Avatar: The Last Airbender (15th Anniversary Steelbook Collection Blu-ray)

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Paramount
Release Date: February 18, 2020
Rating: TV-Y7-FV
Show: 4.5/5

Plot
Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Four nations. One war-torn world. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of the epic saga, Avatar: The Last Airbender, with this 3 SteelBook® collection, featuring all-new art for each book! Go back to the beginning to experience the animated series that quickly became a phenomenon with a huge fan base that spans the globe! This complete collector’s edition includes all three powerful books: Water, Earth, and Fire.

Seasons:

• Book One: Water
  
  • Season 1 – 20 episodes – Aired 2/21/05 – 12/2/05
• Book Two: Earth
  
  • Season 2 – 18 episodes – Aired 3/17/06 – 12/1/06                     
• Book Three: Fire
  
  • Season 3 – 16 episodes – Aired 9/21/07 – 7/19/08

 
My Thoughts
My kids LOVED this show when they were young, and I remember hearing them talk about it a lot. After watching it, I can see why they enjoyed it so much. While its geared towards the younger crowd, there’s enough in the story to appeal to adults and even the corny kids jokes will make you chuckle. The world building is excellent and within a few episodes you understand the politics and various factions that are depicted. The characters end up being quite believable in their motives and actions and even though it’s a cartoon, there’s depth and detail in the story and you can tell they knew where the story was going to end up and weren’t making it up as they went along. Even though my wife and I are both north of 50, we enjoyed the story a lot and it’s the type of show we would have absolutely loved when we were young.

This is not its first release on Blu-ray, but it is a first with Steelbook packaging meant for collectors to celebrate its 15-year anniversary.  The cases feature artwork of various characters that fans will adore as well as an exclusive excerpt book entitled “Kyoshi” by F. C. Yee with Avatar co-creator Michael Dante Dimartino.

Video 4/5

Audio 3.5/5 (DTS-HD MA 2.0)

Special Features:

• Book One: Water
  
  • Behind the Scenes Kung Fu Featurette
  • The Making of Avatar - From Real Life to Animation
  • Behind the Scenes: The Voices of Avatar
  • Ask the Creators Featurette
  • Original Uncut Animatic - Episode # 15: Bato of the Water Tribe
  • 4 Audio Commentaries with Creator, Cast & Crew
    
    • Features Dee Bradley Baker (voices of Momo and Appa), Ben Wynn (sound effects), Aaron Ehasz (Head Writer) and Co-Creators: Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino
  • Behind the Scenes with the Avatar Cast & Crew
  • Avatar Pilot Episode with Audio Commentary
  • The Making of Avatar - Inside the Sound Studios
  • The Making of Avatar - Inside the Korean Animation Studios
• Book Two: Earth
  
  • Original Uncut Animatic - Episode # 21: The Avatar State
  • 7 Audio Commentaries by Creators, Cast & Crew
  • Interview with Creators and M. Night Shyamalan
  • The Essence of Bending with Bryan Konietzko and Sifu Kisu
  • Avatar Super Deformed Shorts
    
    • Bending Battle
    • Swamp Skiin' Throwdown
    • School Time Shipping
  • Escape From the Spirit World: Animated Graphic Novel                         
• Book Three: Fire
  
  • 11 Audio Commentaries by Creators, Cast & Crew
  • The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation
  • Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic-Con

Conclusion
My daughter begged me to review this set saying how much we’d enjoy watching the show and she was right. It has the right mix of action, adventure, and magic to keep it interesting through the 54-episode run and while the dramatic elements are geared towards a younger audience, there’s enough meat on the bone to keep Mom and Dad entertained. It lacks the spit and polish that a Pixar animated title would bring to the table on the A/V front, but it definitely holds up its end of the bargain on entertainment value. Highly recommended.   

Reference Review System:
 
 Reference Review System:
 JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High Definition Front Projector
 (Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
 Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Fixed Screen
 Anthem AVM60 Audio/Video Processor
 ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
 Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
 System Controller: URC MX-980
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
 Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
 SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
 HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
 JL Audio Fathom F110 Subwoofers x 2 (stacked)
JL Audio Dominion D110 Subwoofer x 2 (stacked)
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
 PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner