CineTV Contest: A Timeless Childhood Treasure – Avatar: The Last Airbender (animated series)

7 days ago (Edited)

Avatar: The Last Airbender will forever remain a core memory of my childhood.

It was my favorite childhood movie.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was an animated series that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. It was an action, adventure, fantasy animation.

I can remember back then how it was so appealing not only to children because my mother would sometimes join us to watch. We would be explaining to her what was going on, and she would be listening seriously.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was about a kid, Aang, the last Airbender and Avatar, who had to master all four elements to defeat the Fire Lord and restore balance to the world.

Along the way, he met new friends—Katara, a Waterbender—who became Aang's closest friend; Sokka, a warrior of the Water Tribe—Katara’s witty, boomerang-wielding brother; Toph, a blind and very skilled Earthbender; and Zuko, a Firebender—the exiled prince of the Fire Nation.

I loved this animation for the adventurous journey across different nations, the humor and friendships among the characters, the deep lessons about responsibility, perseverance, and destiny, and the exciting action sequences, especially the bending battles.

But one thing that made it memorable was the togetherness it created. It was like a bond for me and my siblings—I guess that's why my mom liked it as well—because she saw the way it brought us all together.

I remember sitting in the parlor, some on the chair while some on the floor, and we would all laugh together while watching it.

It was my only and first movie that I watched every single episode of together with every one of my siblings. Even when we grew up, we still watched it together again, and it was as fun as the first time we watched it.

I had many favorite scenes—from the scenes where he entered the Avatar state to the visit to an old friend, King Bumi, but the best for me was the ending.

Although I only realized it when I was grown—at the end, when it was all over, and everyone was together, there was a hint of sadness in Aang's eyes—he saw everyone together from all nations, but he was still alone—the only Airbender.

That scene touched me a lot; I felt his happiness in finally uniting the world and his pain that even though he had Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Appa, his flying bison, and Momo, his chipmunk, with him—he was still the last Airbender.

My favorite character was Toph—she was skilled, strong, and brave from a very young age and had a good sense of humor.

Avatar: The Last Airbender wasn't just a groundbreaker for Nickelodeon, it also opened a new door for the entire animation industry.

It was what introduced me to animation.

It was so good that even the Netflix adaptation, which I was excited about, couldn't reach anything close to my expectations.

If you didn't watch it as a kid or haven't watched it yet, then you missed a lot. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a classic childhood favorite for many and will always remain so for me.

Fun fact: I reached Book 2 last week 🙂; yes, I am watching it again, and I enjoy it😂.

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