Animation from America to Japan

Today's post will be a bit more of an intellectual one.  I have put together a term paper for one of my classes focusing on an aspect of animation I have been interested in learning more about, and will present it here as a post.  I hope you find it interested, and please feel free to contact me with questions or feedback.

Animation from America to Japan and Back

by David Hixon, © 2011

As early as 1915, Japan has been creating their own animations for public display.  However, despite these early films, animation in Japan didn't really come into its own until after WWII.  Anime as it is viewed today around the world really began with artists such as Osamu Tezuka, who created a series of manga which eventually became animated in a unique style.  However, if it wasn't for the animation from other countries and artists, in particular Walt Disney, he may never had inspired the anime genre as we know it.

I will explore the international influences that shaped anime into what it is today, and how that unique animation style has begun to affect mainstream media throughout the world.  Many people believe that the essence of anime has changed due to western influences, but I argue that western influences have always been strong in Japanese animation, and it is this clash of cultures that creates what is exciting and different.  I will begin by exploring how Western artists have influenced Japanese animators, focusing specifically on the works of Tezuka Osamu.  I will then explore the ongoing influences that go between eastern and Western artists, and how the cultures of these artists have begun to globalize.  I will finish by showing how the Japanese style of animation has invaded what we watch in theaters and on television today around the world.

The roots of anime really begin with early animators from America and Europe, such as Blackton and McCay.  In fact, by 1915, there were 21 foreign animations played nationally in Japan.  Both American and German artists, such as John R. Bray, the Fleischer brothers, and Lotte ReinigerIt, were strong inspirations for early Japanese animators.  A slew of animators emerged in Japan, including Shimokawa Oten, Kouchi Junichi, and Kitayama Seitaro, the earliest Japanese animators.  While they pioneered the techniques and genre, there was little they produced which was particularly worthwhile.  Shimokawa Oten was  trained as a caricaturist and cartoonist before being hired by Tenkatsu Studio to animate specifically in the style of Émile Cohl, while Kitayama Seitaro was particularly experienced with the Western style of painting.  Already, in the earliest years of anime, the Japanese style of animation was heavily influenced by the works of Western artists, not merely the techniques they pioneered.  These Western style influences were not limited to the origin of anime and continued into the 1930's.  Artists such as Ikuo Oishi broke away from other contemporary Japanese animators' styles, and modeled his characters after American animations such as Felix the Cat.  Yokoyama Ryuichi founded the Otogi Studio in Japan after having fallen in love with animation through Walt Disney's Skeleton Dance, which aired in Japan in 1930. He created several animations and manga, and would appear in the Mainichi newspaper.  He had the privilege to visit the Disney Studios in 1955, and met Walt Disney himself.

In the 1930's and 40's, the many Japanese animations were made as propaganda films during World War II, which probably caused a strain on the animators in terms of inspiration.  It seems likely that could they directly copy the styles of Western animators now that they were at war. And yet even during this troubling time, the animators would sometimes portray American soldiers as recognizable characters such as Bluto from Fleischer's Popeye as seen in Mitsuyo Seo's Momotaro, Eagle of the Sea released in 1943.  Political references like this continued throughout the war and beyond.  Even after the war, the government of Japan encouraged animators to make films that showed the possibilities of the West, such as the 1946 film by Masao Kumagawa, The Magic Pen.  However, this had little to do with the style of the animation, and more to do with propaganda.

It wasn't until a medical student decided in the 1950's to try his hand at manga and eventually anime that the modern style of anime was born.  Tezuka Osamu was privileged in his youth to have access to both manga and film, including animation.  Tezuka is said to have watched films like Felix the Cat in his youth, and was also influenced by Disney films, and French New Wave Cinema.  This lead to his unique way of looking at animation and manga as a cinematic experience in terms of film editing, camera work, and other cinematic devices.  His love of art and film from around the world gave him a unique viewpoint into the world of animation.  Even the character design of Astro Boy was an homage to the early Walt Disney character styles.

