When translating a story from one medium to another, there will always be elements that fans hold sacred that end up on the cutting room floor during the adaptation process. Sadly, Netflix’s live-action adaptation ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderrepeatedly culled fan-favorite moments and, as a result, was the target of overwhelming criticism from the fan base. The series received mixed reviews upon its initial release, with most of the negative reviews stemming fromunnecessary changes to Nickelodeon’s beloved show.
The creative team behind Netflix’s live-action adaptation tried to include some key moments from the original as Easter eggs for fans. Both the original actors who portrayed the iconic Cabbage Man and the singing Nomad – who serenaded fans with ‘Secret Tunnel’ – made brief appearances in the new version. But, one ‘character’ missing from Netflix’s adaptation upset fans and is a significant indicator of why the show underperformed.
Netflix’s Avatar Removed Aang’s Best Disguise
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When Aang, Katara, and Sokka finally make it to Omashuin Season 1of the original, they decide it might be dangerous if someone were to find out Aang was the Avatar. As a result, Aang grabs a large tuft of Appa’s fur and fashions a wig and a bushy mustache. When stopped by the guards at the gate, Aang does his best impression of a cranky old man, berating the guard for harassing the elderly before proclaiming himself as “Bonzu Pippenpadlopsicopolis… the Third.” With no choice but to go along with the ruse, Katara introduces herself to the guard as his granddaughter, “June Pippenpadlopsicopolis.” The goofy moment quickly became a favorite among the fans, leading to major disappointment when Netflix decided to scrap the entire concept, with Aang and the team finding a mundanely alternative way into Omashu.
Aang’s New Powers in Avatar: The Last Airbender Eliminate One of the Franchise’s Best Future Villains
This seemingly unimportant change to the original Avatar story has ruled out one of the best storylines in the franchise from being adapted.
One of the strangest aspects of Netflix’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderadaptation is how showrunner Brian Kim and his team emulsified various episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 of the original series into single, 40-60-minute-long episodes in their new adaptation. The resulting product saw characters arrive in locations they had never stepped foot in during the original series or interact with characters they had never spoken to before. This amalgamation also saw the Pippenpadlopsicopolis moment left on the cutting room floor, as Team Avatar underwhelmingly hid inside a turnip cart to enter Omashu, driven by the Earthbending ‘terrorist’ Jet, who originally didn’t appear until several episodes later.
Fans complainingabout Netflix’s adaptationleaving out Bonzu Pippenpadlopsicopolis might seem unimportant, considering it’s a tiny moment in a show filled with similarly goofy comedy that Netflix could translate instead. But the decision to cut this moment is indicative of a much larger problem fans have with Netflix’s adaptation; it lacks the heart of the original.
Aang, Katara, & Sokka Are Only Children
Netflix went to great lengths to match the ages of the actors as close as possible to the ages of their characters in theirAvatar: The Last Airbenderadaptation but then failed to do anything with it. As they have the fate of the world on their backs, it’s often easy to forget that Aang, Sokka, and Katara are all children. The comedy in Nickelodeon’s beloved original was a consistent reminder that, as well as being the potential saviors of the world, Team Avatar were just children and often acted that way. Disguising yourself as an old man with a fake mustache and calling yourself a completely ridiculous name is exactly how a child would try to sneak into a city. These moments helped to balance the tone of the original show, as its content andage rating allowedit to perfectly toe the line between dark action (which included the genocide of an entire race of people) and light-hearted humor (the repeated destruction of a cabbage cart).
The major complaint of the fan base and many critics is that Netflix removed the child-centric heart and joy of the series in the creation process of their adaptation. Brian Kim has previously stated that the adaptation had to “appeal to the people who arebig fans ofGame of Thrones.” As a result, the series is overshadowed by a much darker, more mature tone than the original. Nickelodeon’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderfeatured several dark moments, with Kim mentioning Koh the Face Stealer in the same interview. However, it did so sparingly and balanced these moments with its persistent humor.
To appease this idealizedGame of Thrones-esque fan base, Netflix’sAvatar: The Last Airbenderculled most of the original show’s lighter moments, like the aforementioned Pippenpadlopsicopolis disguise. The resulting product was a darker drama with the facade ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderbut lacked the heart of what made the original series so enjoyable to watch. While featuring interesting moments, Netflix’s adaptation could be a drag to watch, as the exposition-laden dialogue and lack of humor provided little entertainment between its brief moments of enjoyment.
Netflix has yet to officially announce whether the show has been renewed for Season 2. However, given theviewership records it has broken, it’s a safe bet audiences will be seeing Aang, Sokka, and Katara return. With the lore and world now established, future seasons have the opportunity to listen to the criticism and alter the show’s tonal trajectory, incorporating more of the humor from the original show to re-engage die-hard fans of Nickelodeon’s classic.Avatar: The Last Airbenderis streaming on Netflix.
