Hollywood loves to make TV shows from an earlier generation (Miami Vice, The A-Team, Lost in Space, etc.) into terrible movies because they know there’s a built-in familiarity factor that leads to making money. Why a five-year-old Nickelodeon cartoon was selected is beyond me. Handing it over to M Night Shyamalan, a director whose credibility has eroded with each new film he does (much like Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater) is the bigger riddle, especially in this rotten economy.
If the trailers/commercials don’t explain the premise, fear not, a relatively boring series of expositions will clue you in. Better yet, ask a kid under 14 who saw the original show from 2005-8, it’ll hurt your eyes less and you’ll probably stay awake.
Worth Seeing? Obviously not. I only saw this because my employer covered the ticket; I had already seen Toy Story 3 and the other choices at Alamo Lake Creek were equally undesirable. However, I’m not going to waste more electrons joining in on the dogpile ripping it in detail. This would be too easy, much like the unfunny, profanity-laden excuses for comedy from Brian Maupin criticizing mobile phone customers or Ben Croshaw’s alleged videogame reviews. (For the record, swearing is hilarious when used properly and effectively. Think of it as verbal salt.)
There is a silver lining. Interest in the superior, original source may rise thanks to Netflix carrying the entire run through its streaming service so you can watch it immediately. When Avatar, the Last Airbender was in its initial run, I dismissed it as a weak kiddie, anime-wannabe show. Then it appeared this Spring with a whole slew of other older Nickelodeon content. We took a chance on it in anticipation of the upcoming film. I am glad I gave it another opportunity since we both found it hard to stop watching. It wasn’t completely aimed at children. A significant portion of the cartoon’s writers, artists and directors worked on other things enjoyed by adults: Mission Hill, Futurama, Oblongs, King of the Hill, (ugh) Family Guy and a couple were poached for Clone Wars.