Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 3)
Encyclopedia
Season Three of Avatar: The Last Airbender
, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon
, first aired its 21 episodes from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino
and Bryan Konietzko
and starred Zach Tyler Eisen
, Mae Whitman
, Jack DeSena
, Jessie Flower
, Dante Basco
, and Grey DeLisle
as character voices.
This third and final season focuses on Aang
's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord. In the season's beginning, protagonist
Aang and his friends Sokka
, Katara, and Toph
are traveling through the Fire Nation, conjuring a plan for invading the Fire Nation and looking for a teacher to teach Aang Firebending. Midway through the season, Aang gathers friends he met in previous episodes and leads a failed invasion into the Fire Nation. Former antagonist
and anti-hero
Zuko changes sides and joins Aang, serving as his Firebending teacher until the season finale
, when Aang finally defeats the Fire Lord and ends the war in a surprising way. He takes away his bending to keep what he has learned in the northern air temple.
The final season features twenty-one episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale
consisted of the four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie
. Season Three received a similar positive critical reception to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the finale, received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk
and IGN
.
Between October 30, 2007 and September 16, 2008, Nickelodeon released four DVD volumes and a "Complete Box Set". Each of the four volume DVDs consisted of one disc and five episodes, with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes, and the boxed set contained all twenty-one episodes on five discs. The boxed set was released on February 1, 2010 in the UK.
, which is owned by Viacom
. The season's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside episode director and co-producer Aaron Ehasz. Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding
, Lauren MacMullan
and Giancarlo Volpe
. Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan
; along with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.
The season's music was composed by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman
and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to the show's creators because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.
remained the same, with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen
, Mae Whitman
, Jack DeSena
, and Jessie Flower
, respectively. After the voice actor Mako
died during the production of season two, Iroh was voiced by Greg Baldwin
. Zuko, who is voiced by Dante Basco
, joins the Avatar during the episode "The Western Air Temple." This leaves Azula, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle
, as the primary antagonist. Mark Hamill
joins the cast to voice Fire Lord Ozai, who had previously only been shown playing minor roles in the series.
remarked, "In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender also has amazing animation. The character designs, with its roots in classic Asian folklore, are colorful and inventive, and the overall animation is smooth and consistently executed". Jamie S. Rich wrote in another review:
Henrik Batallones, a BuddyTV
Staff Columnist, also noted the wide variety of positive reviews from the press for the series finale
, noting that sources such as the New York Times and Toon Zone gave Avatar "glowing reviews".
The season also received praise for its video and sound quality. Nick Lyons from DVD Talk
felt that the video quality appeared better than previous seasons, which had also garnered additional awards. He also remarks that the sound is "spot on...as per usual." At the 2008 Annie Awards
, the season won "Best Animated Television Production for Children". At the same Annie Awards, Joaquim Dos Santos won the "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production" caption for his directing in "Into the Inferno". Joaquim Dos Santos also gave Avatar a nomination at Annecy
2008 for his work with "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse". Additionally, music editor and composer Jeremy Zuckerman and the sound editing team were nominated a Golden Reel award for "Best Sound Editing in a Television Animation" for their work in "Avatar Aang".
volumes contain five episodes each, and the fourth volume contains six. A later boxed set contained all four volumes. The first DVD was released on October 30, 2007, and the complete boxed set was released on September 16, 2008. They are released by Paramount Home Entertainment. Each of the individual Season Three DVDs also comes complete with an exclusive comic book. The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD includes the following DVD extras: Inside Sozin's Comet: Exclusive Four-Part Commentary by Creators, The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation and Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic-Con. The boxed set was released on February 1, 2010 in the UK.
trilogy is expected to be based on Book Three with the main cast of the first and second films and M. Night Shyamalan
to return as director, writer and producer.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz...
, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, first aired its 21 episodes from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino
Michael Dante DiMartino
Michael Dante DiMartino is an American animation director, best known as the co-creator, executive producer and story editor of the hit TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon...
and Bryan Konietzko
Bryan Konietzko
Bryan Konietzko is the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He has also worked as a character designer at Film Roman for Family Guy and as Assistant Director for Mission Hill and King of the Hill. He was a Storyboard Artist and Art Director for the...
and starred Zach Tyler Eisen
Zach Tyler Eisen
Zachary Tyler "Zach" Eisen is an American actor and voice actor. His roles include Aang in the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lucas Nickle in The Ant Bully , Andrew in Nick Jr.'s Little Bill, and Pablo the Penguin in Nick Jr.'s The Backyardigans...
, Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
, Jack DeSena
Jack DeSena
Jack DeSena is an American screen and voice actor. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy series All That, having joined the show's cast at the start of its 7th season in 2001 Jack DeSena (born John Patrick DeSena; December 6, 1987, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American screen and...
, Jessie Flower
Jessie Flower
Jessie Flower is an American voice actress. She is most well known as the voice of Toph Bei Fong in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. She also voiced the character Meng in the season one episode "The Fortuneteller". She voices Peggy in Random! Cartoons episode Tiffany...
, Dante Basco
Dante Basco
Danté Basco is an American actor, voice actor, poet, and dancer. He is best known for playing Rufio in the 1991 live-action Peter Pan film Hook...
, and Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
as character voices.
This third and final season focuses on Aang
Aang
Aang is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang is depicted as the show's main protagonist, and as such has appeared in all but one...
's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord. In the season's beginning, protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Aang and his friends Sokka
Sokka
Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Jack DeSena...
, Katara, and Toph
Toph
Toph Bei Fong is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character was voiced by Jessie Flower.Toph Bei Fong is a blind Earthbending master...
are traveling through the Fire Nation, conjuring a plan for invading the Fire Nation and looking for a teacher to teach Aang Firebending. Midway through the season, Aang gathers friends he met in previous episodes and leads a failed invasion into the Fire Nation. Former antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
and anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
Zuko changes sides and joins Aang, serving as his Firebending teacher until the season finale
Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle
"Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle" is the series finale for the Nickelodeon television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe, and Joaquim Dos Santos, and written by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Aaron Ehasz. Though intended to be split...
, when Aang finally defeats the Fire Lord and ends the war in a surprising way. He takes away his bending to keep what he has learned in the northern air temple.
The final season features twenty-one episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale
Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle
"Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle" is the series finale for the Nickelodeon television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe, and Joaquim Dos Santos, and written by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Aaron Ehasz. Though intended to be split...
consisted of the four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
. Season Three received a similar positive critical reception to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the finale, received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
and IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
.
Between October 30, 2007 and September 16, 2008, Nickelodeon released four DVD volumes and a "Complete Box Set". Each of the four volume DVDs consisted of one disc and five episodes, with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes, and the boxed set contained all twenty-one episodes on five discs. The boxed set was released on February 1, 2010 in the UK.
Production
The season was produced by and aired on NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, which is owned by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
. The season's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside episode director and co-producer Aaron Ehasz. Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding
Ethan Spaulding
Ethan Spaulding is a crew person on the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He directed twelve episodes, and held various crew positions on several others...
, Lauren MacMullan
Lauren MacMullan
Lauren MacMullan is an animation director. Her first primetime TV job was on The Critic, followed by directing for King of the Hill. She went on to become the supervising director and designer for Mission Hill. After the show was cancelled quickly, she got a job directing on The Simpsons, and...
and Giancarlo Volpe
Giancarlo Volpe
Giancarlo Volpe is an Italian American animator, director, and producer.Giancarlo is currently producing the CG television show, "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" working with animation legend Bruce Timm....
. Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan
John O'Bryan
John O'Bryan is one of the current writers of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series on Nickelodeon. He has been writing for the series ever since the beginning of the show.John O'Bryan is a writer on Avatar: The Last Airbender, and is heavily involved in storyboarding and writing episodes.The roles...
; along with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.
The season's music was composed by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman
Jeremy Zuckerman
Jeremy Zuckerman is an American composer and musician mostly known for composing the score of the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He studied at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and California Institute of the Arts and has collaborated with musicians such as David Lee Roth.Jeremy is one half...
and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to the show's creators because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.
Cast
All of the protagonists from season 2Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 2)
Season Two of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first aired its 20 episodes from March 17, 2006 to December 1, 2006...
remained the same, with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen
Zach Tyler Eisen
Zachary Tyler "Zach" Eisen is an American actor and voice actor. His roles include Aang in the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Lucas Nickle in The Ant Bully , Andrew in Nick Jr.'s Little Bill, and Pablo the Penguin in Nick Jr.'s The Backyardigans...
, Mae Whitman
Mae Whitman
Mae Margaret Whitman is an American television, movie and voice actress. She is known for her role as Ann Veal in the TV series Arrested Development, her role as Amber on the TV series Parenthood, her role as Roxy Richter in Scott Pilgrim vs...
