern Shaolin Kung Fu uses strong arm and leg movements. This technique is the foundation of "Firebending" in the series.[19]
  • Ba Gua uses erratic, circular movements.[19] In Bagua, centrifugal force plays a vital role in generating power, and the nearly constant circular movement creates angles between the fighters. This makes it easier for the practitioner to defend and attack. This martial art is the basis of "Airbending" and is the bending style of the main character, Aang.[34][35]

Asian film

The choreographed martial art bending moves were profoundly affected by Asian cinema. Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino stated the particular influence in a magazine interview:

"Asian cinema is really good at action comedy. Shaolin Soccer is one of our favorite movies. It has tons of fantastic action and lots of funny moments. Some of the effects provided inspiration for how bending moves might look on the show."[2]

Anime

Avatar is not considered an anime but a cartoon because of its American origin; one review has commented that "Avatar blurs the line between anime and (US) domestic cartoons until it becomes irrelevant."[36] Avatar has many features of anime, such as having a different color palette from other animated shows.[37]

Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino confirmed a particular anime influence in a magazine interview:

The best anime balances great action sequences with humor and emotion, something we try to do on Avatar. We love all the films of Hayao Miyazaki, especially Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Both movies deal with spirituality and the environment in an entertaining way. Also, there's a lot of great animation."[2]

According to an interview with the artists of Avatar, Appa's design was based on the Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro, due to the peculiar task of creating a mammal with six legs.[38].

Avatar draws inspiration from Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, as well as FLCL (Fooly Cooly) of Gainax.[39] Other various studios from which inspiration was drawn include Studio 4°C, Production I.G, and Studio Ghibli.[40] Bryan has commented that some of his most cherished Watanabe fight scenes were the fight between Bebop's Spike Spiegel and a drug smuggler in "Asteroid Blues," as well as the duel between Mugen and a blind female Jojutsu-user in the Champloo episode "Elegy of Entrapment (Verse 2)." Avatar director Giancarlo Volpe also claims the staff "were all ordered to buy FLCL and watch every single episode of it."[32]

Response

Ratings

When the show debuted, it was rated the best animated television series in its demographic,[41] and averaged 1.1 million viewers when new episodes premiered.[41] The one-hour special showing of Secret of the Fire Nation which aired on September 15, 2006 consisted of "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Drill", and gathered an audience of 4.1 million viewers. According to the Nielsen Media Research, the special was the best performing cable television show airing in that week.[42] Avatar is currently syndicated to more than 105 countries around the world, and is one of Nickelodeon's top rated programs. The series is ranked No. 1 on Nick in Germany, Indonesia, Belgium and Colombia,[43] and has a rating of 9.2 on TV.com.[44] It is also currently the 8th highest rated show on the site.

Sozin's Comet, the series finale, scored the highest ratings of the series with 5.6 million viewers on Nickelodeon in the U.S. It also had the highest ratings of the 6-11 crowd and tweens, marking increases in the triple digits. The entire week of new Avatar episodes, including Sozin's Comet, had a combined rating of 19.0 million viewers. The July 16, 2008 two part movie, The Boiling Rock had ratings of 4.0 million viewers (averaging 6.9/1.4 million viewers for 6-11 range and 7.1/1.5 million viewers for the tween of 9-14). The week on average had a rating of 7.6/1.7 million viewers for 9-12 year olds, and 7.3/1.5 million viewers for the 6-11 crowd, with an average in total of 4.6 million viewers. The tie-in webgame Rise of the Phoenix King had almost 815,000 hits for the same week period. It became in three days the number two game on the web. The Avatar message board became the number one board on the Nick website for the week.[45]

Awards and Nominations

Awards Outcome
2005 Pulcinella Awards:[46]
Best Action/Adventure TV Series Won
Best TV Series Won
33rd Annual Annie Awards:[47]
Best Animated Television Production Nominated
Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production (The Deserter) Won
Writing for an Animated Television Production (The Fortuneteller) Nominated
34th Annual Annie Awards:[48]
Character Animation in a Television Production (The Blind Bandit) Won
Directing in an Animated Television Production (The Drill) Won
2007 Genesis Awards:
Outstanding Children's Programming (Appa's Lost Days) Won
Primetime Emmy Awards:
Outstanding Animated Program (City of Walls and Secrets) Nominated
Individual Achievement Award (Sang-Jin Kim for Lake Laogai) Won
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards 2008:
Favorite Cartoon[49] Won
Annecy 2008:
TV Series[50] Nominated

