I don't know how you experienced it but when I wached the movie I wanted to feel like it was the first time I was catapulted in this fantastic world.
I wanted to feel what I felt when I watched the first episodes of ATLA.
And what is more important in a new world than a good introduction for the main characters you are going to follow through there adventures?
In the movie, to often I heard a little voice in my head saying "Wait, did he introduced himself yet?", "Are they friends now? because I dont feel like they bounded", "who is that gyu? The firelord? seriously?" (yes, because lets face it, I didn't anderstand I had the firelord in front of me, why would he show his face yet? where is the mistery that is suppose to suround him? and why no one introduced him as the fierced firelord?).
Maybe we should worry more about our favorite trio, and for that, we need scenes to identify with them, we need to see them bounding like friends, playing together, sharing moments, laughs and sorrows. This kind of moments are very rare in the movie and often empty of sensibility.
What do you think about that?
ps: my english isn't perfect, I apologise for that, I'm french and I do my best, Peace!
Juliette and Tegan, great comments! and great topic to post about! Juliette I think that is a wonderful idea! Marcel and I were already thinking something similar. That's why (at the time of this post) we are thinking that instead of just starting right in the boat in the south pole, we would take about a page or two maybe a little more ( roughly 2 to 4 minutes) to show the "everyday life" of sokka and katara in the south pole. To really feel that sibling rivalry, that way lines such as: "all done with your pants! And look at whta a great job i did! (sarcastically)" "Have you ever smelt your smelly socks? Let me tell you..." has more of the realism and emotional connection.
At the same time, Marcel and I are trying to be careful to not repeat M. Night's mistake and stray so far form the original source material that we alienate the fans again and don't get a lot of the original story.
Do you understand? Do you guys feel like adding more "little moments" like that is something you actually want? Do you want us to explore and add our own ideas into the movie a lot more than we think we should, or would you rather have us repeat what's in the show with a few additions to act as transitions from one scene to the next? what do you guys think?