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Six Movie References Hidden in A:TLA Star Wars In “The Library” the Sandbenders are based on the Tusken Raiders aka Sandpeople from Star Wars and the ‘lantern’ above the door looks like a Death Star. House of Flying Daggers The ice cage Katara ends... View high resolution

Six Movie References Hidden in A:TLA 

Star Wars

In “The Library” the Sandbenders are based on the Tusken Raiders aka Sandpeople from Star Wars and the ‘lantern’ above the door looks like a Death Star.

House of Flying Daggers

The ice cage Katara ends up in when she loses the fight against Pakku is an homage to the bamboo cage in House of the Flying Daggers. As is the ‘Dai Li hanging upside down from the cave’ scene at the end of season two. 

Indiana Jones

Zuko and Aang’s discovering the dragon egg in the temple visually mirrors the beginning of “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”

A Fistul of Dollars

The episode ‘Zuko Alone’ is an homage to: Red Harvest - Yojimbo - A Fistful of dollars i.e.A noir novel, made into a Samurai movie, made into an Italio-Western, made into an A:TLA Western.

Godzilla and Princess Mononoke

When the Ocean Spirit posesses Aang and drowns the Fire Nation fleet, it turns into an homage to Gozilla and the forest spirit (aka the nightwalker) from Princess Mononoke.

The Ocean Spirit = Godzilla + The Forest Spirit When the Ocean Spirit posesses Aang and drowns the Fire Nation fleet, it turns into an homage to Gozilla and the forest spirit (aka the nightwalker) from Princess Mononoke. Image source: One, two More... View high resolution

The Ocean Spirit = Godzilla + The Forest Spirit

When the Ocean Spirit posesses Aang and drowns the Fire Nation fleet, it turns into an homage to Gozilla and the forest spirit (aka the nightwalker) from Princess Mononoke.

Image source: One, two

More about the Ocean Spirit: Click me!

He even stayed for breakfast … Ever noticed how Zuko stays the night at Mai’s house? And how his hair is all messed up the next morning? I am sure *cough* they stayed up all night playing pai-sho. View high resolution

He even stayed for breakfast …

Ever noticed how Zuko stays the night at Mai’s house? And how his hair is all messed up the next morning? 

I am sure *cough* they stayed up all night playing pai-sho. 

The sign over the stage reads: 餘烬島劇院 - Ember Island Theatre View high resolution

The sign over the stage reads: 餘烬島劇院 - Ember Island Theatre

The Boy from the Iceberg - Poster One’s War Criminals are Another’s Prisoners of War Sokka edits for … content >:D My translation: “ The Boy from the Iceberg Earth Kingdom’s famous playwright Pu An-Tian’s new work (features) globally collected... View high resolution

The Boy from the Iceberg - Poster

One’s War Criminals are Another’s Prisoners of War

 Sokka edits for … content >:D

My translation:

The Boy from the Iceberg

Earth Kingdom’s famous playwright Pu An-Tian’s new work (features)
globally collected information about the Avatar. The information (was gathered) from the icebergs of the South Pole to the Earth Kingdom capital. The information (was gathered) from Nomad singers, pirates, war criminals and a vegetable merchant.  

Starring the Ember Island Players.

What Sokka and Suki said:

Sokka: “The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu-on Tim, who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar, from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage.”

Suki: "Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players.“

Note:

The Chinese on the poster reads ‘War Criminals’, not 'Prisoners of War’. 

战犯 - war criminal

战俘 - prisoner of war

The poster does not actually mention anything about 'a knowledgable Cabbage Merchant’ or the Ember Island Players being critically acclaimed. The difference in author name is imho due to different transliteration and well… bad pronunciation. (*cough* remember  'Long Feng’)

 

浦安添 Pu An-Tian, the playwrite’s name, means: 

浦 surname meaning: Riverbank or shore

安 peaceful, quiet (same character as Aang’s name)

添 to increase

If there is a pun on that name, I am missing it. 浦安 is:

Urayasu
City in Japan
Urayasu is a city located in the far western corner of northern Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As of April 2012, the city had an estimated population of 163,013 and a population density of 9430 persons per km². The total area was 17.29 km². Wikipedia

but I doubt that has any significance. 

And the original Chinese

冰山上的男孩

土国著名剧作家

浦安添新作搜集

全球有关降世神通

资料由南极冰山至

土国首都资料来自

牧民歌手海盗战犯

和菜贩由余烬岛演

员主演

Five Things You Might Have Missed Watching A:TLA The Earth King’s palace and The Fire Lord’s palace are the same place. Check this out: The Fire Nation palace in the caldera and the Earth King’s palace in Ba Sing Se are both modeled after different... View high resolution

Five Things You Might Have Missed Watching A:TLA

The Earth King’s palace and The Fire Lord’s palace are the same place.

Check this out: The Fire Nation palace in the caldera and the Earth King’s palace in Ba Sing Se are both modeled after different parts of the Forbidden City in Beijing. 

Even the inside of the throne rooms matches.

Lake Laogai is real

Lao Gai is not a made up phrase or name. Lao 劳 Gai 改 is the abbreviation for Láodòng Gǎizào (劳动改造) “Reform Through Labor,” the slogan of prison labor camps in China (PRC) until 1990.

Toph’s parents are traitors

Nevermind the part where they don’t give a shit about  the Earthrumble people planning to sell the Avatar to the Fire Nation.

Just look at all the dragon themed decoration they have Toph never knew about >:)

And at just how welcome Aang is at their dinner table. Here’s a hint: Count the vegetable dishes.

The constellations match the star map.

This is an amazing bit of continuity. The night sky in the episode “The Waterbending Master” matches the star map Katara has in the episode “The Desert”. They even adjusted it for season change.

Sokka ‘fortune’ comes true.

When Sokka kicks a stone after leaving Aunt Wu’s house it bounces off a sign with the character for ‘luck’ on it and hits him in the head.

“You’re lying. My source says there’s one waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe.” (Yon Rha) So, who’s the rat? Shouldn’t you be hunting them down, Katara? View high resolution

“You’re lying. My source says there’s one waterbender left in the Southern Water Tribe.” (Yon Rha)

So, who’s the rat? Shouldn’t you be hunting them down, Katara?

The Last Raid - What the Raids did to the Southern Water Tribe

When you compare Hama’s memory of their village, to Sokka’s memory of the day his mother died, while there is a noticeable difference in village size and construction, that difference is nothing in comparison to what we see in season one. 

It is very obvious that the reason the raids stopped is that the FN won. Had Aang not defeated Ozai and the Northern Water Tribe not sent people, that settlement, and the Southern Water Tribe, would have been gone within a lifetime. 

Sharing is Caring

Or, at least, that is what Chit Sang ships: “Hey, uhh, fellas! I think your girlfriend’s taking care of it.”


Azula’s Fire was not Always Blue

What that says about what her mom leaving and Zuko getting banished has done to her i.e. her bending, like everyone else’s in the Fire Nation, is fueled by rage. To turn that blue she must have an incredible amount of hurt/rage bottled up inside. 

Edited: Iroh’s explanation of ‘how you need inner balance for lightening’ is proven wrong in the show itself. If it were true Azula would not be able to throw lightning in the finale.