Candice

You know how we look back on 3D animation that was made 20 years ago and laugh at how seriously good we thought it was? I think that’s what we’ll think of this movie in 20 years and I’m glad that I will be able to tell my future grandchildren that I thought this movie was just as dorky as they probably think it will be. Don’t get me wrong, I love animations and they certainly don’t need to be perfect. However, Avatar takes itself way too seriously for what is basically 2022’s animated equivalent of Space Jam or Mary Poppins. The acting is also just really bad in my opinion. The Avatar/human interaction is super cringe. This isn’t an insult to the cast necessarily, but more towards the corny dialog, forced stereotypical (Indian? Tribal?) accents, and of course the actors who are impossibly tasked with working with a half animated cast. It gives me MAJOR uncanny valley vibes. It’s difficult to say what exactly doesn’t feel right, but at the same time the CGI just isn’t what it’s trying to be. Like the ear movements of the Avatar, the reflections in their eyes, their body movement and the seemingly inconsistent natureframe rate — it was all just too eerie. Again, I think CGI can be a great tool for storytelling, but this animation tries way too hard to tell a story it’s not ready to tell. The best part of the movie in my opinion is the plot and that’s not saying much. *Maybe* if I had read it in a book I wouldnt think it was terrible, but I also think it isn’t anything to write home about. Not to mention… the subtitles are still just in PAPYRUS font and it’s almost 3.5 freakin hours long.