On the first day of 1963, Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu) was aired in Japan, and in America soon after, which was during a time when there were limited channels and airtime on television.  One of the more interesting facts about this relationship between America and Japan was that Astro Boy would regularly mirror the civil rights struggles in America of the day, adding to the relations between the two countries and furthering the expansion of anime into the American market.  While Astro Boy started off roughly, it soon became a world famous show, spreading the art of Japanese animation early, and invading the homes of people around the world.  Tezuka produced several more series both before and after Astro Boy, which made big waves in America and abroad.  Of these, Kimba the White Lion (Jungle Emperor) was among the most popular on American television. 

In1967, Yoshida Tatsuo's Speed Racer (Mach Go Go Go) was aired in America as well.  It gained popularity on American television, and eventually the original manga it was based on was released to western audiences as well.  It became an icon of Japanese animation in its own right.

We can clearly see here that the Japanese styles used in animation were heavily influenced by their American and Western colleagues since the earliest days of Japanese produced animations.  These influences continued throughout the decades, culminating in the cinematic styles that Tezuka adopted.  While it is clear that the origins of anime were influenced as such, the American audience was also being slowly introduced to the phenomenon known as Anime, and despite the often controversial and bizarre shows, it became engrained in the minds of future American film makers and animators.

Astro Boy has been translated into over a dozen different languages, and Tezuka himself was one of the first Japanese artists to attend international festivals for comics and animations.  He not only pioneered airing his shows in America, but around the world, and was critically recognized for his work.  The influential styles of Japanese animation were not limited to Japan, and had already been seen by artists and future animators around the world.  One film which shows this obvious cross-pollination of story telling and visuals is Disney's 1994 hit movie The Lion King.  Many critics have pointed out the many similarities between this film and Tezuka's Kimba the White Lion.  Kimba aired on American television stations in the 60's and 70's, and many of the animators who worked on The Lion King would have grown up watching Kimba on television.  Critics have claimed Disney heavily “borrowed” from Tezuka, and controversy over the idea of homage versus plagiarism sparked.

While the films and animations of Japan continue to spread throughout the world, both the styles and culture of Japan spread with it.  Historically, Japan has been heavily influenced by Western cultures, and yet continues to hold onto their own unique perspective and cultural identity.  It is this mix of West meets East, tradition meeds modernization, that has shaped the very soul of modern day Japan.  Japan is becoming a country of a globalized culture, where they struggle to find their own identity and a place to fit within the world.  Anime is one way in which Japan has turned the tables, and allowed their art to influence other cultures more than their own, and yet it also conforms to many globalized standards.

Characters in anime productions are often depicted with large eyes, multiple colors of hair and eyes, and even skin.  While the characters are not always intended to be from another country, they are more often than not Western looking, copying the styles and appearance of Western cultures and people.  Characters often have blond, brown, or even red hair, as well as a slew of eye colors, which directly mimic these foreign people.  On the other hand, many anime characters also sport blue, green, purple, or even pink hair, as well as red or purple eyes, and even blue or green skin.  This seems bizarre, but is one of the defining characteristics of anime, and brings it out of any particular culture and into something all it's own.  By adopting a non-Japanese, or even “stateless” look in the characters is part of what makes anime so easily acceptable by cultures around the world.

Such mixing of ideas and styles goes both ways.  Several television shows and movies in America directly reflect the Japanese style, and even the anime characteristics that define it.  Avatar: The Last Airbender is one such show.  The directors and producers not only copied themes, styles, and designs as well as cultural references for their series from Japanese animation, but they also researched what studios to use, and chose a Korean studio that had previously worked on Japanese anime and were familiar with the style and demands of the process.  And it is not alone.  Several studios are adopting an anime style for certain shows, in order to reach the demographics they are looking for.  They are not just trying to mimic the look either, they are looking to emulate the style to a point where it is impossible to tell the difference between “Anime” produced in Japan versus America, at least in terms of quality and story-telling.  At the very least, studios are trying to take visual and stylistic cues, and leave the real anime style to the Japanese masters.

