Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cartoon series about a world where select people can bend elements. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. They live within these nations (i.e. Fire Nation) and have done so in peace because of the abilities of the Avatar. The Avatar is the only person who can bend all elements, but, perhaps more importantly, is the bridge from the mortal world to the spiritual world. He can speak and receive guidance from the spirits when necessary. He acts as the mediator during times of trial and helps keep peace and order throughout all the nations. This series depicts the events that happen after the Avatar (in hiding for one hundred years) returns to an overzealous Fire Nation who is trying to take over the world and capture the Avatar.

It is so addicting! The story is complex enough to captivate an adult crowd (hence, Dustin and I are hooked, as are some very close friends of ours), but light enough for children to follow along. We watch it every evening and can't get enough!


So, we recently went to see the Hollywood take on this series. It was OK. I was bummed that they didn't follow the story line as well as I hoped and that it was mega-serious, but they did get the main points and expanded on the complexity of the story for a more mature crowd. They also had some fabulously accurate sets. All in all, it was worth watching and I'm excited for the next one.