With its focus on thoughtful character development and exploration of difficult subject matter like genocide, Nickelodeon\u2019s Avatar: The Last Airbender<\/em><\/a> <\/em>series set a new high bar for children\u2019s TV. But despite its tonal maturity, Avatar<\/em> was still very much a cartoon trying to delight you by playing to the strengths of the medium, which was perfectly suited for realizing the magical world that co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko<\/a> dreamed up.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Watching Netflix\u2019s new live-action Avatar <\/em>series<\/a> from executive producers Albert Kim and Dan Lin, it\u2019s clear everyone involved with the show wants to be more than its infamously whitewashed cinematic predecessor<\/a>, and in some cases, it succeeds. But for all of that good intention, the new Avatar <\/em>is another example of Netflix turning a beloved animated property into something that feels deeply at odds with what people loved about the original.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Set in a world that\u2019s been torn apart by war, Avatar <\/em>tells the story of how a trio of children is pulled together by fate to topple a fascist empire. After years of living in terror of the pyrokinetic Fire Nation, it\u2019s hard for members of the planet\u2019s other elemental societies to see Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) as anything but a monster. Fear of the Fire Nation is what keeps the two polar Water Tribes from straying beyond their borders, and it\u2019s because of lethal raids led by Ozai\u2019s brother Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) that the Earth Kingdom is always on high alert. But the larger reason that no one dares to challenge Ozai\u2019s supremacy or openly rally a resistance is because everyone remembers how the war began with the Fire Nation almost <\/em>entirely wiping the Air Nomads out of existence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Those details were important to understanding the original Avatar<\/em>\u2019s story. But Netflix\u2019s series leads with them in a way that immediately telegraphs how much more of a gritty adventure it is by comparison. Along with some rather nifty-looking chocobo-like creatures, explosive feats of bending are some of the first things you see in the new Avatar <\/em>as it opens on a high-octane action sequence set in the past. It\u2019s a great showcase of the energy the show\u2019s VFX and choreography teams put into depicting each of Avatar<\/em>\u2019s various bending styles as distinct balances between martial arts and elemental magic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As cool as it is to see Earthbenders shooting sprays of pebbles like bullets and Firebenders incinerating things with their bare hands, Avatar <\/em>puts those visuals front and center early on, mainly as a way of illustrating how the Air Nomads had little hope of surviving the Fire Nation\u2019s assault on their temples high up in the mountains. And while all of this helps you understand the tragic circumstances that lead to young Airbender Aang (Gordon Cormier) \u2014 the newest Avatar capable of bending all four elements \u2014 becoming the sole survivor of his people, it also sets a grave tone for the series as a whole that Avatar<\/em> struggles to shake as its larger story unfolds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The show <\/em>becomes somewhat more lighthearted once it jumps forward 100 years, and you can feel it paying homage to the cartoon as its focus shifts to the Southern Water Tribe to introduce brother \/ sister duo Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio). Like their animated counterparts, Sokka\u2019s a well-meaning but pigheaded teen who clings to tradition as a way of coping with the loss of their mother, and Katara\u2019s a promising Waterbender who feels stifled in a village with no one to teach her how to perfect her skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n