Many American and Japanese comics are already cross-pollinating, and both manga and anime are becoming less and less a product strictly of Japan, even if the primary demographic is Japanese.  The majority of Japanese anime with Western money backing it seems to be from making sequels and projects that did poorly in the Japanese market.  The West's desire to acquire or produce Eastern, and particularly Japanese art dates back to the 19^th Century.  Anime shows a mix of traditional Japanese art that was so fascinating to the people of the time, such as Kabuki and Woodblock Prints (Ukiyo-e), and modern and even experimental cinema and artistic tools.

While many American studios have shied away attempting to emulate the Japanese style, and others have tried to make it their own, there have been several projects developed that are joint-projects between Japanese and American groups.  Warner Brothers Studios  commissioned a series of short animations from various anime studios and producers in Japan on more than one occasion, each time with a different movie they are to be based on.  Animatrix, released to home video in 2003, is a collection of short animations, each with a different Japanese director, focusing on telling more of the story of the Wachowski Brother's Matrix.  Again in 2008, they released Batman Gotham Knight under the same pretense.

These collaborations have extended into full length films as well.  Several remakes and re-imaginings of different anime and manga stories have been produced in America, and several more are in production and planning.  In 2009, a mainly American produced version of Astro Boy was released to theaters, with some limited interaction and approval by Tezuka Productions.  This followed the 2008 release of Speed Racer, and several other anime-to-live-action remakes.  This trend, to turn anime into live-action films, tends to produce mixed results, and yet there are several more films in the works for the next few years.

Beyond remaking anime series and movies for a Western audience, either through live action or animation, the most notable influence of anime in western cinema is the style it inspires in original Western works.  Blockbuster films, such as 300, The Matrix, Kill Bill, and even Up, and Ratatouille, are directly inspired by the cinematic and visual styling of anime.  Kill Bill went so far as to include an animated sequence produced by a Japanese animation studio in the middle of the film.  However, the most interesting influences are those between anime and animation.

Hayao Miyazaki fell in love with animation in 1958, when he was in high school, and went on to create one of the most influential animation studios in the world.  His first major motion film, which was Castle Cagliostro, made way for his much more epic masterpieces, such as Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, that defined his style and the studio he started, Studio Ghibli.  He was not a fan of Disney-style animation, in both the use of cinematography, and rotoscoping.  He wanted to create a truly Japanese style of animation which focused more on the essence of animation in expression and motion, rather than smoothness of motion.  However, he was still heavily influenced by western cartoonists such as McCay, Fleischer, Back, and Norstein.  Because of his unique way of looking at animation, from writing the telling the story to the art style and visuals, his animations have influenced artists world wide.

Many artists, including those at Pixar Studios, grew up watching Miyazaki's films as a children, and continue to draw inspiration from him in their movies.  Many have studied the drawings and animations Miyazaki made, and used what they could learn from him to his work in films like Up, and Ratatouille.  Miyazaki himself became friends with John Lasseter of Pixar, visiting him at Pixar Studios on what Lasseter announced was “Miyazaki Day at Pixar”.

This type of international relationship between East and West are becoming more commonplace, and as a result, the highly stylized art and often adult and mature themes of anime have begun to spread globally and permeate cultures around the world.  As a result, it can be said that Japan is losing its singular unique identity, but replacing it with a unique cultural identity of contrasting elements of society and art.  Japan is both traditional and modern, conservative and edgy, and this contrast is reflected in the animation they have produced.  As a result, it is easily accepted in many cultures around the world, and has influenced the artists, cartoonists, sequential artists, and filmmakers of tomorrow, and today.  While the rest of the world struggles to keep up with the style of anime, the Japanese artists have drawn on inspirations from other cultures to make their art more unique and universal.

