Paul Sun-Hyung Lee talks Asian illustration in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ – National

Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender have been ready for today for a very long time: the discharge of a live-action adaptation that lastly captures the spirit and magic of the unique beloved cartoon.

The cult traditional cartoon aired for 3 seasons on Nickelodeon beginning in 2005 and hasn’t left the zeitgeist since, even after a disappointing live-action film got here out in 2010 directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

It’s a straightforward declare to make that Netflix’s Last Airbender blows the 2010 film out of the water — nevertheless it does a lot greater than that. It brings to life a world wealthy in magnificence and historical past whereas staying true to the whimsy that made the unique sequence so particular. It’s without delay expansive in its scope and grounded in its characters, every thing you’d anticipate for a present a few group of, effectively, simply youngsters saving the world.

Avatar: The Last Airbender tells the story of the Avatar, a “chosen one” character who’s the one particular person on Earth who can grasp all 4 components: earth, wind, air and fireplace. In The Last Airbender, our younger protagonist Aang is simply that, the final of his variety after a genocide wipes out his individuals. In his quest to tackle the conquering Fire Nation, Aang picks up associates alongside the best way and audiences get taken on a journey that showcases the distinctive nations related to every aspect, based mostly on Inuit, East Asian and South Asian cultures.

Indigenous and Asian illustration is abound in Netflix’s eight-episode sequence, one thing that was sorely lacking within the 2010 film. Global News sat down with South Korean-Canadian actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, greatest recognized for his function as Appa on Kim’s Convenience, to speak about taking up the enduring character of Uncle Iroh and the way Asian illustration in media has modified since he first turned an actor.

“When I started off, it felt like a desolate wasteland, where you kind of felt doomed to forever play a gang member or convenience store owner, or a doctor or lawyer or whatever,” Lee stated. “Characters that were just window dressing and not really characters, but more decorations, human decorations that were sprinkled in the background to show diversity but were never the ones that were the centre of attention or the ones that drove the narrative.”

Coming off a serious increase in Asian cinema and various casting, Lee says “we are living in a golden age, and I love it because it’s a movement and not a trend.”

Lee says it’s an inspiration to see “a story like this on this scale, the epicness of it and the sweeping adventures, and not only that, seeing Asian characters at the forefront who are driving the narrative.”

“When you see your culture, your people, people who look like you as heroes instead of villains, it makes a world of difference,” Lee stated. “I think a show like Avatar will put another stamp in that history book and say, ‘Hey, let’s open up more chapters and keep building on this.’”

Lee revealed that he watched The Last Airbender for the primary time in 2017, on the advice of one in every of his Kim’s Convenience co-stars.

“She said, ‘You’ve got to watch this show. It’s probably some of the best television I’ve ever watched.’ So I sat and watched all three books. I thought, this is fantastic. And then very shortly after that, it was announced that it was being developed by Netflix into a live action remake. And I got fan-casted by thousands of people, which was like, really, really great.”

When Lee acquired into his Iroh costume with full hair and make-up for the primary time, he cried.

“The first time I saw the full look, I cried because, there he was. And he’s me. Like, I’m him. It was crazy how transformative it is,” Lee stated.

“And then you see everybody else show up and everybody’s in costume … and it’s like they plucked them from the cartoon and put them right in front of you. And as a fan, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Lee added. “It’s so magical.”

Lee additionally talked about a few of the darker themes of The Last Airbender, and the way they strike such a chord with youthful audiences.

“It’s almost like a gateway to to explore the events that are happening around them currently. It helps them to understand the dynamic of the real world and what’s going on. It gives them parallels. And it’s a great conversation starter, too, like, ‘Oh, this is very similar to the Fire Nation wanting to take over and, you know, colonizing all these different kingdoms.’”

But The Last Airbender will not be all doom and gloom, Lee notes; it’s as a lot about self-discovery and discovering out who you actually are.

“You’ve got to figure out who you really are and what you want, because that’s your life. And, you know, your parents or other people might want you to do certain things, but at the end of the day, it is your life. And so what are you going to do with that? And I think this message is great because it can be inspiring. It can be contagious,” Lee stated. “I think a lot more people in life would be happier if they were able to ask themselves that question and honestly come to those answers and pursue that happiness.”

Threading that line between The Last Airbender’s themes of battle and environmental destruction with its deal with the transformative energy of affection and friendship is one thing the Netflix adaptation does seamlessly.

Fear and loss push these characters to do horrible issues, however on the finish of the day, historical past is altered by a gaggle of youngsters who gained’t let go of their hope.

The 4 nations are rendered in spectacular style, the bending and combat scenes are stunningly fluid and the on-screen chemistry of the primary solid is so pure for a gaggle of youngsters and youths compelled to develop up a bit too early.

The problem of condensing the unique 24-episode first season of The Last Airbender into an eight-episode arc are on show in a few of the cracks of this sequence. The plot strikes at a breakneck tempo with out a lot time for Aang, or the viewers, to take a seat with the teachings discovered alongside the best way. The present additionally makes modifications to the intentions behind Aang’s character that take away from his improvement and preliminary concern of assuming his function because the Avatar.

The present makes up for a few of these modifications by guaranteeing audiences get tons of fan service. There are quite a few nods to a few of The Last Airbender’s most iconic scenes and inside jokes.

In all, followers of the present are positive to be impressed with the visible majesty on-screen, even when Netflix’s adaption doesn’t fairly attain the identical peaks of the unique sequence.

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‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ is accessible to stream Thursday, Feb. 22, on Netflix.