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Although the dialogue in ‘Avatar’ may–for the most part, seem excellent to the show’s target audience of five through twelve year olds, intelligent adults will be disappointed with its cliché and childish nature. Yes, the main characters are young adolescents, and thus their dialogue should accurately reflect the levels of maturity and intellect that viewers associate with that age range, so as to promote a sense of realism to said viewers. That being said, when productions like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles have been able to produce realistic sounding children’s dialogue for the young characters they portray without making any of them sound trite or stupid, then any other show that aspires to have “good writing for both children and adults” (as many reviewers have stated) should have to achieve the same. That is not to say that this show is unenjoyable, or that it will never make you laugh; it just lacks the intricacies that the jaded adult who has already “seen it all” (at least in terms of television) often covets. Any occasional, slight chuckle the intelligent viewer may experience will likely not come from witty banter or complex irony, but rather from a much more primitive, slapstick style of humor, whether it be character blunders, immature remarks, or “boink!” noises when one character hits another character on the head.

Where the show does succeed is in its good animation and sound. There is constant noise and music to go along with every frame of action on the screen, and the visuals themselves often-times look like they were choreographed with some sort of physics system or engine. The arstic flair in the animation, combined with the great sound effects of which I speak, can be seen as early as in the intro to the show, when the mystical old Avatar summons up a rock from the earth, then kicks it forward right as it starts to fall back towards the ground.

The show also creates a great sense of wonder that I have rarely had the pleasure of feeling since I was a very young child, while having fantasies novels read to be. By alluding to majestic, far away kingdoms of Earth, Fire, and Air at the becoming of the first episode of Avatar, while only showing the small Water Kingdom village where two of the show’s eventual three protagonists dwell, this great sense of wonder is created. We, as viewers, are told of these magical, far away lands, but see nothing of them. All we can do is wonder about them along with Katara and Sokka – two young natives of a Water tribe. Even as the protagonists travel to multiple new locations, this great sense of wonder remains because the makers of Avatar have–with the premise of the show, created a limitless world. No matter where the protagonists travel, there will always be Kingdoms they have not been to, that the viewer has yet to see; there will always be something over the next hill. This lovely sense of wonder is the show’s greatest achievement. To–in all probability, nearly the largest extent possible (which is still relatively small, unfortunately), this show takes me back to being a young child (but only to that aforementioned small extent, I’m afraid I must re-emphasize), back when the type of wonder that now exists solely in the world of Avatar (and maybe a few other shows I have yet to watch) was actually ubiquitous in my reality. For at the least the hope of once more experiencing that youthful wonder, I recommend this show to any adult (at least younger ones) who enjoys animé and can get past the subpar, ’saturday-morning-kids-cartoon’-esque dialogue. Because despite the protagonists’ lack of cleverness or true complexity, they are all still likeable enough due to their bravery and benign nature. So, to sum this show up:

* the stereotypical characters are likeable despite not being the most original, intelligent, clever, or eloquent bunch

* The dialogue is far too simple and trite to really stimulate the intelligent adult mind (even the old Wiseman/Philosopher character lacks ingenuity and–instead, ends up sounding primitive and spurious), but–

* the various plots are not ingenious by any means, yet they are still fun and interesting, and it definitely seems that much more thought went into them than did into the dialogue.

* The various plots are absolutely filled with action; and although all of the animation is done more adeptly than in the average cartoon, the action sequences look especially great–not do to any new fancy style of animé, but just to a much more polished version of the normal-looking type of cartoon animation

* And most importantly, this show has the power to remind even the jaded and tried minds of the great, infinite wonder of being a child, thanks to the equally infinite world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Rating: 3 / 5

I am very disappointed with the DVD I received because 2 of the 5 discs were scratched and cannot be played.
Rating: 1 / 5