M. Night Shyamalan and James Cameron’s “Avatars”

Paramount neglected to announce the level that ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ co-creators, Mike Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko would be involved in the making of this live action film. If they in fact, in the end, they will have any say so in the project at all. This is a very, very bad sign from the beginning filling many an Avatar fan with much dread and worry and very little enthusiasm for the box office as many logically conclude that ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ is nothing without its creators and superior writing staff (Aaron and Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, to name a few).

Paramount, Nickelodeon and Viacom are complete and utter fools if they think otherwise. It would seem as is standard in Hollywood that Shyamalan and Paramount are basically banking on the solid built-in Avatar fan base. In December 2006, the Avatar Season 2 finale yielded 4.4 million viewers and beat out everything in its timeslot that night.

This grazing of the fan base is a good strategy in theory but one that will backfire I predict as the largest portion of the Avatar-cult does not reside with Nickelodeon’s 6-14 year old demographic. There are currently more than 10 independently run Avatar fan websites which have been created in utter adoration and worship of all things Avatar. These sites were created and are frequented by adults (median age mid-to-late 20s) and not young children. This portion of the fanbase will reject and scowl at Shyamalan’s traditional egotistical cameos and any ‘artistic liberties’ he is expected to take in the transfer of the now-perfect animated form to live-action screenplay.

Shyamalan may haul in the diehard fanbase for the first movie as everyone will be curious to see how badly he butchers it but the second two movies will hold as much logical appeal as his story that somehow an alien species vulnerable to water would attempt to overtake a planet comprised mainly of the same element. (see Shyamalan movie ‘Signs’)

The special effects required to generate ‘bending’ and the characters of Appa and Momo alone place Shyamalan out of his artistic league. Avatar is not a storyline with a lot of ‘I see dead people’ gasping plot twists–Shyamalan’s mainstay. It is instead a gentle unfolding and peeling back of characters with deep passion as well as great angst, complex plot lines all culminating in a neverending quest to save the Avatar world from complete annihilation. Avatar is an undoubted spiritual parable which mirrors our own plight with our current very pointless War in Iraq and a planet out of balance facing the grim realities of rapid global warming.

Avatar is many things, but it has never been, nor will it ever be just a kid’s cartoon show.

It makes absolutely no logical sense that Paramount managed to make full-length feature films showcasing the Nickelodeon animated cartoons Rugrats and SpongeBob Squarepants and somehow Avatar is solid enough to be given the same opportunity?

Paramount, Nickelodeon and Viacom are literally sitting on a goldmine of profitability but because they are so out of touch with who the real Avatar fan base is comprised of they will willingly skip to their own doom and allow Shyamalan, the lemmings and the beloved Avatar to fall over the edge of a cliff, carelessly thrilled to death about every minute of it.

DiMartino and Konietzko are worshipped as gods in the animated world because they have created an entirely new genre. ‘Avatar’ is not traditional Japanese anime but it isn’t a run-of-the-mill simplistic kid’s cartoon either. With ‘Avatar’ they have established and set ‘American Anime’ on the map and have captured a loyal and devoted diehard fanbase while doing it.

The greatest tragedy and biggest mistake for Paramount and Nickelodeon is that if done right (ideally as an animated feature film) the movie industry would blink with mouth agape in utter shock at the outpouring of the unseen Avatar fanbase. You think the Harry Potter movies generated crazed fans dressed up in costume to see showing after showing waiting from midnight the night before to get a ticket? You have seen nothing my friend.

What a complete waste that none of that glory will come to pass as Shyamalan will most reliably ruin ‘Avatar’ in the live-action format forcing heartbroken fans to clutch their seasons on DVD with all the more fervor vowing to never again to pay good money to see another Shyamalan disaster so long as they live.