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10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles

10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles

Christopher Campbell
By Christopher Campbell posted 5 months ago
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James Cameron’s Avatar is supposed to be like nothing we’ve ever seen before. So why does it look so familiar? One of the most disappointing things about the film’s promotion so far is how derivative the film looks in the trailer that (eventually) debuted online today. And much of what we’re reminded of wasn’t even that great to begin with. To help illustrate our feeling of déjà vu, we’ve captured a few screenshots from the trailer and, where available, put them next to their older visual counterparts.

Hellboy (2004)

The first shot that looked familiar to us is still the one we believe to be most similar to its predecessor. We don’t want to say Cameron ripped off Guillermo Del Toro, but we don’t imagine this is intended as homage, either. Likely it’s just a coincidence, but when the blue guy spoke later on in the trailer I was disappointed that he didn’t have Doug Jones’ voice.



Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
(2001)

We’re not the only ones crushed by how much this movie recalls the Final Fantasy adaptation, a movie that also was expected to be a groundbreaking piece of cinema, yet which was anything but. The sadder thing is that it doesn’t even seem as much like a video game adaptation as it does an actual video game. Hey, if we’re given joysticks in addition to the 3D glasses, we won’t complain. But we don’t think Cameron is that innovative just yet.


Starship Troopers
(1997)

Humans on an alien planet being eaten by nasty creatures? Obviously that’s reminiscent of a certain Paul Verhoeven movie. The military outfits even remind us of those in Starship Troopers. We’ll assume there are no references to Nazi propaganda, but we can dream. Maybe there’s at least a Nazi-like character who wishes to wipe out all the aliens in a sort of blue-person Holocaust.


Dungeons & Dragons
(2000)

We could have gone easy on the dragon-riding shots and say they’re reminiscent of a Harry Potter movie or maybe even The Neverending Story. But honestly the first thing that came to mind was the atrocious RPG adaptation Dungeons & Dragons. We only wish we could find a screenshot of Thora Birch riding a dragon to show how bad that movie’s visuals are. Not to say Avatar’s effects aren’t better, but the reminder still depreciates our interest.


Star Wars: Episode II -: Attack of the Clones
(2002)

We’ll ignore the first Star Wars prequel, because this honestly doesn’t look that terrible. But it does look at least as bad as the latter two films in that trilogy. There’s not really a specific shot to focus on with this one. Just look at any of the busy shots, action scene or otherwise, with all that CG mess going on in the background. Is Cameron the new George Lucas? Well the romantic dialogue in Titanic is as cheesy as that of Attack of the Clones, so we’re not expecting much better from the blue person love story of Avatar. But at least Cameron hasn’t gone back and “fixed” parts of his movies, as much as he probably would prefer to with The Abyss.


Delgo
(2008)

We’re giving credit to this harsh comparison to our friend Drew Taylor, of The Playlist, who Tweeted simply “Delgo, baby, Delgo,” in reply to his editor’s complaints about the Star Wars prequel similarities. We haven’t seen the infamous animated flop, but we’ll take Taylor’s word for it. How many other movies have strange humanoid creatures embracing like those two pairs above? Meanwhile, Kyle Buchanan over at Movieline compares the same shot to a more color-appropriate one from Watchmen.


Willow
(1988)

There are a number of fantasy films in which a main character is suddenly surrounded by enchanting faerie type creatures. The one that first came to mind, though, is the Lord of the Rings wannabe Willow, a movie that was groundbreaking in its effects 20 years ago but which now looks rather silly. Will there be a giant faerie queen that shows up just after this shot?


The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
(2003)

It’s actually not much better that Avatar also reminds us of the real LOTR. Maybe if any of the CG creatures looked as real as Gollum, but instead this trailer called back one specific character and one specific failed sequence from Return of the King. Thanks to the archery gear, the Na’vi look like blue elves, and thanks to the seemingly bad CG, we can’t help thinking back to that embarrassing bit of special effects depicting Legolas battling an oliphaunt.


King Kong
(2005)

If Cameron isn’t the new George Lucas, he’s at least the new Peter Jackson, attempting to seem like the savior of effects-driven cinema only to really deliver a lot of disappointing CG garbage alongside his otherwise innovative visuals. This is why the shot above, despite first making us think of the groundbreaking Jurassic Park, is being compared to the stuff in Jackson’s King Kong that rip off Spielberg’s film. It looks every bit as messy and cartoonish as the prehistoric monsters of Jackson’s disappointing last movie.

District 9 (2009)

And when Avatar doesn’t simply seem like a Peter Jackson movie, it at least reminds us of a Peter Jackson production, specifically this summer’s District 9. Even though the idea of a human-alien hybrid here involves an intended operation, it is now too reminiscent of the unwanted transition in D9. It doesn’t help Avatar’s case that while different in concept there is still the moment when the hybrid character angrily wishes to leave his prison-like operating room. Does this mean D9 will at year’s end be the more original and influential, if not more groundbreaking, sci-fi movie of the year? We think we should still wait until Avatar is released to really think so. But we’re leaning towards the idea.

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  • victor said

    POCAHONTAS AND ATLANTIS of DISNEY

  • Jason said

    What about the gungan battle from Phantom Menace?

  • Robert said

    Well considering Avatar has been in post-production for almost 2 years, I think its safe to say they weren’t inspired by District 9. In fact, out of all of your comparisons, D9 feels completely out of place and is the furthest stretch.

  • Denihilation said

    I posted these elsewhere, but here are a few more Delgo comparison images for you: http://img.denihilation.com/delgovatar.html

  • Cde. said

    Many think that Delgo and Battle for Terra were two films based on the ‘Avatar’ scriptment, which leaked in 1996.

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  • Sam said

    All due respect but these comparisons are kind of so thin and unworthwhile. None are thought out and have any real value. You failed to mention Dances With Wolves - which is probably more similar in the story department. In a world of scifi fantasy films, similarities will be common. Get over it. This looks so visually groundbreaking and the conceit of a soldier remote controlling a giant alien human to infiltrate the enemy is a fantastic story premise - and relevant to modern “drone” warfare in Afganistan.

    Stop grumping. Cameron always delivers something awesome. Give him a break and stop spewing unsubstantial garbage.

  • DH said

    You forgot Robin Hood and Braveheart, because any movie containing bows and arrows should be comparable. And because there’s scenes with mutant reptiles in a forest, compare it to King Kong? Your list is shite.

  • snmt said

    “Even though the idea of a human-alien hybrid here involves an intended operation, it is now too reminiscent of the unwanted transition in D9.”

    did you just fucking ruin District 9 for me?

  • 10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles | SpoutBlog | Filme Gratis Filme Moca said

    [...] more here:  10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles | SpoutBlog VN:F [1.6.2_892]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)VN:F [1.6.2_892]Rating: 0 (from 0 [...]

