“Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender” Discussion
By: Dylan Hysen
Avatar Studios’ first movie is finally here! 11 years since the last Avatar animated content, the From the Sprit World crew is back to discuss the big new Aang movie, “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender”. We talk about Aang’s arc, the Adult Gaang, Tagah, and much more.
Note: this was recorded on June 5th 2026 discussing the leaked copy of the film. Several of us wanted to watch early to avoid spoilers and didn’t want to wait months to discuss, and now it’s released for all to listen to! Please watch the official release on Paramount+ to support future Avatar Studios works!
Since we recorded this the release date of the film was moved up to July 25th. Also, Mike and Bryan said Aang is 25 in the film, we were unsure of his exact age at time of recording. At SDCC they confirmed Katara was pregnant in earlier versions of the movie.
Hosts for this podcast: Dylan, Mel, Aly, & Brit.
- 0:00 – Introduction
- 5:15 – Overall thoughts on the movie
- 16:15 – Does this belong in Avatar canon alongside Avatar & Korra?
- 26:00 – Favorite Moments
- 46:00 – Aang
- 58:00 – Katara
- 1:18:25 – Rest of the gaang
- 1:35:40 – Tagah & Sonam
- 1:43:00 – Other things
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Dylan Hysen
Dylan is a software developer from the DC area who hosts the Overly Animated podcast discussing everything animation.
One Comment
Hey Dylan. I used to listen to the podcast way back when in 2012 and I came back to hear your Avatar Aang movie impressions. I wonder if you’ve had the chance to rewatch the movie a few times since you recorded this podcast and if your opinion had changed on it. I was really surprised that you guys were so down on this movie. I think making an ATLA movie was almost an impossible task and I feel like the team did a really amazing job. The focus on Aang’s character and his trauma really worked imo, and I thought this story was a great addition to his overall characterization. I think the genocide of the Airbenders was something wholly unexplored past the first half of season 1 and I’m glad the movie made it the focus here. Plus, I feel like Aang can sometimes be somewhat of an afterthought in the original series due to the number of amazing characters in ATLA so I’m really glad he had a ton of time to shine. As you guys said, Katara and Aang’s relationship is a highlight in this and I really think they did them justice.
Regarding the plot, I’ve heard you guys describe it as a slight rehash of Book 3 of Korra but I think it really works as a standalone story, particularly with Aang’s struggle with the loss of his people. I thought Tagah was a very compelling villain, particularly for a new character that is only given about an hour of screen time. The voice acting was great and the animation was superb. It was incredible seeing the older Gaang, and I think this movie shows that they still have plenty of stories to tell with these characters. All in all, despite that constraints inherent in making an hour and a half movie I really do think they knocked it out for the park with an engaging Avatar film that is a great addition to the rest of the franchise.