The future for anime is bright, and with international collaborations, it will prove to be even brighter.  Anime was born from the unique perspective of Eastern artists studying Western art, while drawing upon their own past and experiences to support it.  Thanks to efforts from artists such as Tezuka and Miyazaki, anime will continue to be an international influence on film, pushing the envelope and advancing what is possible on film, by unleashing the imagination.

Bibliography

Cavallaro, Dani. (2006). The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki.  Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.

Drazen, Patrick. (2003).  Anime Explosion!  The What? Why? & Wow! Of Japanese Animation.  Retrieved from

Kime, Chad. (n.d.).  American Anime: Blend or Bastardization?.  Accessed on October 9^th, 2011.  Retrieved from

Koyama-Richard, Brigitte. (2010). Japanese Animation: From Painted Scrolls to Pokémon. Paris, France: Flammarion.

Lamarre, Thomas. (2009). The Anime Machine. Minnesota, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Lu, Amy Shirong. (2008).  “The many faces of Internationalization in Japanese Anime”.  Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal.  Retrieved from

Miyazaki, Hayao.  (January 28^th, 1988).  “About Japanese Animation”. Course Japanese Movies 7: The Current Situation of Japanese Movies. Iwanami Shoten.  Translated by Ryoko Toyama.  Accessed on November 5^th, 2011.  Retrieved from

Napier, Susan J. (2005) Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle.  New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sharp, Jasper.  (2004).  Pioneers of Japanese Animation at PIFan.  Accessed on November 5^th, 2011.  Retrieved from

Van der Lugt, Peter.  (n.d.).  Exclusive Interview with Pixar Storyboard Artist Enrico Casarosa.  Accessed on October 9^th, 2011.  Retrieved from

Zahed, Ramin. (November 2004). “Astro Boy's American Cousins”.  Animation Magazine, vol 18 (no. 11). 

Filmography

  Bender, Lawrence (Producer), Tarantino, Quentin (Director).  (2003).  Kill Bill Volume 1 [Motion Picture].  United States: Miramax.

Bird, Brad; Pinkava, Jan (Directors). (2007).  Ratatouille [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney / Pixar Animation Studios.

Black, Christopher (Executive Producer), Somers, Karen I. (Director).  (2007).  Anime: Drawing a Revolution [Television Documentary].  United States: Starz Entertainment.

Bowers, David (Director).  (2009).  Astro Boy [Motion Picture]. United States: Imagi Animation Studios / Imagi Crystal / Tezuka Production Company.

DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (Producers).  (2005).  Avatar: The Last Airbender [Television Series].  United States: Nickelodeon Animation Studios.

  Disney, Walt (Producer), Iwerks, Ub (Director).  (1929).  Skeleton Dance [Animated Short].  United States: Disney.

Docter, Pete; Peterson, Bob(Directors).  (2009).  Up [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney / Pixar Animation Studios.

Fleischer, Max (Producer). (1933).  Popeye The Sailor [Animated Short].  United States: Fleischer Studios/Paramount Studios.

Hanh, Don (Producer), Allers, Roger; Minkoff, Rob (Directors).  (1994).  The Lion King [Motion Picture]. United States: Disney.

  Hidehiko, Takei; Yamamoto, Satoshi (Producers), Ishiguro, Noboru (Director).  (1963).  Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) [Television Series]. Japan: Mushi Productions.

Kumagawa, Masao (Director). (1946). Maho no Pen (The Magic Pen) [Animated Short]. Japan: Kyoto Eiga-sha.

Melniker, Benjamin; Thomas, Emma; Timm, Bruce W.; Uslan, Michael E. (Executive Producers).  (2008)  Batman: Gotham Knight [Animated Film]. United States: Warner Home Video.