  • avatar vs. avetar said

    Man, this is stretching it. You’re jumping to conclutions, example: how do you know that Sam’s Avatar is trying to leave the lab. He says “This is great”. He was probably just throwing off the medical gear ’cause he couldn’t wait to walk again after being a cripple for years.

    Anyway, who’s to say that Blomkamp wasn’t influenced by the film. He was writing it in NZ while they were shooting the performances, also in NZ.

  • Steve C said

    “…I was disappointed that he didn’t have Doug Jones’ voice…”

    That would be interesting, because in HELLBOY, “Abe” wasn’t voiced by Jones, but by David Hyde Pierce.

  • BIE said

    Dark Crystal, the gelflings

  • KAFILAH CENTER » ‘Avatar,’ What Kristen Stewart Wants And Miles Davis Around The Blogosphere said

    [...] the point that trailers don’t always tell the full (or even the right) story is a valid one. (Spout Blog) [...]

  • stankfanger said

    “But at least Cameron hasn’t gone back and “fixed” parts of his movies, as much as he probably would prefer to with The Abyss.”
    Are you trying to say that the sci-fi classic was flawed? You just threw any credibility out the window. So sick of people dissing this movie. It will be the biggest movie ever. It will have Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan ass kissers crying.
    I like Nolan and Jackson and don’t really understand all the 14 year olds that worship them dissing Cameron. I guess Cameron will always be God to me since I saw T2 when I was 9. These kids must have seen LOTR and Dark Knight at that age…..

  • stankfanger said

    By the way the first shot I felt was a homage to Cameron’s own film “Aliens”. Fucking tool!

  • BIE said

    Or the Clone Wars animated series.

  • Jay Hawkinson said

    love the comparisons! but have we seen them all in one film? ;-)

  • Sunil said

    Its the talent of James Cameron that is Avatar not like Transformers 2, James Cameron is talented and the way he narrates the story, is just breathing taking and wonderful.

  • Tim Todd said

    I would add that the “like nothing we’ve ever seen before” type claims have not been primarily in regard to story elements (or even the story). Rather, the new ground is in regard to…new 3D technology that provide for a new level of depth and immersion. Something best experienced in 3D (not a 2D trailer).

  • Jach said

    You are way 2 critical.
    And most of the comparisons are way to thin for you to write something like this.
    1) Ill give you the Hellboy thing

    2) Video game?? Serious load of cr*p

    3) Your right about the monster thing but thegear is very different except they both have no sleeves.

    4) It reminds more of Eragon than D&D except it doesn’t look like a dragon at all.

    5) You obviously don’t have the mind and eyes to follow what is going on in the Star Wars movies since you are calling the CG a mess.

    6) This is the best comparison.

    7) The idea resembles. Willow came out over 10 years before LOTR so i think LOTR might be Willow wannabe.

    8) I’m pretty sure the bow means they have low technology which is the only thing resembling elves. And again with the graphics, i haven’t seen much better have you??

    9) Doesn’t look cheesy and doesn’t resemble much except the beasts are about same size and in the woods.

    10) Ill give you this one to.

    All in all: Do some more research or don’t do this at all cause you suck at it.

  • jrp said

    You could do this same sort of criticism for any movie.

  • A quanti film somiglia Avatar? | Film news, cinema news, recensioni cinema, locandine film - Filmo.it said

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  • The Great Geek Manual » Geek Media Round-Up: August 21, 2009 said

    [...] The first trailer for Avatar is online now! It looks a LOT more like fantasy than sci-fi. Hmmm. The Sprout Blog reacts with a list of 10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles. [...]

  • Hey Avatar, Meet Delgo… « monkeyBLOGmonkeyDO – This banana’s outta ink! said

    [...] (BONUS!  An article from The Onion’s AV Club about Delgo, and a thorough breakdown of Avatar’s preview courtesy of Spout Blog.) [...]

  • hcaulfield37 said

    How about the battle for Zion sequence from Matrix Revolutions?

  • Jeffrey said

    Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

  • Temmere said

    Fantastic Planet?

    I assume there will be no thematic similarities, but still… big blue aliens.

  • Richard Hymns said

    Wow! Both Avatar & willow have a warrior drawing a bow! Amazing!

    These comparisons are absurd. Considering the number of films of this type, there are bound to be some similarities in certain areas, but only slight. The quality of Avatars VFX are beyond anything seen before as far as I can see

  • Michael said

    The first movie that sprung to mind when I caught a glimpse of James Cameron’s new alien species was The Dark Crystal (1982). Aside from being blue, the resemblance to Jim Henson’s Gelflings is undeniable!

  • Arthur said

    the film was planned with scenes and the script 14 years ago. So obviously these similarities are just coincidence.

    Besides that, just for the art displayed in the trailer Avatar DESTROYS any of these movies !

  • Jacob said

    What so nobody but legolas may now shoot with a bow !? c’mon seriously! And we can’t have close ups of a male and a female holding each other. Who ever did those comparisons is a total wanker without any understanding for film making. suck on it fool!!

  • RK said

    I have to agree, you went to a lot of trouble for nothing. You may as well have compared one of those scenes to the one in “Splash” where Tom Hanks sees Darryl Hannah in the tank as a mermaid. It’s just stupid. Everything is derivative of everything. That’s Hollywood. Get over it.

  • Marcus said

    give me a break, cameron has inspired a new generation of film makers, their the ones stealing his styles and copying his works, the fact that you call him a hack is hilarious, he has literally made a manual for how to make a sci fi film well

  • Sylvain said

    one more: A french animated film called “DRAGON HUNTERS” for the big Rock Candy Mountain Planetoids linked by bridges.

    http://www.chasseursdedragons-lefilm.fr/
    http://www.bigrockcandymountain.info/assets/2008/10/22/dragonhuntersBackground.jpg

  • Dale said

    “CGI garbage” is right. Just another big budget cartoon. How disappointing.

  • bill said

    personally, i thought of warcraft + starcraft = movie. night elves? marines? come ON! video game!

  • sk8walker said

    To me, it looks like taller & bluer Gollums are thrown in the middle of the clone wars…but i still have hopes!
    ;-)

  • BC said

    We live in a day and well ‘Movie Age’ where it is becomming more and more apparant that things are coming to be a little repetetive. However it is important to note that films like district 9, avatar, LOTR, the star wars saga and many many more eg. star trek, e.t, stanley kubricks- A space oddyssy have all been ground breaking in their attempts to capture new audiences, awaken fresh imaginations amongst people and generally to entertain. Hoo ray avatar! i personally love fantasy and sci-fi and i whole heartedly believe im no where near alone in my beliefs. There is almost always a love story, but who cares! pioneering special effects, a freshly remedied idea will all come together to make a visually stunning and entrancing film.

  • Hans said

    Uhh, Last Of The Mohicans (the hair style of some of the Thundersmurfs or what they call it ), Apocalypse Now (choppers against a sunset), 2001 (spaceship), Aliens (space marines sequence), star wars prequels (battles at the wookie planet) .

