The Last Airbender

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Permalink Reply by Gill on May 24, 2009 at 3:41am

He looks kinda like Dev Patel. I gues they should have cast him instead of that twilight guy as Sokka. But it doesn't matter much to me. I am gonna wait for the trailers to come out and then for the movie to come out. And only then will i judge the movie. And i don't think this movie will be bad as Dragonball. M Night has made some good movies so I have my hopes up for this movie.

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Permalink Reply by Iron Man on May 24, 2009 at 9:24am

I can't tell what race he is, he has blue eyes brown skin....

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 24, 2009 at 12:58pm

Water Tribe = Blue eyes
Air Nomads = Grey eyes
Earth Kingdom = Green eyes
Fire Nation = Crimson eyes

Eye color is used to signify citizenship.
Also, blue and green eyes are not limited to those of European descent.
Those eye colors can also be found in South Asia, West Asian, and North Africa. Yes, NORTH AFRICA.

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Permalink Reply by Iron Man on May 25, 2009 at 7:56am

Yea but I don't think of black people and blue eyes together, or asian and blue eyes. I mostly put white people and blue eyes together. Who cares whether he's asian or not, I only care if he can act. Why should race be an issue.

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Permalink Reply by Hatebeard on May 24, 2009 at 12:11pm

I don't see how this is offensive. Maybe we should cut the shit until the trailer comes out, and then we'll be able to judge the movie rationally.

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Permalink Reply by Ozma of Oz on May 24, 2009 at 4:11pm

I agree. Its a bit early to freak out, isn't it?

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 25, 2009 at 8:36pm

@Tommy
Can you give me an example of a prominent feature Aang should have to look Asian?
What prominent feature should Sokka and Katara have to look Inuit?

The voice of the character does not define the characters' race.
It can't even define the character's gender.
If they made a live action Simpsons movie, should Bart be played by a female actress?
What about Appa and Momo? Should they redesign those characters to look more like Dee Bradley Baker?
Dante Basco was Zuko's voice actor,
so why didn't they cast the Fire Nation with Filipino-Americans?
Mako Iwamatsu was Iroh, why didn't they cast him as Japanese?

Do all the characters' voices have to have broken english in order for the characters to be Asian?
I know hundreds of Asian-Americans who sound just like Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph and Zuko.
Why should the default race of the character be white just because they speak perfect english?

The creators consulted the East West Players and tapped into their resources of Asian-American voice actors/actresses.
Why did the film producers not consult EWP to find Asian-American actors/actresses?

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 25, 2009 at 11:01pm

I bring up the voice actors because, in the MANAA letter you posted, one of their main contentions is Hollywood is casting whites over actors of color. Therefore, work is work, no matter if it is live action or voice over. So, why would MANAA not fight for the actors behind the scenes as well? Of course the voice of a character does not define his/her race. However, a voice actor is not inferior to a live action one. Therefore, if they have a problem with the live action’s production casting whites in leads, I think they should have had the same with the animated show. So please don’t through slick lines out there like: “Do all the characters' voices have to have broken English in order for the characters to be Asian?” Why throw out idiotic stereotypes? You seem quick to think what I brought up was meant as discriminatory. I was merely pointing out MANAA could have easily questioned whether there was white preference with the voice casting. In terms of the character designs, the main three mentioned are ambiguous. However, I will not let you bait me into naming features that would have diminished this, as I will probably be falsely judged of promoting stereotypes again.

In terms of consulting the EWP for the film, I can't answer that. I wasn’t there for their talks on the casting process. Furthermore, I wasn’t there when they decided how to handle auditions. Therefore, I can’t comment.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 27, 2009 at 1:13pm

The voice actors are not inferior to live action actors, but, the voice actors hide behind the animated character and although they play a huge role in the character's personality, the voice is just part of the character's design. I consider the Korean animators, the real actors behind the characters.
So race is not an issue. But, the creators didn't take any risks and consulted EWP anyway. Which is why MANAA probably didn't get involved.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 27, 2009 at 1:52pm

Just because a voice character is behind an animated one, it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t question who does the voices and how fair the casting process was. Like I said, if your organization is questioning the fair treatment of Asian actors in this franchise, the casting of the voice actors should hold the same amount of weight as the casting of the live action actors. Therefore, even if the EWP was consulted, things like the voice actors and ambiguous leads could have been questioned from the beginning.

Also, as a storyboard artist, I think the role of the storyboard artist is more important than the animators when determining the actions of the animated characters.

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Permalink Reply by rokrok on May 27, 2009 at 2:45pm

I don't think they had to be questioned from the beginning.
I don't think the voices hold the same amount of weight as the live action cast.
The targeted demographic usually don't see the voices behind the character.
The children in the minority will be shocked and confused when they see the live action Aang, Sokka and Katara.
In the animated series, it was never about light-skinned vs dark-skinned,
In the live action movie, it will be Caucasian vs Middle Eastern.

Because you believe that the lead characters are ambiguous
and I believe that they are clearly Asian/Inuit
we will continue to argue in circles.

Well, I am sure it was the Korean storyboard artists who decided that the Earth Kingdom natives wear Korean Hanboks.

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on May 27, 2009 at 3:16pm

I didn’t say they should, I said they could have. Besides, I think you’re missing the point about the voice actors. If a group is worried about the fair treatment of Asian actors, I wondered if they worried about it when it came to the actors behind the scenes (and the lead designs - which we will disagree on). If they only make a big scene about those on camera, it can only devalue their cause. Also, I addressed the white vs dark skin comments in a previous post. So, forgive me if I don't do so here.

Also, the storyboards and designs for Avatar were done here for the most part, and not by the Korean Animators.

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