Meet Hannah, the only kid I know who takes notes in movies.  As bad as I am now, in terms of movie nerd-dom, she’s destined to be three times worse.  I recently took Hannah, who has quickly become “Avatar: The Last Airbender” obsessed, to a screening of The Last Airbender and asked her a few questions afterward to get a feel for the differences between the series and the film.  You can find our conversation below and my review of The Last Airbender at The Nervous Breakdown.

Cynthia:  So, what did you think?

Hannah:  I really don’t like that a fish died.

C:  Does a fish not die in the series?

H:  He turned into that little circle of peace thing.  What’s that circle of peace thing with the two parts?

C:  You must mean yin and yang.

H:  Yeah, yin and yang.  That’s what it did in the series, but —

C:  But we don’t want to give anything away for people who want to see it.  So you’re saying that scene wasn’t like the series.  What else wasn’t like the series?

H:  Um …

C:  Without giving things away.

H:  Well, Prince Zuko only had a small scar.  It didn’t really look burned like it looks in the series.

C:  His scar wasn’t prominent enough in the movie?

H:  No.

C:  Okay, but this sounds like you’re just finding little things that are different. What about the story, the overall story and what happens?

H:  Well, usually their visits to the different villages take a bit longer.  I was surprised the movie went by really fast.  A lot faster.

C:  And the big battle in the end – does that happen in the series?

H:  No.  That doesn’t happen.

C.  Oh.  Really?  That doesn’t happen at all?

H:  No …. Well.  I haven’t watched it all.

C:  So tell me what you’ve watched.

H:  I’ve watched all of Book One except the last episode.*

C:  So you haven’t gotten there yet.  It could still happen.

H:  Yes.  Probably.

C:  So what did you think of all the characters?  Were they what you expected?

H: The brother was a little different than I expected.

C:  Yes, he was quite serious in the movie.

H:  Yeah.  He was more serious.  And also when he met the princess, she was engaged.

C:  Oh.  So there was a lot more story to it.

H:  Yes.

C:  Well, sometimes they can’t put everything in because then it’d be six hours.

H:  But that’d be okay.

C:  What about Aang?

H:  Oh, well, in the series his name is …

C:  They pronounce it “ayng” in the series but “ahng” in the movie, but it’s the same name.   I really liked him in the movie.  I thought he was super cute.

H:  Actually, I like him better in the series.  I think he looked better animated than in real life.

C:  Really?  Why do you think so?

H:  I don’t know. He just does.

C:  Interesting.  You know what?  I liked him far better in the movie than in the series, because in the series he’s a little bit … obnoxious.  A lot obnoxious.  He’s not obnoxious in the movie at all.  He’s really sweet.  What do you think?

H:  Yeah.  I think he might have been sweeter in the movie, and in the series he gets fussy sometimes and I don’t really like that.

C:  You were telling me something about that earlier, that you thought he could be a real big brat.

H:  Yes!

C:  In the series, you said he did things like withheld information from the others that was really important.  Things like that.

H:  He did that several times.  I think because in the series, it’s longer than the movie.  If they don’t have time to explain him, then you just wouldn’t like him when he does things like that.

C:  So, right after the movie, you turned to me and made the “so-so” sign with your hand. Why did you do that?

H:  It was kind of iffy in some parts.

C:  Why?

H:  There were things that weren’t in the movie that were in the series that I missed.

C:  A lot of things or just some things?

H:  Just some things.

C:  Overall, would you recommend it to someone who already likes the series?

H:  Yes!

C:  Why?

H:  Well, if I could forget about the iffy parts, then I would recommend it because it really is a very good movie.  Is that it?  Because I wanted to say something else.

C:  Sure.  Say something else.

H:  I liked Appa, the flying bison.  He looked exactly the same.  And the special effects for Appa were really good.  Okay.  That’s it.  Hannah out.

*Hannah watched the last episode of Book One the day after this exchange and reported, aghast, that, “There is no big wave!”