NETFLIX viewers have complained that a newly rebooted noughties TV show has been ‘butchered’ by plot changes, the use of CGI and green screen effects.
The hotly-anticipated return of Avatar: The Last Airbender has left fans divided since it was released on the streamer’s platform last week.
The eight-part series is a remake of the acclaimed children’s animation of the same name, which follows the adventures of a boy called Aang, a so-called Avatar blessed with the supernatural ability to control the four elements.
The latest adaptation is essentially the same: four nations – Water, Air, Earth and Fire – live side by side with an Avatar, the master of all four elements, maintaining the peace.
However, when the warlike Fire Nation attack the Air Nation, and a new Avatar is needed, 12-year-old Air Nomad Aang, played by Gordon Cormier, takes the lead and sets off on a spectacular quest with his friends to defeat the evil Fire Lord Ozai.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was previously adapted into a critically panned feature film by M Night Shyamalan.
The original animated series ran on screens between 2005 and 2008 on Nickelodeon.
After watching the series, fans took to social media and shared their reactions, with plenty of criticism focusing on the show’s use of CGI and plot changes.
Taking to X(formerly Twitter), one viewer tweeted: “Overall, if you have the chance to watch the original… just watch the original.
“Avatar is a beautiful cartoon full of life lessons and an amazing cast of characters that’ll stay with you, if you want a watered-down version with bad CGI, then the remake is for you.”
Another added: “I think live-action Avatar isn’t that bad, but of course, changing the story knowing what was in the animated show feels wrong, and some CGI scenes when surroundings look blurry and feel like they are in different rooms.”
A third typed: “Watched all eight eps and Netflix‘s Avatar adaptation completely missed the mark for me.”
While someone else expressed: “Character development mostly ruined, storylines and lore butchered as they’re mixed together, messy pacing, 80% dialogue is exposition, no nuance to themes.”
A fifth person followed: “Live-action Avatar has literally BUTCHERED this show.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if they kept the same storyline but noooooo.”
Looking for a new Netflix series to binge or the best movies to watch on Amazon Prime? We have you covered...
However, other viewers were more optimistic about the visuals, with one person writing: “People complaining about the CGI in Netflix’s Avatar are insane. It genuinely looks great way more often than not.”
One of the series’ stars, Ian Ousley, recently issued reassurance to fans who were worried about changes made to the character of Sokka from the original animated series.
Ian explained: “The animated show really is the heart and soul of what our live-action show is. We were not trying to take out anything.
“Obviously, we took out that [sexist] element, but he still has that attitude. Not a sexist attitude, but it’s morphed into more of – in Sokka and Katara’s relationship – ‘I’m the leader and you’re the follower’ situation. Stuff like that.”
He added: “He’s still the Sokka we know and love from the cartoon. I don’t even think fans would notice some of those things, honestly, [when] watching our show… He definitely still has his arcs and his lessons in the show.”
In recent years, Avatar has been one out of several high-profile live-action animations to be adapted by the streamer, following last year’s One Piece series and a live-action remake of the hit anime Cowboy Bebop.
Another recent Netflix release starring music icon Kelly Rowland has been branded ‘one of the worst movies ever made’ – even though it’s climbing up the charts.
Tyler Perry’s new legal thriller Mea Culpa has received plenty of criticism from viewers since it was released on February 23.
Avatar: The Last Airbender is available to stream on Netflix.