    I probably won’t even download it. The noble is a myth, mr. Cameron

  • Hans said

    Sorry, last sentence read: the noble savage is a myth, mr. Cameron.

  • rick said

    wow you just really looks for things to bring a movie down. how about you give the movie a chance before u start telling us its nothing but a rip off of other movies

  • Todd said

    Please. It’s child’s play to pick pieces bit-by-bit out of this movie and show similar elements from other films. I could do that with any film in the world, and sci-fi/fantasy in particular is an easy target. Pointless exercise.

    More impressive would have been to draw comparisons, bit-by-bit, between this film and a single other film. Otherwise, you’re really not proving anything.

  • Avatar - Nubblies.net Forums - Wtf Did You Google To End Up Here? said

    [...] visually is some shitty animated film that came out a few years back called "Delgo". 10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles | SpoutBlog [...]

  • thejamminjabber said

    The Delgo one is the best. Shit is a direct rip!

  • Jake said

    This is stupid, you’re just fishing for hits, this is such a stretch it’s stupid. Wait until you’re SEEN the movie at least, guh, you are lame some times. - Jake OX

  • fellintoorbit said

    Many of the great science fiction movies that we all love, were heavily influenced by other movies.

    When ALIEN (my favourite of all time) was released, the producers tried to suppress all TV screenings of “IT! The Terror From Beyond Space”, because they feared people would see how closely the narrative of Alien matched that old 50s film.

    Yet Alien is now held up as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, and an influence on literally hundreds of other films.

    Cameron’s Aliens did the same thing with “Them!”, another 50s movie. I watched this late one night, and was gobsmacked to see the similarities, from the little girl character left behind at the peril of the monsters (same as “Newt” in Aliens), to the fact that people or buildings appeared to be “blown apart from the inside”. WTF?!

    And to cite Star Wars here, as something that Avatar has ripped off - that’s very cheeky. We all know that the original, wonderful Star Wars was one of the biggest mish-mashes of previous influences, ever put on screen - from Nazi Germany to Buddhism to The Lord Of The Rings.

    Who knows, maybe Avatar’s visual influences will be compensated for by narrative originality?

    I also think the internet can be a network of such unprecedented negative buzz for movies these days, and that’s something movies never had to contend with before it came along. Is this really a good thing? Are we better informed, because we’ve picked apart 60 seconds worth of effects sequences, and found 20 pictures from other movies that seem to resemble them? Couldn’t you do that with practically every movie ever made?

  • Paul DeBenedetto said

    My favorite part was when that guy said Lord of the Rings was actually a Willow wannabe.

  • globox said

    Et si le cul de ta mére ressemblait au cul de ta grand mére serait-elle pour autant ta mére? ta grand mére!

  • Valentino said

    I think, firstly you should watch the movie, and after make any kind of conclusion, not now, after the tesaser. BTW at firts look Legolas is alike Robin Hood… :P Oh… what a tragedy… Maybe the LOTR is a trash after this semblance…

  • avatar_fan said

    Christopher, what you’ve written is very annoying. You should go and seek for another job.

  • Dojo said

    If I wanted to watch Disney cartoons I’d, well, watch the Disney channel. Cameron is a Hollywood suck-up. This film is going to blow. That is of course unless Transformer fanatics jump all over it. What is it with films nowadays? Cameron doesn’t come near to having the skills to make a sci-fi film with a PG-13 rating that’s worth anything. He’s one hell of an over-rated director. Why doesn’t he stick to what he knows best? Violent, blood-fests? The CGI would work well. Heck, neither does Spielberg direct anything decent these days. War of the Worlds was terrible, melodramatic bile. Anyway, this film looks so lame. I was actually looking forward to seeing it later on this year, but the trailer has put me right off. This definitely won’t be a classic. Even for cheap fun, I wouldn’t care to watch this cash-cow attempt at revolutionizing the sci-fi genre. The genre has already been watered down, but this is just taking the ****.

    Yuck!

    Pass.

  • Joffrey said

    I think it’s too much… Avatar doesn’t remind me of any of those movies you said ! It’s complete bullshit !!! And I’ve seen almost all you mentioned. So if I think like you, so sure ! I can find some resemblances between Avatar and other movies… huh let me think… yeah almost every one ! You compare it shot by shot, its very easy to find some resemblances. So cut the crap and stop beeing narrow minded… Avatar will be the next gen movie whether u like it or not.

  • Populopolis said

    Avatar is based on stuff like Call me Joe” (1957) (seach wikipedia, it’s about a wheelchair astronaut that remote controls an alien “avatar” body in a hostile planet), mixed with a bit of everything, like Pocachontas/Dancing with wolves, Jurassic Park, Aliens, Matrix, etc, etc.

    To say that it’s like nothing we have seen before at all is stupid.

    It may or may not suck at the end, but stuff similar to Avatar has been around before. If you haven’t seen any it’s because you are either too young or haven’t seen enough stuff.

  • peter glanvill said

    the problem is that it is very hard to find original ideas. Having read SF for the last 50 years I am pleased in a way to see some of the stories I have read put on screen but I do feel the authors deserve credit. Having heard the plot of Avatar I immediately thought of ‘Call me Joe’ as I am sure did many other SF buffs. it won’t put me off seeing the film but I hope the author of the story 50 years ago gets some credit!

  • Eatano said

    that list is crap :’) thats like saying there’s a guy in a wheelchair so its inspired by forest gump and family guy. or cause there’s a jungle its obviously jungle book or its in space so 2001: A space odyssey.

  • Raar said

    Just few words: World of Warcraft, Nagrand.
    http://img.brothersoft.com/screenshots/softimage/n/nagrand_waterfall_glow-247311-1245030908.jpeg

  • Vidooshak said

    Absolutely. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the trailer was “Too much CGI”. And something about the movie looked familiar and jaded. I remember thinking Titanic wasn’t for me, when I saw the trailer and went “I have to see this!”. JC has a habit of surprising me. I hope Avatar is worth the 15 year wait :-)

  • pj said

    yeah what have u expected
    every artists work specially his greatest works is unconsciously inspired by his favorite pieces of art from other artists that he have seen before
    so if u say it for this case - the resemblance thing..- you should say it for any other movies out there

    but the picture comparison between avatar and delgo was like that they used delgo as a story board for avatar

    u know if this movie is going to get compared to other flicks then warcraft will recieve the same reaction

    by the way the star wars the whole thing is just a shiny piece of garbage

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    [...] Cameron’s Aliens. Of course, that’s a positive comparison. If I wanted to make another negative list of films Avatar resembles, I’d point out that cliche Braveheart-like speech heard at the [...]

  • Baron said

    Nothing can be 100% original anymore. Everything has been done. at least it isn’t a remake/adaption/sequel.

    And ”we can’t help thinking back to that embarrassing bit of special effects depicting Legolas battling an oliphaunt.”
    You obviously know NOTHING about CGI.

