appa

Seriously, why haven't you done this yet? There's talk of some smurf movie lately that has taken Avatar: TLA's shortname and smeared it across the heavens, but in my book, there is only one Avatar. And he is the last of the airbenders. You see, 100 years ago, the Fire Nation waged war upon the lands, wiping out the Air Nation, and nearly completely subjugating the rest. Tribes of the Water Nation and strongholds of the Earth Nation remain as thorns in the Fire Lord's side. Then, the mystical Avatar, thought lost for 100 years, re-emerges months before a critical moment in the Fire Nation's plans. This Avatar, master of all the elements, is a LITTLE BOY, named Aang. He's gotta get ready to kick some ass. And guess what? He does.

This amazing little cartoon series is quite possibly the only recent American-made animation worth your time. Despite its often "kiddish" themes and jokes, much of those aspects work into its charm. There's a sense of humor there that is simply so blunt and corny that it works magically. The series does suffer from a low budget, which makes for some choppy frame rates through otherwise very cool animations, but as the series progresses, they fill in those little issues more often. By the series finale, the fluidity of the animation is like eye sex.

M. Night Shamwow is adapting this show into a movie trilogy, with one movie based on each season, wherein Aang masters each element. The cast has been announced, meeting some criticism for avoiding a cast with Asians in it. After all, Avatar has a particularly Asian theme, and it would only make sense for Asians to be in the movie... but it seems Shamalama went in a different direction. I know it sounds cruel, but I find myself rather indifferent on the subject, only wanting the series' furry magical flying bison, Appa, to be magnificent.

So are you sitting on your hands right now, wondering if there's something you should be doing? Maybe you have some itunes gift cards and you don't know what to get. Or, maybe, you're just feeling like you should be more awesome. Go watch this show in its entirety. You won't regret it.