Miyazaki, Hayao (Director).  Katayama, Tetsuo (Producer).  (1979).  Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro) [Motion Picture]. Japan: Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS)

Miyazaki, Hayao (Director), Takahata, Isao (Producer).  (1984).  Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind [Motion Picture].  Japan: Studio Ghibli, Disney.

  Seo, Mitsuyo (Director). (1943).  Momotaro no Umiwashi (Momotaro, Eagle of the Sea)  [Animated Short] Japan: Geijutsu Eiga-sha / Zakka Films (USA distributor).

Tezuka, Osamu; Yamamoto, Eiichi (Producers).  (1965-67).  Janguru Taitei (Kimba the White Lion) [Television Series]. Japan: Mushi Productions / NBC Enterprises.

Tezuka, Osamu (Producer).  (1967).  Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer) [Television Series].  Japan: Tatsunoko Productions Company.

  Wachowski, Larry and Andy (Producers).  (2003).  Animatrix [Motion Picture].  United States: Warner Brothers.

Wachowski, Larry and Andy (Producers).  (2008).  Speed Racer [Motion Picture].  United States: Warner Brothers.

Supplemental Material

Anderson, Craig. (November 2009). Kimba the White Lion's Corner of the Web.  Accessed on November 5^th 2011.  Retrieved from

Anime_Nanet.  (n.d.). The Anime History - origin and roots from 1900 to the 21st century.  Accessed on November 5^h 2011.  Retrieved from

Avatar Review

Today, I would like to do a brief review of James Cameron's latest film, Avatar.
As most of you know, Avatar is a movie about an alien world inhabited by blue people who are fighting for their own world against humans. Well that is part of it at least. I never like to give away spoilers, although most people have seen this film already.
When I first heard about this movie, I was confused between this Avatar, and the TV series Avatar, The Last Airbender. The airbender tv series is a great animated show with a very different theme from Cameron's movie. Both were announced as movies at around the same time, and with he same name. They are even both due out this year, although one has been in theaters and the other is due out in a few months. Regardless, the confusion over the name used to be a very strong thing, and still affects a lot of people. Just doing a search for "Avatar" in Google Images, you will find the first several pages dedicated to the tv series, not the movie.
Luckily, M. Night Shamalan, the director of the airbender film, has decided to change the name to simply The Last Airbender, which hopefully will clear up any further confusion.
Now on to the film.

I felt that I needed to see this film twice in order to get a full idea of the story, characters, and effects. Both times, I saw this at an AMC "IMAX" 3D screen. This is a great experience, which I could go on about for hours, but I will keep this very brief. In order to summaries, I will split this into sections: story, characters, effects, IMAX 3D, and finally quality and overall.

Story:
I have heard many people say that this movie is just a reenactment of Disney's Pocahontas, or even Dune. However I have to respond that it is not the same, and despite the strong similarities, there is another view. All stories borrow from other stories. Whether they are movies, comics, books, or whatever, there are no original stories. So while this may borrow heavily from other titles, it is still a unique aspect, and a well delivered story. And indeed it was well delivered, closing any loose ends, bringing together all the important and even some subtle bits of information into a cohesive ending. They did an excellent job of giving this story life, and of making it enjoyable from beginning to end. The main themes are universal and well understood, with a strong message that has been repeated many times lately. Our planet is a living thing and we need to treat it better. I do like the aspect that the spiritual and natural ways of the Navi are actually measurable scientifically. By using special neural connections in their hair, they can interact with animals, plants, and event he planet itself in way we can only imagine. The connections between all these living things physically embody the ideals of many of the American tribes, and give us even better reason to believe that these beings are not just pointlessly spiritual, but that they are physically and mentally connected to every living thing.
I have heard others say that even though this movie is roughly 3 hours long, it does not feel like it. And I agree. After we saw this film for the last time, it was already after 10:30 at night, and I could have sworn it was only 9. This may be so in part to the story, and in part to the effects.