    One of the worst blogs ever. Pathetic.

  • Dan said

    It also looks like a certain Broadway musical!

    http://klogtheblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/avatarred-and-feathered/

  • TJ Yazzie said

    A retold story and a CGI nightmare!

  • Rob said

    I second the “Ferngully” comment.

  • Patrick said

    Talk about negativity, give the movie a chance mate, it doesnt really look like any of the films you mentioned above, and the way you dug around for similar frames to compare proves you are just biased. It doesnt prove Camerons going around lifting frames from other movies to put in his own. Grow up, and get a life!

  • Avatar Trailer #2 Changes Some Minds. Today in Film Bloggery 10/29/09 | Unreleased Movies said

    [...] Aliens. Of course, that’s a constructive comparison. If I desired to attain added negative itemize of films Avatar resembles, I’d saucer discover that commonplace Braveheart-like style heard at the [...]

  • David said

    Christopher Campbell u don’t know what ur talking about, i know what your saying about avatar is similar too most films, but to put down films of peter Jackson and Cameron is easy too criticize, do u know how hard it is to make films like this, it’s easy to write a silly comment about people and there movies inst it, i didn’t see ur name on imdb or doing any movies maybe you should try do a film before criticizing a movie without doing any hard work.

  • Hadi said

    dude ur list was a piece of effed up shit xD

  • Avatar Trailer #2 Changes Some Minds. Today in Film Bloggery 10/29/09 | MoviesThe.com said

    [...] Cameron’s Aliens. Of course, that’s a positive comparison. If I wanted to make another negative list of films Avatar resembles, I’d point out that cliche Braveheart-like speech heard at the [...]

  • maxence said

    and what about the smurfs???

  • jraenaenae said

    You missed one, that I believe is Cameron’s direct anological source by which he emulated into his own, and that is: Ferngully, The Last Rain Forest. Yes, he is definately unoriginal in his idea.

  • Dirk said

    We seem to be forgetting that all or most of the movies mentioned, or most of them, that resemble Avatar are all masterpieces or have some aura of sheer awesome to them.

    Now.. wait a minute… I can get ALL of those awesome movies in one heart-stopping movie!?

    Why am I still typing this? Where’s my ticket!?

  • Avatar 3D - Sheer Genius! MBO The Spring Kuching said

    [...] Oh yeah, if you would like to have a little fun identifying the "deja vu" moments while watching Avatar, look at this post: 10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles [...]

  • Avatar 3D - Sheer Genius! MBO The Spring Kuching said

    [...] Oh yeah, if you would like to have a little fun identifying the "deja vu" moments while watching Avatar, look at this post: 10 Movies Avatar Unfortunately Resembles [...]

  • Qeex said

    Nearly every comparison here breaks down into ‘hey, that shot looked a little similar to- WHAT A RIP OFF’, which sadly makes for a really retarded argument. You can’t say the film truly ‘resembles’ LOTR because someone uses a bow, or DnD because people ride flying things. Hell, by those criteria we could say Avatar resembles Rambo and World of Warcraft.

    The closest you came to any kind of a good point were the star war action shots and Delgo; But we have to admit that

    a. Star Wars set a formula for aerial battles that has been proven to work in countless reusages

    and

    b. Delgo is a shameless rip off of Avatar. So is battle for terra, and between the two I can’t decide which is more terrible.

  • Omar said

    Actually, I have seen Avatar yesterday in 3D. And well I don’t think it is that bad it is an above average science fiction movie with very good moments and some boring other moments.

    But what astonished me is the huge (yes very huge) elements he imitated identically from many sources, specially Final fantasy The spirits within and every Final fantasy game from FF6 to FF10.

    Things like (in no order):
    1) The dragoncreatures which the hunters ride are very lookalike with Kuja’s dragon in FF9 in every possible way.

    2) The forest it self is exactly the same (even same light efects and scenery and color usage) with Macalina forest from FF10. Specially at night.

    3) Holding memories and sharing them with other people is the same thing as Materia and Spheres from both FF7 and FF10 respetively.

    4) All the Aiwa goddess doing with transfering bodies and so on has the same concept, graphics effects and even looks exactly lke the Life stream from FF7 and FF10-2.

    5) The dragon that has a weird name and no one can ride it except 5 since the first songs era, is a Bahamut recycled story from every Final fantasy game except FF1 I think.

    6) The legendary islands with water falls in the sky. They are the same as in a game called Bahamut Lagoon which was directed by the scenarist of FF7,8,10,10-2 and was even produced by Squaresoft the same company which produces Final fantasy games.

    7) The love scene between The 2 heroes in the forest is a replica of the love seen of Tidus and Yuna in Final Fantasy 10 and was also set in the Macalina Forest.

    8) The enemy use gears very similar to the gears used by the enemy empire in FF6.

    9) The whole operation of controling Avatars from the labs has been done multiple times through Technology or possesion in FF7 (Reno controlling Caith Sith), FF8 (Ultemicia controlling Edea, Adel and Rinoa in multiple occasions) and other times too.

    10) A place where you can hear the dead people is also found in Guadosalam in FF10.

    11) The concept of the bond between the hunter and it’s dragon or horse through merging their hair or whatever that thing was discussed in a game called Xenogears but through gears normally and mostly in the Gear which holded Maria’s father. Many of Xenogears staff worked on FF7 and both games were produced by Squaresoft as well.

    12) The floating light things which were said to be spirits connected to Aiwa or something were also present with same concept and size but not same spider like appearance in FF10.

    13) In FF9 the lifa tree was exactly like the tree in the movie and I discussed that above, but I remember that there was a tribe of non very civilized creatures (not humans) living near it and consider that the tree a holy place for them.

    This is a list of what I can remember now. I am sure that if I watch that movie again I will be able to get even more references. I don’t know if Square-Enix can sue him for that not but I don’t think James Cameron can be considered a genius for not coming of anything original in his movie and ripping out what he likes from everything.

  • Omar said

    You know what, I rewrote the thing on my facebook acount and I recalled some other connections while doing so:

    14) A moon with alien creatures is something that was done hundreds of times in fiction world. But I have to say that FF4, FF8, FF9 had it as well.

    15) In a scene there were clearly 2 moons in space of the planet. I am not sure if I understood that right but if they follow the 2 moons theme then it’s another overkilled theme in Fiction and also used in Chrono Cross another game produced by Square and had many of its staff who worked on Final Fantasy games.

    16) Daughter of a great man defying the rules and loving a man from a totally different world, that is the story of Avatar and also FF10.

    17) In FF9 there was scene of Kuja’s dragon fighting against flying air ships. There is a very similar scene in the movie as well.

