Yeah, it's well known. There are so many movies you can say Avatar ripped off, but for some reason, no one seems to suggest they ripped each other off...

There's Pocahontas, Fern Gully, Dune, Dances With Wolves, Firekind (an old comic), The Jesus Incident (another Frank Herbert story), and many more, I'm sure.

So, either Avatar stole the original idea from every single one of these movies/books/comics, or you sort of have to concede that the story is so generic and basic that it's been done and will be done again and again. Avatar just happens to do it really well (and the 3D doesn't hurt a bit ).

If you look hard enough, you'll find similarities everywhere. Examples:

Star Wars - Young warrior joins band of freedom fighters and leads them to victory over the big mechanical empire.
The Matrix - A computer programmer disconnects from the machine he's been hooked up to all his life, discovers he's The (chosen) One and goes on to free his band of freedom fighters from the big mechanical empire (this time with actual machines).

I'm sure I can go on, but this post is long enough, and I've made my point

Oh, and *cinema *parody.

Adding video to channels (Cinema, Parody) - requested by demon_ix.

*animation

Adding video to channels (Animation) - requested by brycewi19.

If you look hard enough, then yes, you can liken the story in Avatar to most movies. However, comparing it to Pocahontas, you don't have to look hard at all.

>> ^demon_ix:
(and the 3D doesn't hurt a bit ).

actually http://io9.com/5477698/science-proves-3+d-movies-hurt-your-brain

So, in theater and scriptwriting, you learn there are only "7 types of stories". I believe this is true, for the most part. However these are all a framework, and human ingenuity and imagination constantly reworks these 7 "types" into new and interesting tales that continue to surprise us. If they didn't we'd have been bored of narrative long ago.

However, if Avatar has succeeded or pushed the envelope in any way, it is that it's the most generic film ever made. A plot produced of a million monkeys at a million typewriters. There is no one scene in that entire film that is memorable or iconic; it exists as the epitome of the Hollywood formula.

So yeah, I stand behind this parallel, and pretty much any others that are drawn, as this film borrows heavily from every single preexisting story that precedes it.

For what it's worth, I felt like I was watching the first Ewok Movie.

BRILLIANT!

obvious story is obvious, but the editing is awesome.

>> ^Kreegath:
If you look hard enough, then yes, you can liken the story in Avatar to most movies. However, comparing it to Pocahontas, you don't have to look hard at all.


Right. You just have to ignore the whole thing about Jake being a paraplegic, gaining a new body, becoming one with the Navi, then betraying them, then becoming their leader and uniting the tribes, and the whole giant sentient tree network, and unobtainium being the last hope for a dying earth, etc. You know, like most of the plot.

I think both sides in this argument have fair points. Yes, all movies are derivative at some level. But not to this degree.

Also, I don't think Star Wars and the Matrix are that comparable. Sure, you could say Tatooine is like the real world, and space is like the Matrix. But that's kind of tenuous. It's not like outer space was a secret to Luke. They both fight a controlling, evil empire, but that plot point exists in half of action / epic movies. As a plot device, attacking evil empires works much better than attacking orphanages.

Also, if you look at the list of "7 types of plots", Matrix is man versus machine while Star wars is man versus man. Luke's life is heavily influenced by a mysterious father figure whose path he seeks to follow and whose (supposed) death he seeks to revenge. Neo's father plays no roll. Neo is saved by Trinity's love, Luke has no romantic interest. Who is the Han Solo figure in the Matrix?

Yes, they're similar at the one sentence level -- young warrior joins band of freedom fighters to destroy evil empire. That level of similarity can be found for any movie. For Avatar, you can instead write eight sentences, like in this trailer.

Young warrior leaves home for an alien, barely colonized new world inhabited by strange natives with a tenuous peace. The new world holds great spoils sought by the colonists. Meanwhile, the daughter of the native chief has an arranged marriage with a serious, stoic, well respected warrior of the tribe but she is not enthusiastic about this marriage. The young warrior and the native daughter meet and the warrior comes to appreciate the native point of view and way of life. The young warrior and the heroine consult with a sentient tree spirit. The young warrior and the chief's daughters form a close relationship that makes the betrothed mate jealous. The young warrior falls out of favor with the natives and barely escapes execution because of an attack from the colonists. Ultimately, there is a show down between the colonists and the natives, and the young warrior decides to aid the natives.

There are, of course, differences, especially with the ultimate resolution. In Pocahontas
1) There is less of a blood bath in the end.
2) The warrior leaves back to his old world at the end
3) The riches of the new world did not actually exist.
4) There is no "Avatar" element -- John doesn't pretend to be a native.
5) John wasn't specifically tasked to infiltrate the native community.

edit: I suppose this infamous image highlights the similarities better than I did:
http://www.black-and-right.com/wp-content/uploads/Pocahontas-to-Avatar.jpg

I think everyone forgets the part where Avatar blows your fucking eyes out with a bazooka filled with eye fucking miniature robotic penises.