Characters:
The characters are well rounded, 3 dimensional characters with a lot of development.  While the main character of Jake Sully starts off with a past, problems of his own, and even a family, the story quickly launches him into a world where we has no more family, no more goals, and just want to stick with what he does best, despite his lack of funds to allow him to be healed so he can fight again.  The changes that happen to him so fast in his life lead to him being the character we all have to associate with.  He knows little to nothing about Pandora, he has never piloted an "Avatar" before, and he open to learning just about anything.  It is this openness, and his skills as a marine (combined with the only way he has been able to walk and run in years) that has lead him to really engage with the Avatar program.  He must pilot a biologically grown Navi body.  It is this same openness and warrior status that drive the Navi to teach him their ways, and accept him, eventually, as one of their own.  That is all I will give away, since it is really the premise of the film, but I will say that many of these characters are strongly affected emotionally by the events and actions of the story.  The heir to the clan is of course skeptical and only wants to protect his clan, his people and planet, his position, and his woman.  But as he grows, eventually he too changes his views as events unfold.  The female lead here, a Navi flying warrior, also grows.  She is next to be the spiritual leader, and at first views Jake as an enemy, then as an annoyance, growing into curiosity, to a friend, and eventually lover, only to feel betrayed later on.
Even the character of the General in charge of the human forces is well designed.  He has one goal in mind, to protect his people while they mine for resources.  But in the end, his own tough attitude and power hungry ego gets the best of him as he wages an all out war not only against he Navi, but also against his people, and the man he once relied on for intel.  Even the head of the company's operations is a conflicted characters, not wanted to hurt or attack the Navi, but not understanding their view and forced to look out for the company's best interest as he sees it.
I must say that these characters are all multifaceted, with a lot of development and emotional connections.

 

Effect

Wow!  Amazing!  I can't think of anything as amazing as the effects in this movie.  The quality of the effects is astounding!  Every minute of the work that went into this film was well worth it.  Every frame is a masterful work of cinematic art.  But lets get down to it.

The effects are indeed drop dead gorgeous.  If the story and characters weren't also excellent, this movie would still have a chance on the graphics alone.  Granted, all these aspects are astounding, but none of them show off the quality of this work as well as the graphics do.  The characters interact so flawlessly, I can not for the life of me see where the CG begins, and the acting ends.  It is just flawless.  I feel that the best part about this was the outdoor scenes.  Every blade of grass, every leaf, every animal, every drop of water, mist, clouds, fire, everything is completely believable!  It is full of subtle details that really make you wonder how they could have done so much!  The characters are a close second however.  The Navi are incredibly amazing, with perfect details and animation.  The subtle emotions on their faces, the body movement, the way they balance on their feet, their tales, even the fact that the Avatar bodies (having human DNA mixed with Navi DNA) have 5 fingers while the natural Navi only have 4, are flawless spectacular details that I only dream about doing myself one day.  Even the humans are perfect.  Makeup on the colonel is amazingly good and distinctive, really adding to the character.  The actor Sam Worthington, who plays the main character Jake, is a healthy active guy who stars in many action movies, and yet here, he is a crippled human with legs that have dystrophy (weakened and unusable).  I am amazed at how realistic they made his legs look when you see him moving around with these 2 bony weak legs, like anyone in Jake's position would naturally have.  Amazing.

On that note, I did notice two, and only two things that may or may not have been there.  With my keen eyes and attention to detail, I noticed 2 scenes, fairly close together, where is something off.  The first is a scene when Jake wakes up in ashes (you know what it is when you see it), the arm band he wears is black with little blue stones in the center.  However, without any interaction from navi or humans in between scenes, by the time he is landing before the people on his newly acquired "ride", he has a cyan beaded armband.  Why would be go change armbands, and how?  Still, I might have overlooked something there.  The second issue is actually in this same scene.  As he approaches the clan leader, the look on the leader's face is priceless (mouth agape), but it is also a little off.  This one is a graphics issue, which I have noticed twice now.  The lighting that shines onto the face of the leader doesn't look quite right in the area of his mouth, almost like too much light is getting into around his teeth.  It almost looks like he has a CG glowy mouth, but the rest of him is real.  Now it could be that it is an artifact of the light shining into his face, and is at just the right angle to make it look this way, but it did look off to me.