  • Joe said

    Oh Come off it. Its a living world of warcraft the whole concept is/ Floating lands looking like nagrand. what’s with the whole tree of eternity copy. The native people look exactly like draenai/ night elf cross breeds. Oh and dont get me started on the flying mounts where does it stop

  • don said

    DISTRICT 9 was way better in many ways - it just cost about half a billion less, and it’s a different kind of movie - i far preferred the aliens in D9 - they were much more interesting overallm not the soft blue fairies from camerons film - but AVATAR is certainely a very pretty film, even if it’s not too smart - and D9 is def not pretty, nor is it family entertainment as such, but it gets my vote for its balls and just all round badass radness. Still, avatar is an amazing visual achievement , nobody will deny that.

  • Prabs said

    Fern Gully!

  • Peter said

    unfortunately there has been a movies on nearly everything so I’m not surprised to see that new movies repeat or have similar moments with other movies

  • jason said

    A rip off as well as a stupid piece of work. I cannot wait for this thing to be forgotten by all two weeks after the DVD comes out.

  • jfx said

    When there’s so many movies out there, it’s hard not to have similar elements to some or most of them. Besides, this movie was in production since many years ago; if it had been released on time, it would’ve been stunning to the audience back then. Now that it’s late, we’ve already seen similar concepts done in recent movies.

  • Rob said

    Very thorough, but cynical. We should have remained in our caverns and not repeat anything. Ever.

    I think the movie is pretty actual in many ways, can you make a list? Thanks.

  • Tee said

    this was a really good movie and you can’t compare it to these other movies at all.

  • Your mother said

    What a disgusting post.

  • radu said

    huge scandal - AVATAR identical to WOW - prove inside

    http://www.trilulilu.ro/rcst/f13b1652360781
    it s a romanian upload
    i can t upload it on youtube
    tried 100 times
    rejected my video
    said it is illegal and stuff

  • Rik said

    Stealing Christmas is comparable based on the story. Tony Danza goes to a village (accedental) to rob the bank, but falls in love with an inhabitant, and struggles to make a different choice. Same story as Dances with wolves, FernGully and The last samurai..

  • retarted said

    you people are just thinking of any way u can to make the movie look bad. ok.. so what theres a person on a medical bed… theres plenty of movies where that happens. ok for the king kong one i guess thats a rip off of jarasic park or somthing right? hmmm lord of the rings.. people shooting bows.. troy. 300, ect it goes on forever.. just because it has these type of things in it doesnt mean its ripping off other movies. its just how the story is based

  • Person said

    Wow, this was the most retarded comparison I have seen yet. You have not proven that those movies resemble avatar only that they have 1 or 2 scenes where an actor is doing something similar. The girl is shooting a bow and arrow dear god it MUST of ripped of lord of the rings. If thats how its going to be then why don’t you say that it rips of all the Family Guy movies because there is a guy in a wheel chair or how it rips off star trek due to space travel AND the main character having sex with blue aliens!!!!! You fail good sir.

  • Charmy87 said

    I loved Avatar!!! I agree that your comparisons are thin and let’s face it movies ahve been around for decades, there’s not that much that can be done anymore. You are always gonna find similarities. boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl is already promised to someone else, boy from the wrong side falls for the princess, etc. However I think Avatar had a little more to offer than most sci fi movies I have seen so far. I wouldnt change anything about it. Its the first movie that left me satisfied ande not expecting a sequel to finish the story better than the ending of the first. If you wan to talk about mess talk about the movie The Covenant . Their powers looked like bubbles need I say more?

  • sara said

    Of all the pics not mentioned is the one picture that has the most similarity in plot and characters. The Battle for Terra in 2005 looks like Avitar in plot in nearly every way. It is hard for me to belive Cameron did not use the ideas in this film in his production of Avatar. Watch The Battle for Terra and form your own opinion. The other movies you mentioned do not seem similar to me at all. War is war in any age, on any planet during any era or time period..

  • David said

    Wow your seriously SMoking Way too much Crack. you need to stay off of whatever it is your smoking, Hell i can take old black and white shots of old movies and compare them, you have nothing, but a chance to make a name for yourself lol.

  • Revenant said

    So, lemme guess - Avatar is being hailed as the future of cinema and you decide instantly that it’s gonna suck. I have a friend like that. He professes to despise anything that becomes hugely popular. LOTR movies came out, he loved them, but once everybody started talking about them, he had nothing good to say about them. Hating on something purely because it’s popular doesn’t assert the independance of your opinion, or make you cool in anyway, it makes you look like a childish twat. And your comparisons - what?!?

    1 - looks to me more like the Rachni queen scene in Mass Effect.
    2 - Umm, really not sure what you’re comparing here. They both have CG? Pretty thin dude, pretty thin.
    3 - “Humans on an alien planet being eaten by nasty creatures?” Couldn’t that be Aliens as well? As for the military gear - look at almost any movie featuring futuristic soldiers and you’ll see similarities in their gear, because it’s all based on real soldier equipment.
    4 - You might as well have said “Flying mounts have been done loads of times before but I’m gonna compare this to possibly the worst one of the lot, so that I can trash this movie…”
    5 - Simple fact - CG is incapable of producing perfect photorealistic visuals. If you look for flaws you WILL find them. I remember when suspension of disbelief was part of what was fun about movies, instead you say “that doesn’t look utterly and 100% real, so it sucks”. Grow up.
    6 - Wow, 2 people hug, therefore this movie must be a rip-off of every single movie in which one person hugs another.
    7 - Actually, from having played the Avatar video game, I believe the “enchanting faerie type creatures” are actually plant life, like the seeds from dandelions, therefore nothing like Willow in any way, except that they glow.
    8 - Archery gear makes people look like elves? Umm, Robin Hood, anyone? What about when Rambo took out a chopper with a bow? Nothing elven about that. This just shows your total lack of imagination.
    9 - Monsters in a jungle. Similarities end there.
    10 - As most of the rest of the comments on this one have implied, you’re an idiot…

  • Ivette.Kaboom! said

    THIS BLOG IS LAME
    why acnt you just shut up and enjoy the fucking movie without comparing it to previous movies it might resemble in your mind
    i would enjoy seeing you try to make a film this good and prove to be an epic failure due to lack of imagination

  • sara said

    Fore all who say “give it a rest and enjoy the damned movie” I say AAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY friggin men!

  • Anonymous Coward said

    The story of Avatar is not great, but the comparisons you make are moronic. You’re almost saying that since there is already a movie of someone shooting an arrow with a bow, thats it, no other movie should do that again. Really lame.

  • silviu said

    dune story looks like avatar ,but still avatar puwn

  • somebody said

    The similarity u’ve mentioned about may be the effect of the fact that a part of the IT staff who worked for the creation of Avatar movie has been involved in those other projects. It’s hard to find IT specialists with movie experience.