Other Media

Promotion and merchandising

Avatar's success has led to some promotional advertising with third-party companies, such as Burger King and Upper Deck Entertainment. Avatar-themed roller coasters at Kings Island and at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America also appeared. During the show's runtime, Nickelodeon published two special issues of Nick Mag Presents dedicated entirely to the show. Various members of the Avatar staff and cast appeared at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International convention, while Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko appeared with Martial Arts Consultant Sifu Kisu at the Pacific Media Expo on October 28, 2006. Avatar also has its own line of t-shirts, LEGO playsets, toys, a trading card game, a cine-manga, and two video games with a third to debut September 2008. Also in September; Avatar: Legends of the Arena, an MMO, will be released online. [51]

The Mattel-produced action figure toy line generated some controversy with its exclusion of any female characters.[52] Mattel came to release information stating that they have taken account of Katara's increased role within the program, and that she would be included in the figure assortment for a mid 2007 release.[53] The figure ultimately went unreleased, however, as the entire line was canceled before she could be produced.

Nickelodeon executives have since released highly optimistic plans for upcoming marketing strategies in regards to Avatar. Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami openly stated his belief that the franchise "could become their Harry Potter".[54] They expect consumers to spend about $121 million in 2007, rising to $254 million by 2009.[54] The marketing plans are to be coincided with the release of the first live-action film based on the series in 2010, which will be the first film in a trilogy.[54]

Feature film

On January 8, 2007, Paramount Pictures' MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies announced that they have signed M. Night Shyamalan to write, direct and produce a trilogy of live-action films based on the series; the first of these films will encompass the main characters' adventures in Book One.[55] The film was in a dispute with James Cameron's film Avatar regarding title ownership,[56] which resulted in the film being titled The Last Airbender. It is set for release on July 2, 2010.[57] Filming will begin in Philadelphia in May 2009,[58] and it will also be shot in Greenland.[59] Shyamalan was attracted to the spiritual themes in the series.[60]

Avatar co-creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have come forward to voice their opinion within an interview regarding M. Night Shyamalan writing, directing and producing the film. The two displayed much enthusiasm over Shyamalan's decision for the adaptation, stating that they admire his work and, in turn, he respects their material.[61] M. Night Shyamalan has stated that he has already begun to cast the main characters.[62]

Online Game

"Avatar: Legends of the Arena" was launched on September 15, 2008 by Nickelodeon.[63][64] Each user will be able to create their own character, choose a nation, and be able to interact with others across the globe.[65][66][67] Because the game does not have download options, users are forced to download an EXE, which doesn't run on Mac or Linux without WINE or a Windows Emulator.

References

  1. ^ http://www.nick.co.uk/avatar
  2. ^ a b c d DiMartino, Michael Dante (2006). "In Their Elements". Nickelodeon Magazine (Winter 2006): 6. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Watch Out For Avatar on September 10!" (HTML). Nickelodeon Asia. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  4. ^ a b "Element of Shyamalan in 'Airbender'". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2007-01-09. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  5. ^ "BitTorrent Launches Download Platform". worldscreen. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  6. ^ Fitzgerald, Tony (2005-06-10). "Aang the Avatar, our kids' newest hero". TV.com Tracking. Media Life. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  7. ^ "In Brief: Avatar's Big Finish". TVGuide: 12. December 18 – 24, 2006. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b Carlsbad (2006-01-24). "Article on Launch of Avatar Card Game". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  9. ^ a b A third season consisting of twenty-one episodes began airing on September 21, 2007
  10. ^ "Avatar: Toys & Games". The Nickelodeon Shop. Nickelodeon, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  11. ^ "Avatar Trading Car Game". Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  12. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender Trading Card Game". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  13. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender Video Game". Nick.com. Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  14. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Burning Earth" (Flash). Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  15. ^ "IGN.com: Avatar: The Burning Earth" (HTML). IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  16. ^ Jim Cordeira (2006-08-21). "THQ Announces Games Convention". Gaming Age. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
  17. ^ Clark, Craig J. (2007-10-17). "It's Elementary -- Avatar: The Last Airbender". Animation World Magazine, Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  18. ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender Sneak Peak". Nickelodeon. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Nickelodeon's Official Avatar: The Last Airbender Flash Site". Nick.com. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
  20. ^ Director: Lauren MacMullan; Writer: Michael Dante DiMartino (2005-02-25). "The Southern Air Temple". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 3. Nickelodeon. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |transcripturl= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ a b "Bitter Work". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2 (Book 2). Episode 9. 2006-06-02. Nickelodeon.
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