"Avatar Spirits" is an American English-language documentary from 2010, so this one has its tenth anniversary this year or actually it happened already because it came out back in June 2010. It runs for over half an hour, slightly over 32 minutes even, and was directed by Kurt Mattila, a filmmaker who was definitely not too prolific back in 2010. The writer was Charles Olivier and he was. Also he already won an Emmy by then. Of course, this one we have here is closely linked to the super successful animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender". I personally have not seen it (yet), but it's been on my watchlist for a long time. So this is obviously not connected to the James Cameron movie(s) and also not connected to the the Shyamalan movie. Or at least not directly. This is about the show. I have seen "Legend of Korra" with which there obviously is a connection, but not a huge one. Anyway, let's not drift too far away now. I liked the outcome here. I have seen many other behind-the-scenes documentaries that were worse for all kinds of reasons. Frequently the interviewees have nothing really to say (or do not want to say something) and it's just nut-hugging and saying how amazing and beautiful and talented everybody was who worked on the project and that it was such a unique experience that they will always carry in their hearts. Or sometimes also they just show many scenes from the show without really elaborating on it. The opposite is the case here. You won't see any shots or sequences from the series this time, except at the very end. What you are getting is mostly stuff about the two people at the very core of coming up with this show and them trying to make it happen. Later on, there's also interviews with many others. It's fun, a great mix of people. The two protagonists sure had a bit of a likable nerd thing going for them. And as for the others, the two martial arts fellas stay in the mind the most, especially the big chubby one who looks like one who almost never leaves the sofa, but the opposite is true. He is really talented. Those two did some advising when it came to the character's fight moves during battle sequences. So it is a good outcome all in all. I would not say that this really motivated me to watch the series immediately, even if it is not too long I think, but also the opposite is not the case as it happened with other shows, even pretty recently with "Schitt's Creek" especially. This one here is somewhere in-between. It does feel authentic for the most part and that is why I give this little look behind the scenes a thumbs-up. Worth giving a shot, even if you have not seen the series it is about (just like I haven't). Positively recommended.
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