  • Paul Levinson said

    You can add Star Trek and Harry Potter to the list of movies Avatar draws from - but it still sets a new gold standard in visual science fiction story telling http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2009/12/avatar-in-science-ficion-perspective.html

  • Nick said

    Avatar began production in 1994, before most of these films came. Now, you gotta admit it remided you of a lot of movies but Avatar can still be considered original if you think about it enough and the films that came out before Avatar didn’t seem to resemble it that much. Most people are comparing it to Pocahontas and Ferngully(no one should care about Ferngully because it sucks according to the Nostalgia Critic) and they still don’t seem like rip offs. So to me personally, I think Avatar is technically a very original film.

  • Nicholas said

    Avatar began production in 1994, before most of these films came. Now, you gotta admit it remided you of a lot of movies but Avatar can still be considered original if you think about it enough and the films that came out before Avatar didn’t seem to resemble it that much. Most people are comparing it to Pocahontas and Ferngully(no one should care about Ferngully because it sucks according to the Nostalgia Critic) and they still don’t seem like rip offs. So to me personally, I think Avatar is technically a very original film.

  • Yo Momma said

    Every movie with someone using a bow-and-arrow automatically resembles Lord of the Rings?

    Nice.
    /hate.

    p.s. Avatar was in pre-production for a holy crap amount of time.

  • jonah said

    these are good but don’t forget fern gully and pocahontis

  • Larry said

    This movie was a total knock-off to a few squaresoft games from the 90’s. Lets go back to the Super Nintendo.. Take Final Fantasy III (usa) and the ‘Magic Tech’ armor that the troops (wedge, and biggs, to be exact) used. James Cameron used the same exact set up.

    Now, lets take Square’s video game “Secret of Mana”, also a SNES game from the nintys. In this game we have a world that is held together by the mother of the planet, which is a magic tree, called “The Mana Tree”. This tree is the balance of the planet, and a whole species of creatures (sprites) are ruled by it. Much like the ‘Spirit Tree’ on Avatar.
    This same game also has a kindred creature that allows the ‘True Warrior’ to ride upon his back as he flies (Mana Beast).

    And I know we dont even need to mention the fact that Squaresoft has used floating islands and high tech military equipment before.. that is what drives the majority of the Final Fantasy Series games.

    I did like the movie, but hey, I also like Final Fantasy games too, so why wouldnt I?

  • Emr said

    ‘Ferngully the Last Rainforest’ was missed from this list… how?

  • Tahnya said

    Stop analyzing the movie so much and just let people enjoy the movie. It was an amazing film. Quality that we haven’t seen in a long time. Obviously ever film has it’s nuances and overlaps - so what.

  • Carol Butler said

    Avatar = George of the Jungle goes GAIA

    Not one mention anywhere of the late great Eyvind Earle, whose graphic style and pallette can be seen throughout the film.

    http://www.gallery21.com/

  • isit said

    Your a mug, none of that makes sense tbh, its like saying lord of the rings resembles every film that has a sword in it because aragon has a sword. You cant say a film resembles another one because the military personel are wearing outfits or the love between the two is similar to another film because two people fall in love. :S

  • Bill said

    You missed the most important influence: FernGully, the Last Rainforest.. The entire plot line is almost identical.

  • darren said

    JEEEEEESUS you are hard to please. Would you like to go and instruct the CGI team on good movie making practice. I thought it was a brilliant film and definitely ground breaking. Sometimes, I think people just have to criticise. Your comparisons are really quite vague. Comparing it with Willow? WTF? By that logic you could compare it with the litte marmaid because they have “things that float” or the jungle book because they are in a jungle. Ha, would this truly unique masterpiece you were expecting happen to be a series of random lines and squiggles. Oh hang on no that would be copying from modern art. Hmm maybe just a white screen with white noise for a sound track.

  • max a million said

    THIS IS THE DUMBEST LIST IN THE HISTORY OF LISTS, THEY FIGURED LETS MAKE A LIAT WE CAN STICK AVATAR IN THE TITLE AND GE SOME HITS, MAJOR MAJOR FAIL!

  • asdfsd said

    POCAHONTAS YOU FUCKING RETARD

  • Stacey said

    There are only so many original stories that are told before they get recycled, in fact, most of the stories we hear these days are ones that have been told before. Even Shakespeare recycled stories. What we see in movies are just adaptations of those stories. What you are picking out are scenes that have similarities to other scenes in other stories but the difference between stories is the scenes that make it up aka the story line. Avatar may not have the most unique story line at the base of it but what makes it original is the context and setting that the story is placed in. I found that Avatar was a creative adaptation and the 3-D technology that was used was the best that I’ve seen so far. It was a relatively lengthy movie and I didn’t get bored, that’s all I really ask.

  • Guthix said

    Although still not Nazi, I think you nailed it with the prediction of “Maybe there’s at least a Nazi-like character who wishes to wipe out all the aliens in a sort of blue-person Holocaust.”

  • anubhav said

    I agree with you…

    Avatar is a great visual extravaganza but it’s a very bad example of a science fiction movie. Neither the plot nor the sci-fi concepts are original or path breaking.

    Most of the movie is a bad collage made by ripping off some previous science - fiction and a lot of previous fantasy works.

    for a more detailed discussion visit my blog. My latest post is about this topic

  • Avatar needed more Unobtainium » MarkCarras.com said

    [...] What storyline? There really was none. Ok, there is a storyline but not much of one. In fact it is the most overused storyline in the history of Hollywood. Big bad army out to destroy a forest and all the life within. One member of that army sent in as a [...]

  • Everything Hurts Blog Archive » 7 Reasons To See Avatar At The Cinema said

    [...] vague plot similarities. All art is derivative in some form or another, and it’s easy to draw weak comparisons to other films, but in reality, despite a traditional plot narrative (exposition > conflict > [...]

  • Nenji Avero said

    this is crap.

  • savanna said

    I found that it is the same sort of story line as Pocahontas x

  • Mariano said

    Its in spanish, but i think you get the idea:

    http://fridays-gamers.com/blog/?p=642

  • Leo said

    wow. this is crap. what a waste of my time. you sound like a petulant child. your criticism of a trailer is like writing a book report based on a book’s back cover summary; not even cliff notes’ worth of information. you’re what’s wrong wtih the internet, haphazardly writing any mundane half-wit thought without any research or substance, or even including balancing statements of the other side of the argument, as any writer SHOULD do.

    the female lead drawing a bow is similar to legolas?! are you kidding me? if that’s the case:

    avatar drawing bows = LOTR drawing bows = gladiator drawing bows = braveheart drawing bows = robin hood drawing bows = willow drawing bows = first knight drawing bows = any other movie with a bow and arrow = my brother and his opponents in his archery contest drawing bows = actual native american history = actual medieval history = actual history of archery

  • Shanti said

    You forgot pocahontas.

  • Tyler Solosko said

    I agree with the comparison to Disney’s Atlantis. The plot line is suspiciously similar. Definitely a better comparison than anything on your list.

