My "Avatar: The Last Aribender" Cast

I didn't like M. Night Shyamalan's cast for The Last Airbender movie, so I chose my own. Here it goes.






Hama - Tantoo Cardinal
Ozai - Ken Wantanabe
Iroh - Togo Igawa
Jeong Jeong - Ken Leung
Combustion Man - Dave Batista
The Boulder - Dwayne Johnson
The Hippo - Akebono Taro
The Gecko - Rey Mysterio Jr.
Toph - Adora Svitak (child genius)
Jet - Rocky Liao (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Longshot - Michael Fishman
Gyatso - Chow Yun-Fat
Azula - Crystal Liu
Zuko - Jeong Ji-hoon
Sokka - Curtis Dubuc (Native Celebs)
Katara - Q'Orianka Kilcher
Aang - Brandon Soo Hoo


I wish I could have added some more ethnicity in there, but what can I say, the cartoon is set in an Asian fantasy world. The cast would have to represent that. Some of the Earth Kingdom inhabitants are diverse. Also, the Sand benders and the water benders from the Swamp look as though they could have various ethnic backgrounds, but they didn't make the main cast in my version of The Last Airbender Movie.

What have I been up to?

Whoa! It's been too long since my last post. Sorry bout that. I have been working hard though. I entered two back to back animation competitions in October and November for 11secondclub.com. That took up a lot of time. Also, I've been looking and new and used macbook pro's. My pc is really showing it's age.

As far as cartoons are concerned, I have been watching three on a regular basis. The sunday night line-up of Simpsons, Cleveland Show, and Family Guy have been keeping me occupied. The Simpsons still holds up after all these years. With rumors of the show's cancellation in past years, I felt inclined to watch it more. Not a whole lot to say about it. It seems like Homer's intelligence has been turned way down in the past few seasons. Perhaps that was to compete with Family Guy. Watching it now, I enjoy Simpsons on a different level. I relate to more of the adult humor, so I get a bigger laugh out of the supporting characters instead of Bart. I'm sure that's because I'm older now.

Family Guy has become aware of itself. People have complained that the humor and flashbacks are predictable. As a result, the writers actually put that into the cartoon. The characters will make fun of themselves whenever they come across a situation that the show has been criticized for. That's a nice touch in my opinion. I feel like the writing is better now and the jokes have expanded. They even acknowledge the fact that Cleveland got his own show. It feels like two great cartoons existing in the same world.

On to the Cleveland Show... I love The Cleveland Show. I've said this before, but it makes me proud to have a great show starring a black family. There were only a few to premiere this fall (live action included). It's not on Disney, it's not on Cartoon Network, it's on FOX. That says a lot. I completely get the humor. They have done some great research into black culture and it works well in the cartoon. I am glad that they chose not to simply poke fun at black stereotypes and call it comedy. The dialogue is well done. It doesn't feel dated like a few other shows that use "urban" language or slang.
The Cleveland Shot gets a lot criticism though. Many people I have talked to feel like it's slow and they don't get the humor. Simply put, they are judging this one off of Family Guy's merits. That sucks because it is supposed to be a different show centered around Cleveland as a character. Almost all of the comments on Fox's website are negative. I hope Fox ignores them. The show is a throw back to the 70's. The next person may not get the funk references, the uptown white boy who thinks he's black, or dialogue like "let me get you a Jet magazine and some sweet tea." It completely works for me though. I will continue to support it. I do feel that they might pull it if the ratings drop. I know that's just business, but I would hate for hollywood to think black shows don't make money. Who knows how long it would be before we see another show of this type? Do your thing, Seth McFarlane. The show is awesome.

Afro Samurai's True Identity Revealed

There is a striking resemblance here. Sho'Nuff, the shogun of Harlem from The Last Dragon, is really Afro Samurai. So Awesome!

Battle for Terra

I watched Battle for Terra today. Unfortunately I missed this one in the theaters. It also didn’t help that the movie was not advertised until the week of the release. I was pissed, but its okay.
The visual effects were awesome. I like the environments and the character designs for the Terra natives. It wasn’t explained how they were able to hover though. Perhaps they wanted us to use a bit of imagination, but a little back story on that would have been nice. I thought the designs for the humans could have been pushed a bit more. 3D models got re-used with very few changes. That was most likely due to budget. A new character means a new 3D model, new textures, maybe a new rig, which is no small task to say the least.

I think the story could have been much better. The battle wasn't that big of a battle. The idea was awesome on a broad scale, but suffered in places that needed the fine details. If we were to relate to the lost humans, then more back story and character development should have been added. The culture of the Terra natives was not explained very well. By the time we get into the dynamics of the main character, it is time to fight and resolve the conflict. There were some deleted scenes that really should have been left in the movie.

Though I had my problems with Battle for Terra, I am proud to see the indie film go from the lab to the big screen. It will inspire more animators and directors to think bigger than senior projects and film festivals. (Don’t get me wrong though, I love film festivals) Awesome ideas like these will give the big dogs a run for their money.
-Kev

Disney's 'Princess and the Frog' Controversy

I read this article about Princess and the Frog on AOL. People commented on the controversy and here is what I had to say:

Controversy or not, this movie NEEDS to be released and worry about the backlash later. There have been quite a few black disney characters over the years. This movie is important because it stars a black LEAD character. Kids might not pay much attention to it; they just want to have a fun time. As an adult, this means the world to me because of the social statement. I think this movie is long overdue because cartoons struggle with diversity just like hollywood does. More research could have been done to avoid racial stereotypes. They were blind-sided by criticism of how to properly display black love. Some people have been waiting all their life for this, like the first black tv show, tennis player, or president. If someone had the money and resources to release such a movie, then it would have been done already. That gives Disney the perfect opportunity to answer the call. I will be there opening weekend to show my love. I hope this movie inspires more studios to explore black lead characters.

Blokhedz Cartoon

Hey, Has anyone seen Blokhedz? I saw it posted on the Black SuperHero Blog. I watched episode 3 and it looks pretty freakin' sweet. It is 2d animation in 3d environments. I love the character designs and it has a cool concept. It has a fresh take on hip-hop culture in a cartoon. Listen, don't let hot cartoons like these slip through the cracks on me. Does anyone know where I can find more new hotness?
-Kev

In "The Spectacular Spiderman," the romance between Peter and Gwen is much like the one Peter and Mary Jane. They both had a secret crush, and now, Gwen is dating Harry Osborn. So, are we really getting something new? In the comics, Gwen Stacey is credited as Peter's first real love, which makes sense in the cartoon that she come before Mary Jane. Still, I would appreciate a little something different.