CineTV Contest || The Comfort and Cheeky Laughter That Avatar Brings

I know this might be bending the rules a little (pun very much intended, lol), but the “movie” that makes me happiest is technically a series: Avatar: The Last Airbender (The animation). Before you come for me with a flying boomerang, hear me out. Avatar may not be a 2-hour traditional blockbuster, but the experience it offers is as cinematic, emotional, and impactful as any. It makes me laugh. It makes me reflect, and most importantly, it makes me happy. VERY HAPPY.

I mean, how could you hear the legendary, "Water, Air, Fire, Earth. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony, then, everything changed when the fire nations attacked, only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them......" and not be happy? In fact, I'll let you hear it yourself 👇

I can't exactly remember the very first time I watched Avatar, but I remember where I first saw it. It was a daily show on Nickelodeon. Every evening at 8 PM, my siblings and I, positioned on our selected favorite chairs in the living room never miss one episode. It was so captivating for our little eyes. t the time, we thought TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) was the coolest animation until we saw Avatar.

Avatar has humor, sarcasm and wits (Think Sokka), it has emotions, vulnerability and reflections (Think Katara), it has confusion, self-awareness journey, and the result of every decision one makes (Think Zuko), and most importantly, what do you do when all you want to be is be a normal, ordinary boy who later falls in love and marries the love of his life, but you're suddenly told the weight of the world lies on your shoulders and to carry it, you have to let go of the world (i.e, love)..... think Aang.

While watching with my siblings, it wasn’t long before we were picking our elements. I chose water. My brother picked earth. My sister (not so ironically) chose fire. Specifically, Azula. (And looking back now, that tracks way too well.) 😂

Water spoke to me (oh please, staying delulu is the solulu). It was graceful and healing, but also powerful and persistent. My brother, as grounded as they come and obviously because of all the muscles, naturally gravitated toward Earth. And my sister? lol, she was the Azula of the group through and through. Ambitious, fiery, and unbothered by the idea of a little lightning. Just like every other second born. Absolute chaotic bunch.

We practiced “bending” moves in the living room, my sister and I even drew the Avatar arrows on my brother with chalk. 🤣 Those moments are among my favorite childhood memories.

Avatar's Characters

Every single character in Avatar is carefully written and layered.

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Aang, the 12-year-old Airbender tasked with saving the world despite being such a lighthearted and goofy individual, yet deeply spiritual and wise. I remember how disturbed he was at the fact that he had to end the firelord Ozai's life which goes against everything the monks taught him. He believes life is not meant to be taken regardless of how devastatingly cruel one is.

I can't make Sokka anything less than number two because, despite not being a bender, Sokka was one of, if not the major highlight in Avatar, the last airbender. Sometimes, I rewatch the entire series just to hear Sokka's sarcasm and logic again and again. There was this episode where they went to a village that believed so much in fortune telling, that episode was completely hilarious. It's like the producers said, "for this episode, let's put Sokka's sarcasm level to the highest". And that episode where Sokka went to learn to fight with a sword, gosh, the crew (Aang, Katara and Toph) missed him so much. I remember how desperately they tried saying funny stuff but it just wasn't working, lol. Despite Sokka's totally logical foolishness always leading to disaster, Sokka remains the most logical and witty character in Avatar. They owe him a lot of thanks.

Katara, the iconic waterbender, is the emotional core of the group. She’s not only nurturing but also fiercely loyal. But she’s also angry and grieving her mother. Her strength isn’t just in her bending, it’s in her ability to lead with heart, even when it hurts and that speaks to me, a lot.

Then there’s Zuko. If there were ever a blueprint for character development, it's him. That guy went from being a scarred, angry prince that's obsessed with regaining ''his honor'' to a humble young man choosing his own path. I can't forget the scene where he was asking a frog, "what would uncle say?" Then he went ahead and imitated his uncle, "Zuko, to choose your path, you must forget your path and chose the path". Ha ha, he went ahead and said a whole lot of rubbish like this, but can we blame him? Uncle Iroh speaks in parables, lol.

And then we have Azula, my sister’s fave. She’s powerful, strategic, cold and ruthless. But beneath that exterior is a girl desperate for love, control, and validation. Her downfall was fun but also hard to watch not because she deserved better, but because it left me asking, "what if her family had been a loving, casual family where the father and mother love each other and dote on the kids?" At the end of the day, she chose her path and made sabotaging Zuko her life's mission just to prove that she doesn't need her mother and to earn validation from her father. Her path became her undoing.

Every character, Toph, Uncle Iroh, even Appa and Momo added some unforgettable memory to my childhood. From comic relief to grounded wisdom, watching their journeys unfold over three seasons felt like growing up with them. And maybe, in a way, I did.

Because even after watching the whole series on Nickelodeon, my siblings and I saved money back then to buy the cassette and we'd constantly watch it on our DVD till it no longer played, lol. And when everything went digital, we downloaded them. And even after time and time of watching Avatar, I can still watch it all over again from season 1 to 3. Partly because watching animation helps me sleep better at night, also partly because I still have the full series on my PC, yup, that's how much I love Avatar, gonna pass it down to my kids and their kids. 😂

Avatar didn’t just entertain. It taught. It planted seeds of philosophy, morals, ethics, and emotional intelligence in our young minds without ever feeling like a lecture. It showed us that strength doesn’t always look like brute force. That forgiveness isn’t easy and sometimes the people we think are villains are just broken people.

It’s a show that respects its audience especially kids. I love when cartoons don't try to make adult jokes (like most cartoons these days). And now, as an adult, I still find new meaningful stuff every time I rewatch it. It’s a comfort blanket I wrap around myself every time I need to relaxxxxx. It makes me laugh and smile, the cheeky smile kind of smile.

In one of my favorite moments, Uncle Iroh says, “Sometimes, life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving... you will come to a better place.” That quote lives rent-free in my mind because it represents the essence of not just Avatar, but also life itself. It's all about pushing forward. Choosing to be good, even when people test you.

So yeah, the first movie scene that came to my mind when I thought of a response to this prompt, is the sound of the crew's laughter; Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and even Zuko.

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All Images are from IMdb

_{Thank you for reading! 🧸🧡}

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