  • Brian Hurrel said

    Yeah yeah yeah…yawn. As others have said here, you could do the same with any movie. And yes, the comparisons are pretty thin.
    Saying Avatar resembles Starship Troopers is like saying “Saving Private Ryan” resembles “Platoon”.
    I could name over two dozen science fiction novels having similar themes.
    And so what?
    I could take each of those science fiction novels and then find another 2 dozen for each with similar themes.
    And so on.
    It’s all in the execution. And really, who would rather watch Delgo?

  • John said

    I walked out after 2 hours; that was more than this tripe deserved.

    I just couldn’t stand it when the ‘American’ hero went into his motivational speeches and the ‘inferior savages’ roar in approval – give me a bucket !

    What a total insult to our intelligence.

  • heidi said

    The “interacting-of-your-consciousness-whilst-your-body-is-hooked-up-to-a-machine-elsewhere” concept reeks of The Matrix.

  • ThinkBetweentheLines said

    What he meant by “nothing you’ve seen before” is a reflection on the blue figures and the difference in the story, aside from human interaction. Obviously you’re an idiot and under educated. I haven’t seen the movie and I know this, idiots.

  • jt said

    avatar is the best movie ever made. if it reminds you of a few other movies, that’s your thing. every movie i have seen in some way reminds me of another one. but if you insist on being so critical, at least be good at it…….the plot of avatar was pretty much the exact same as fern gully. how did you miss that? you watched dungeons & dragons but you have never seen fern gully!? in the end i don’t care how many movies avatar reminds you of, james cameron has given us a very pleasant experience to say the least. what have you done for us?

  • Raphael Ribeiro said

    Everybody says that nothing is 100% original this days, but this is not true!
    Why world war movies are still in production? Because they use the same story scripting in a different way, an original way. So… Movies this days can be original, YES!

    Avatar’s story was made 14 years ago? Yeah, but when he saw Pocahontas he preferred changing the story. Just Cameron knew the story, so no one can use this excuse.

    Avatar is unoriginal, and copied (even the tree) Pocahontas.

  • doreen awiti said

    it wasn’t even that interesting.. ..only depressing.

  • pkohler01 said

    hahaha - it’s encouraging to see an article such as this. This film seemed to be comprised of parts of several other films scripts and ideas taken from countless other sources, a fact to which the films creator has publicly admitted.

    Is that such a bad thing? To be honest, I don’t know. I do know that I don’t know what to make of this film.

    Here’s a few more sources to add to the list of film/literature that this film borrowed from: The Dragonriders of Pern, The Lion King, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, The Matrix, Dune, Gorillas in the Mist, Tabula Rasa (MMORPG), A Man Called Horse, Pocahontas, The Martian Chronicles and echos with ideas from countless other sources. But again, the films creator has admitted this.

    With The Dragonriders of Pern slated to be released in the next few years, I’m very curious not only to see how this book series makes the leap to the big screen but also to see the reaction of the general public when they see the exact relationship between the characters and their dragons as the Na’vi have with their flying beasts. I’m willing to bet that the message boards will light up with plenty of people accusing Pern of stealing that from Avatar even though Pern was first published over 35 years ago.

  • pkohler01 said

    something else I will add is that Avatar was *not* in pre-production since 1994. Even wikipedia gets that right. Avatar was approached twice - the first time it was dropped because Cameron didnt feel that the technology required for the film had been developed sufficiently. In 2004 or 2005, he picked it up again feeling that the technology then existed. The script he used was an “entirely retooled versions of the Avatar script” - I quote James Cameron.

    Poo to all of you who have an issue with the films listed in this article and the commentary as they were all mentioned by Cameron as sources he pulled from. He even went on to state “… as well as every science fiction book I read as a child”.

    Sure there are no original stories and everything is recycled however, the level and granularity that this film recycles takes it to such an extreme that we really all should be questioning it.

    I’m not saying the film was terrible nor am I stating that everyone should disapprove of it. I’m simply pointing out fact, and quoting the films creator.

  • Jenn said

    Wow. We’ve NEVER seen this movie before. Guy goes to spy on enemy. Falls in love with enemy girl. Guy has to make a choice. Girl feels betrayed. Oh man, so original…

  • Some guy said

    Extremely boring no storyline, bad acting, cheap accents. Awful scenery if you see it in 2d. Personaly i’ve watched more exciting episodes of doctor who. i’d give it about 2 stars. Quote from the film “if he’s so tough why would he ever look up?” (flying Dragon thing) Maybe to look for a crazy giant naked blueman is going to jump on hs back hmm. Apart from that its obvious that there is going to be sequel.

  • chris said

    visually groundbreaking yes, but i definately felt this was a weird rip off of other movies. here’s my breif list
    1) Zulu - that old movie where the brittish with guns fight charging zulu warriors with spears and raw hide sheilds
    2) Ferngully - disney eco-freindly movie
    3) Braveheart
    4) Starship troopers

  • eric said

    Anybody reading this now will see what a silly, premature list of “observations’ these were. The similarity is between this and previous movie plotlines, not the visuals.

  • asilas said

    all subtitles of Avatar
    http://www.freesubtitles.net/movie/2009-avatar-subtitles-4811.html

  • Nicole said

    I think a lot of people are really over analyzing this movie. Some people say they are now depressed and thinking about suicide…they either don’t understand the movie, or they need some therapy. The United States needs to wake up and get a grip.

  • mellissa said

    bull shit, those movies didn’t sell as much as avatar did or touch people as much as this movie did and i guess because its more closer to human characteristics and what our plant and life would be similar to if we didn’t destroy it to what it is now

  • Bobby the great said

    ey yo avitar is awesome and the 3d was like WTF?! but i was kinda like ‘dances with smurves’ yaknow?

  • john said

    avatar is EXACTLY the same as ferngully

  • Tom said

    Are those comparisons bad things???

  • Andrea said

    not Legolas… she’s kevin costner’s robin hood i think!

    and the “helicopter attack” looks clearly like apocalypse now (as intended by cameron)

    The idea of flying islands is old and reminds some ideas of miyazaki

  • John Doe said

    hmm, interesting List… i have one more movie which i think avatar had similarities with,
    The New World 2005

    yea, doesn’t it seem similar, when the girl of an unknown tribe welcomes an “alien” or outsider into her life/world and helps him learn the way of their ppl..

    It kinda felt like the old pocahontas chemistry was going on screen…

  • just said

    it is not like any of those it is totally diffrent i love it i saw it 3 times already

  • jrs said

    the only real similarities i noticed were between avatar and delgo. all of the others i would say are pure coincidence. how many movies have a hospital scene? a cave scene? a love scene where the woman and the man are looking at each other? probably just about every movie out there has something from the pictures above. considering there are how many movies out there now, how many more can be made with an “original” story line? in my opinion these examples of “similarities” are extremely crude. just enjoy the movie. just enjoy the movie!

  • Avatar: Dances with Pocahontas in Space? « Off the Written Path said

    [...] 10 Movies Avatar Resembles [...]