, Jack DeSena
Jack DeSena
Jack DeSena is an American screen and voice actor. He is best known for his work on the sketch comedy series All That, having joined the show's cast at the start of its 7th season in 2001 Jack DeSena (born John Patrick DeSena; December 6, 1987, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American screen and...
, and Jessie Flower
Jessie Flower
Jessie Flower is an American voice actress. She is most well known as the voice of Toph Bei Fong in the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. She also voiced the character Meng in the season one episode "The Fortuneteller". She voices Peggy in Random! Cartoons episode Tiffany...
, respectively. After the voice actor Mako
Mako (actor)
, born , was an Oscar- and Tony-nominated Japanese actor. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, omitting his surname. -Early life:...
died during the production of season two, Iroh was voiced by Greg Baldwin
Greg Baldwin
Greg Baldwin is an American actor. Raised in Spring, Texas, he currently resides in the San Fernando Valley with Melissa Baldwin, his wife of twenty-six years and their two children, Sydney and Cooper...
. Zuko, who is voiced by Dante Basco
Dante Basco
Danté Basco is an American actor, voice actor, poet, and dancer. He is best known for playing Rufio in the 1991 live-action Peter Pan film Hook...
, joins the Avatar during the episode "The Western Air Temple." This leaves Azula, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
, as the primary antagonist. Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
joins the cast to voice Fire Lord Ozai, who had previously only been shown playing minor roles in the series.
Reception
As with previous seasons, the critical reception was generally positive. Jamie S. Rich from DVD TalkDVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
remarked, "In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender also has amazing animation. The character designs, with its roots in classic Asian folklore, are colorful and inventive, and the overall animation is smooth and consistently executed". Jamie S. Rich wrote in another review:
This final season in the trilogy is turning out to be the best... At this point in the story, major things are happening, with the characters going through changes and the various plot elements coming together. Thankfully, the show creators never rest, and the quality control is top-notch. The writing is smart, and the animation always impressive.
Henrik Batallones, a BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
Staff Columnist, also noted the wide variety of positive reviews from the press for the series finale
Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle
"Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle" is the series finale for the Nickelodeon television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe, and Joaquim Dos Santos, and written by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Aaron Ehasz. Though intended to be split...
, noting that sources such as the New York Times and Toon Zone gave Avatar "glowing reviews".
The season also received praise for its video and sound quality. Nick Lyons from DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
felt that the video quality appeared better than previous seasons, which had also garnered additional awards. He also remarks that the sound is "spot on...as per usual." At the 2008 Annie Awards
36th Annie Awards
The 36th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2008, were held on January 30, 2009 at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. Below is a list of announced nominees...
, the season won "Best Animated Television Production for Children". At the same Annie Awards, Joaquim Dos Santos won the "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production" caption for his directing in "Into the Inferno". Joaquim Dos Santos also gave Avatar a nomination at Annecy
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
2008 for his work with "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse". Additionally, music editor and composer Jeremy Zuckerman and the sound editing team were nominated a Golden Reel award for "Best Sound Editing in a Television Animation" for their work in "Avatar Aang".
Episodes
| Series # |
Season # |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DVD releases
The first three DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
volumes contain five episodes each, and the fourth volume contains six. A later boxed set contained all four volumes. The first DVD was released on October 30, 2007, and the complete boxed set was released on September 16, 2008. They are released by Paramount Home Entertainment. Each of the individual Season Three DVDs also comes complete with an exclusive comic book. The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD includes the following DVD extras: Inside Sozin's Comet: Exclusive Four-Part Commentary by Creators, The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation and Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic-Con. The boxed set was released on February 1, 2010 in the UK.
| Volume | Discs | Episodes | Region 1 release | Region 2 release | Region 4 release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 5 | October 30, 2007 | Not released | June 1, 2010 |
| 2 | 1 | 5 | January 22, 2008 | Not released | September 23, 2010 |
| 3 | 1 | 5 | May 6, 2008 | Not released | October 7, 2010 |
| 4 | 1 | 6 | July 29, 2008 | Not released | November 04, 2010 |
| Box set | 5 | 21 | September 16, 2008 | February 1, 2010 | December 02, 2010 |
Film adaptation
The final part of the planned The Last AirbenderThe Last Airbender
The Last Airbender is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a live-action film adaptation of the first season to the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender....
trilogy is expected to be based on Book Three with the main cast of the first and second films and M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
to return as director, writer and producer.
Footnotes
- 1. Production code format taken from the commentary for "Sozin's Comet: The Phoenix King"