Latest / Kidcast Daily / Ep278: Avatar Movies

Transcript

Ep278: Avatar Movies · Kidcast Daily

• 0:08
  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
• 0:11
  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder open
• 0:17
  wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
• 0:22
  cats. Daily starts your day.
• 0:26
  Fun and laughter come your way. Sports and trivia games galore.
• 0:33
  Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where we bring news, trivia, fun
• 0:37
  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
• 0:40
  Today, we're exploring the amazing world of the Avatar
• 0:44
  movies. These films have wowed audiences
• 0:47
  around the world with their stunning visuals, creative
• 0:49
  storytelling, and fascinating look at an alien planet.
• 0:54
  But what makes Avatar movies so special?
• 0:57
  Let's dive in and find out together.
• 1:00
  Let's start at the beginning. The first Avatar movie was
• 1:03
  released in 2009. It was directed, written, and
• 1:07
  produced by James Cameron, a filmmaker known for creating
• 1:11
  movies with groundbreaking technology.
• 1:14
  Avatar is famous for being one of the most visually impressive
• 1:17
  films ever made. It used advanced special effects
• 1:20
  and motion capture technology to bring its world and characters
• 1:24
  to life. The movie story takes place on a
• 1:27
  distant planet called Pandora, which is filled with exotic
• 1:31
  creatures, glowing plants, and towering trees.
• 1:34
  One of the most important parts of the Avatar movies is the
• 1:38
  planet Pandora itself. Pandora is not a real place in
• 1:42
  our universe, but it was designed with careful attention
• 1:45
  to detail. The film makers worked with
• 1:48
  scientists and artists to make the plants and animals on
• 1:51
  Pandora seem believable. For example, the forests glow at
• 1:55
  night because of bioluminescence, a real
• 1:58
  phenomenon found in some Earth animals like jellyfish and
• 2:02
  fireflies. The floating mountains in the
• 2:04
  film were inspired by real mountains in China, specifically
• 2:08
  the Zhangjiaji National Forest Park.
• 2:11
  Now, let's talk about the main characters.
• 2:14
  The story centers around Jake Sully, a former marine who uses
• 2:18
  a wheelchair. Jake travels to Pandora because
• 2:21
  humans won't explore the planet's resources.
• 2:24
  On Pandora, humans use Avatars, genetically engineered bodies
• 2:29
  that look like the native people called the Gnostics.
• 2:32
  Jake controls an avatar so he can walk and interact with the
• 2:36
  Gnostics. The Gnostics are tall, blue
• 2:39
  skinned beings who live in harmony with nature.
• 2:42
  Through his experiences, Jake learns about the Gnostics way of
• 2:45
  life and the importance of protecting Pandora's
• 2:48
  environment. Here's a quick trivia question
• 2:51
  to test your knowledge. Do you know what the name of the
• 2:54
  precious mineral humans are searching for on Pandora is?
• 3:00
  The answer is unobtainium. Unobtainium is a rare material
• 3:05
  that the humans want to mine because it is extremely
• 3:08
  valuable. The Avatar movies are not just
• 3:10
  about adventure and action. They also have important
• 3:14
  messages. One big theme is the
• 3:16
  relationship between humans and nature.
• 3:19
  The movies show how important it is to respect the environment
• 3:23
  and learn from other cultures. By spending time with the
• 3:26
  Gnostics, Jake begins to understand their deep connection
• 3:29
  to the world around them. This part of the story
• 3:32
  encourages viewers to think about how our actions affect the
• 3:35
  planet. Another interesting fact about
• 3:37
  Avatar is its use of technology. The film makers used motion
• 3:41
  capture suits to record the actors movements and facial
• 3:44
  expressions. This allowed the animated
• 3:47
  Gnostics characters to look and move realistically.
• 3:50
  The movie also used 3D cameras to create scenes that seem to
• 3:54
  pop out of the screen. Because of these technical
• 3:57
  achievements, Avatar became the highest grossing film of all
• 4:01
  time for many years, earning more money at the box office
• 4:05
  than any other movie before it. Let's pause for a yes or no
• 4:09
  question to keep you thinking Do you think James Cameron, the
• 4:13
  director of Avatar, also directed the movie Titanic?
• 4:19
  The answer is yes. James Cameron directed both
• 4:22
  Avatar and Titanic, which are two of the most successful
• 4:26
  movies ever made. The world of Avatar grew even
• 4:30
  bigger with the release of its sequel, Avatar the Way of Water,
• 4:34
  in 2022. This movie takes place more than
• 4:38
  a decade after the events of the first film.
• 4:40
  Jake Sully and Na Tyree, A Gnostics woman he meets in the
• 4:44
  first movie, now have a family of their own.
• 4:47
  The story explores new parts of Pandora, especially its oceans
• 4:52
  and underwater life. To make these scenes as