  • Toneone said

    I definitely saw the Fern Gulley connection. Personally, I find nothing unfortunate about that. It’s a message that needs to ring loud and clear.

  • Billy said

    Its not a bad movie… its enjoyable at times (the first half hour is very interesting)… and can be boring and typical at other times! Put it this way I enjoyed parts of it and completely hated LOR (Lord of the Rings)

    But the fact that it is typical computer technology (star wars prequels and many other movies from the past decade) all out clash of the worlds final battle movie and the movie solely focuses on the plastic character like syndrome and animals (I did like the blue people but eventually got bored of them) is pretty lame but the worst part is it is just a typical story done a thousand times over with the same visual effects and technology. The movie now is the biggest money making move off all time ahead of Titanic!

    Did anyone notice typical James Cameron style?? I.e. the radar/sonar used in “Aliens” an “The Abyss” & “Total Recall” type theme! And what’s with the machine guns, shouldn’t there be lazar like weapons this far into the future!

    I mean did the movie world just come out of a coma - is this all new too cinema goers (patrons)

    I like JC as a director he is great at what he does but avatar was just a poor excuse of an idea he had 15 years ago and finally decided to make it now. If it wasn’t for the Blue People (the Avatar) the movie would be a flop! But wow avatar is the highest grossing movie, what the? Must be a Gen Y thing! That’s what I hate about Avatar it was marketed and promoted well with an interesting trailor plus it has been a while since JC made a movie but no one noticed the big let down and where just sucked in by the Big Blue Characters! (there cute but half hour is all I need)

    I should post this blog on some “I think avatar is over rated movie site” !!!

    Avatar still is better than LOR!!!! Hahaha

  • Leah said

    The only similarity I could think of was Fern Gully… and that’s not that unfortunate considering it too was a tour de force in animation.

    As for story similarities, it ALL gets recycled eventually; human beings are not infinitely clever within their own time.

  • StorySimilarities said

    I would have thought the problem is the story and idea… and not the similarities in the scenes, because you know, there will always be movies with very similar poses and scenes. The sad fact about Avatar is that from somebody like James Cameron, the story should have been Oscar worthy and original (or at the very least close to it). Not something familiar to another Oscar winning movie from the past (Dances with Wolves - which made more money given its budget (budget - box office takings)) and the similar scifi idea to Call Me Joe.

    The movie WAS beautiful looking. Dont get me wrong. But the thing is Mr Cameron wrote the idea in 1994 and also got ridiculous amounts of money to create umm… that movie, and thats all he had? I think he’s one of the very few best story tellers of our time. I only wish he invested half the time he spent on the special effects technology on the story. Only then would I say Avatar sank Titanic, both in special effects and the story department.

  • Randy said

    Wow, this list is stupid! It’s trying WAAAY too hard to find comparisons between Avatar and, well…anything. So, if ANY shot of the entire film looks at least remotely similar to another shot from another film, then that alone means the movie is not groundbreaking?

  • Cate said

    Ferngully. It was all I could think about after seeing the movie.

  • anders said

    Dances with wolves

  • Kamariah said

    Your comparisons are too critical making your arguement weak.
    It’s the PLOT that’s been reused numerous times, not those little details you mentioned.

    This is the plot basis for Avatar and several other movies:

    Dude’s working for the bad guys. Infiltrates the good guys. Dude and Hot Girl Goodguy become friends. Hot Girl Goodguy’s father doesn’t approve. Dude falls in love with Hot Girl Goodguy. Dad finally accepts Dude. Dude decides to turn his back on the bad guys. Goodguys find out that Dude was working for the bad guys and banish him. Trust is gone. Bad guys attack. Goodguys realize they really need Dude. Dude comes back and fights alongside Goodguys. Goodguys ultimately come out on top and Dude again, becomes “part of the family.”

    Pocahontas. Nuff said.

  • Jose said

    When I watched Avatar I thought it was a great movie (It really is!), but something kept me thinking that I had already watched something very similar, and guess what… FernGully!… Both movies give a great message…. The plot obviously is not the same, but if you already watched FernGully you are gonna think that maybe Mr. Cameron took the idea from that movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I wonder)…. And all these movies don’t have a very similar plot as FernGully

  • John said

    Lmao this post is a fail in all sorts of ways.

  • aaron said

    who really gives a shit? you people cant even appreciate a good movie. are you star wars geeks just jealous that it knocked your fuckin gay ass movie off the damn charts?
    you guys go beat off to internet porno.
    you guys have way too much time on your hands and if you had a brain in your head then you would know that james cameron got his ideas straight from his own head not from these gay movies hes not that art impaired. and seriously why is he getting so much shit about his movie? i mean it was the best movie ive ever seen, and do you know why? because i dont analyze things to the fullest degree! I dont fucking point out every little detail that could have been fixed or was slightly flawed!i just watch the movie and enjoy it. and until you either become a movie critic as a profession or have something to compete with james camerons best work ever then stop fucking crying that they stole this from this movie and this is such a ripoff of _____ just stop! god damn man. jesus christ! i actually have a life and i dont point out every little similarity on internet blogs all day you fucking dumbass nerds! go die!

  • Aaron Crowl said

    who really gives a shit? you people cant even appreciate a good movie. are you star wars geeks just jealous that it knocked your fuckin gay ass movie off the damn charts?
    you guys go beat off to internet porno.
    you guys have way too much time on your hands and if you had a brain in your head then you would know that james cameron got his ideas straight from his own head not from these gay movies hes not that art impaired. and seriously why is he getting so much shit about his movie? i mean it was the best movie ive ever seen, and do you know why? because i dont analyze things to the fullest degree! I dont fucking point out every little detail that could have been fixed or was slightly flawed!i just watch the movie and enjoy it. and until you either become a movie critic as a profession or have something to compete with james camerons best work ever then stop fucking crying that they stole this from this movie and this is such a ripoff of _____ just stop! god damn man. jesus christ! i actually have a life and i dont point out every little similarity on internet blogs all day you fucking dumbass nerds! go die!

  • StorySimilarities said

    Umm… to Aaron Crowl. “Who gives a shit?” People who paid for tickets to the movie and arent happy about what they saw. Thats who. Oh just F.Y.I. I dont want to get into an argument with someone who sounds like a 14 year old but you cant compare Star Wars to Avatar. I dont like Star Wars but the whole reason we’re here is because we’re comparing similarities for Avatar. Star Wars, AT THE TIME, didnt have anything to compare it to. Where as Avatar… well you heard it. People here and even many “movie critic as a profession” have seen many movies with plots along the same lines. Thats why people who have interviewed him have asked that same thing. So you cant tell people, like Christopher Campbell, Jose, Kamaria, Anders and many others that they cant comment/complain on this and that, while on the internet. They have that right. So… “until you either become a movie critic as a profession”, can communicate more like someone with a hint of maturity and even know what you’re talking about, I suggest you grow up or ZIP IT!