Regardless, if these are the only problems that I could find, then I have to say it is by far the best CG I have ever seen in my life.

IMAX 3D

 This film was presented in IMAX 3D.  In the AMC screen I went to, this is not the IMAX format screen, but an IMAX brand screen.  Therefore it is NOT the full sized IMAX screen and you may actually lose information due to this.  What I mean is that some movies, like Dark Knight, and Transformers 2, use select scenes to fill an IMAX screen, and present an amazingly engaging scene.  But the IMAX format for these traditional IMAX screen are very square, and very large, at a 1.44:1 ratio.  In fact, the average traditional IMAX screen is 72 ft × 53 ft, while the largest is 117.2 ft × 96.5 ft.  Typical films use 35mm film, while IMAX films use 70mm film.  Regardless, the AMC IMAX screens are not even close to this.  However, they are very impressive.  One big disadvantage of the traditional IMAX screen is that any seat that is not in the ideal spot can be downright painful to watch a movie in.  I have seen several films this way, where in one I was so far off to the side that I got very bad neck aches, and in another I was so far to the front I got awful eye and head aches as well.  This screen is still very high quality, and does not have this problem no matter what seat you get.  Luckily, it is a good experience in most seats.  The IMAX quality is still there, although, like I said, not in IMAX format.  This means it is not a 70mm film, not is it a 1.44:1 ratio screen, and is probably not as wide either.  But I would still say that this is an excellent experience to see.  These screens are high, high quality, and have sharp detailed images with no distortion, no noise, no dirt, nothing.  A flawless presentation.

The 3D, aka stereoscopy, was impressive, but more subtle than I would have liked.  There are 2 planes for 3D films.  The back plane, where the stereoscopy happens "behind" the screen, and the forward plane, where the effect is in "front" of the screen.  Really good movies try to utilize both, to great effect.  Downright bad movies focus too much on sticking out and can really give you a headache trying to focus on the action.  However, this movie focuses more on the back, pushing the effects into the screen.  Instead of seeing the flying reptiles hovering over the front row, you see him on the screen, while the background goes way back into the distance.  I like this for the reason that it presents itself more as a film, and less as a gimmick, and lowers the amount of headache complaints.  However, as others have told me as well, I think it should use a little more of the forward plane than it does.  I does indeed use the forward plane, and to good effects, but usually for minor foreground objects like debris and floating seeds.  It brings you into the scene this way, but I feel they could have pulled a few things out a little further to really show off the 3D.

That being said, I will say that this subtle 3D style is perfect, and looks amazing.  You get so used to it, you hardly even realize it is there after a while, you just get used to seeing it.

OVERALL

 Finally, the overall quality of this film is perfect.  You can not find a better presented film with better effects, better story, or more memorable characters than this.  The amazing visuals really bring in the audience, who are then taken by surprise by the amazing story to go with it.  Everything from the grand outdoors scenes, to the subtle details and movements, to the lighting and color, this movie is as good as it gets!

I can not give any movie a higher recommendation than I give this one.  A+++!!!  If you only see one movie this century, Avatar is the one to see.

Well that about raps it up.  Again, Avatar is an amazing movie worth seeing multiple times.  I can't wait to get it on Blu-ray, and by the time this film hits 3D in the home, I may just have to upgrade my system again.

If you have already seen it, see it again!  If you haven't, GO SEE IT NOW!

If you really get into the story and world of Pandora, check out this great book, Avatar, An Activists Survival Guide.  It shows a lot of things you didn't notice, teaches you things about the world you didn't know, and is a fun book to just pick up and flip through.