• 4:55
  realistic as possible, the film makers developed new underwater
• 4:59
  motion capture technology. The actors even trained to hold
• 5:02
  their breath for several minutes so they could film scenes
• 5:05
  underwater. Here's another quick trivia
• 5:08
  question. Can you guess how long it took
• 5:10
  to make the first Avatar movie from the time James Cameron
• 5:14
  started planning it until it was released in theaters?
• 5:19
  The answer is about 15 years. James Cameron started planning
• 5:24
  Avatar in the 1990s, but the technology to make his vision
• 5:28
  possible didn't exist yet. He waited until computer effects
• 5:32
  were advanced enough to create the world he imagined.
• 5:35
  The Avatar movies are known for their impressive alien
• 5:38
  creatures. The Gnostics ride animals called
• 5:41
  banshees, which soar through the sky.
• 5:44
  There are also giant animals called than aiders and dire
• 5:47
  horses. Each creature was designed using
• 5:50
  a mix of real earth animals for inspiration.
• 5:53
  For example, the bansheious features similar to birds and
• 5:57
  reptiles, while the dire horse looks a bit like a cross between
• 6:00
  a horse and an antelope. Let's try another yes or no
• 6:04
  question. Do you think the actors and
• 6:06
  avatar had to learn a made-up language for their roles?
• 6:13
  The answer is yes. The Gnostics language was
• 6:16
  created specifically for the movies by a linguist named
• 6:19
  Doctor Paul Frommer. The actors learned how to
• 6:22
  pronounce the words and use the language in their scenes.
• 6:25
  One of the most fascinating parts of the Avatar movies is
• 6:29
  the way the Gnostics connect with their world.
• 6:31
  They have a neural connection called Sahelu, which allows them
• 6:35
  to bond with animals and even communicate with a giant tree
• 6:39
  called Iowa, which is considered the spirit of Pandora.
• 6:43
  This connection highlights the idea that all living things on
• 6:46
  Pandora are linked together. The music in the Avatar movies
• 6:50
  is another important feature. The soundtrack for the first
• 6:53
  film was composed by James Horner.
• 6:56
  The music uses sounds from different cultures and even
• 6:59
  includes voices, singing, and the Gnostics language.
• 7:03
  The music helps create the feeling of being in a new and
• 7:06
  mysterious world. Here's another trivia question
• 7:09
  for you. An Avatar The Way of Water.
• 7:13
  What is the name of the ocean dwelling Gnostics clan that Jake
• 7:16
  and his family meet? The answer is the Meccaena clan.
• 7:23
  They live by the water and have adapted to swimming and diving
• 7:27
  in the oceans of Pandora. The success of the Avatar movies
• 7:30
  has led to plans for more sequels.
• 7:33
  James Cameron has announced that there will be several additional
• 7:35
  movies, each exploring new parts of Pandora and new adventures
• 7:40
  for the characters. The movies have also inspired
• 7:43
  theme park attractions like Pandora, the world of Avatar.
• 7:47
  At Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, visitors can see
• 7:51
  floating mountains, ride on a banshee, and experience the
• 7:54
  glowing forests of Pandora for themselves.
• 7:58
  Let's try our last yes or no question.
• 8:00
  Do you think the Avatar movies have helped raise awareness
• 8:03
  about real world environmental issues?
• 8:08
  The answer is yes. Many people, including
• 8:12
  scientists and environmental groups, have praised the Avatar
• 8:15
  movies for encouraging viewers to think about how we interact
• 8:19
  with nature and the importance of protecting our planet.
• 8:22
  To recap what we've learned today, the Avatar movies are
• 8:26
  famous for their stunning visuals, creative storytelling,
• 8:29
  and use of advanced technology. They take place on Pandora, an
• 8:34
  alien planet filled with amazing creatures, glowing forests, and
• 8:38
  a unique culture. The story follows Jake Sully as
• 8:42
  he learns to appreciate the Gnostics way of life and the
• 8:45
  importance of respecting the environment.
• 8:48
  The films use real science and technology to create believable
• 8:51
  worlds, and they have inspired audiences to think more deeply
• 8:55
  about our relationship with nature.
• 8:57
  We also learned some fun facts like the creation of the
• 9:00
  Gnostics language, the long time it took to make the first film,
• 9:04
  and the new underwater technology used in the sequel.
• 9:07
  Throughout the podcast, you had a chance to answer trivia and
• 9:11
  yes or no questions to test your knowledge and keep you engaged.
• 9:15
  That's all for today's episode of Kick Ass Daily.
• 9:19
  Thanks for joining us in exploring the world of Avatar
• 9:22
  movies. Stay curious, keep asking
• 9:24
  questions, and come back next time for more news, trivia, and
• 9:28
  fun facts just for you. Grab your.
• 9:33
  Breakfast feelings, fine adventures waiting.