New Netflix adaptation of iconic animated series has fans and critics split

EntertainmentStreamingNew Netflix adaptation of iconic animated series has fans and critics splitIs it yip-yip or nope-nope?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Netflix)

QUICK SUMMARYNetlix has gone big with its live action adaptation ofAvatar: The Last Airbender.Fans and critics however are more divided about this new spin on the acclaimed story of Aang.

Netlix has gone big with its live action adaptation ofAvatar: The Last Airbender.Fans and critics however are more divided about this new spin on the acclaimed story of Aang.

For a generation of teenagers and young adults, the wordAvatardidn’t conjure up a world of giant blue aliens in James Cameron’s mega-franchise. Instead, we thought of a young boy from humble beginnings, destined for greatness. We thought of Aang.

The animated seriesAvatar: The Last Airbenderis a touchstone for many under 30. It ran for four seasons, a movie and spin-off show (The Legend of Korra) which in itself had over 50 episodes. That’s a pretty significant impact, so of course much likeOne Piece,it was a prime candidate for theNetflixlive-action treatment.

Given the original show’s success and its 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating with critics (98% with audiences), there is understandable anxiety about the adaptation which launched last week. Now that the dust has settled we can see that (at the time of writing), with a 60% critics score and 75% audience score, it hasn’t quite managed to capture the same magic as the original. Of course, both are streets ahead of the 2010 live-action movie (that we will never talk about again) which sets on just 5%.

With such a large fanbase, it’s no surprise that the 8-episode first season has shot up the Netflix charts, but what is it about, and does it pay respect to its roots?

So the basic premise is of course the same, but there are also plenty of nods to the original series. Several voice actors pop up in new roles (or for one famous vegetable seller, the same role) including George Takei himself!

Of course, seeing the world come to life in big-budget live-action is for many fans a dream come true, but it’s hard to compress a 20-episode animated season into 8 Netflix episodes. If you’ve never watched the originalAvatar,the accessibility of live-action might just convince you to give it a go.

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