Mia Wong

Photo by Net Sama, CC by 1.0, Flickr

Netflix has excitingly debuted its own live-action film “Avatar: The Last Airbender” on February 22, 2024, by program creator, Adam Kim. It has almost been two decades now since the original cartoon version of Avatar: The Last Airbender and its astounding reputation still holds strong. Currently holding the No.1 series title on Netflix, the live-action film has stunned people with its visuals and chemistry between our beloved characters. 

The series is about a boy named Aang who must restore harmony to the world by mastering all four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Training to defeat the Fire Nation which has overtaken the world, Aang goes on an adventure and meets many people along the way. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, whom St. Augustine had the honor of meeting last year, is one of those Aang meets. Fan-casted by many, Paul Sun-Hying Lee plays the role of Uncle Iroh in the film and has explained how the cast proudly addresses Asian representation through their works. This proves to be true as Paul Sun-Hyung Lee has stated, “We are living in a golden age, and I love it because it’s a movement and not a trend”. Asian representation is a key element in making this recent work because it allows the cast to display how each character comes to terms with who they really are. 

Despite the many obstacles Aang and his friends must overcome, they manage to push through because of the hope spread among one another. Looking at our world today in the present, the story teaches us how we can not let our fear and anger get in the way of fulfilling something much greater than ourselves. 

All in all, something about the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrates a perfect balance between how love and power are played both for the good and bad. Including old jokes and popular elements from the old cartoon has brought an entirely new level of love for the show. Moreover, including different perspectives of the characters – that the cartoon might not have portrayed – showed how amazingly the program creator and executive producers put this together. Aang and Gyatso’s relationship is one example, showing how important Gyatso’s character really was to Aang’s adventure. In the end, despite being a story that has lasted for so long, fans hope that the magic of this series can last forever in both new and past audiences.