Appa ( zh, c=阿柏, p=Ā Bǎi) is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
on the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
'' and in the film ''
The Last Airbender
''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 American action-adventure fantasy film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeo ...
''. In the series, Appa is a combination of flying bison and a manatee, a species of animals that can fly naturally, and is the animal
spirit guide
A spirit guide, in Western spiritualism, is an entity that remains as a discarnate spirit to act as a guide or protector to a living incarnation, incarnated human being.
Description
In traditional African belief systems, well before the spre ...
of the protagonist,
Aang
Avatar Aang ( zh, c=安昂, p=Ān Áng) is the title character and protagonist of Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko), voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen. Aang ...
.
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...
voices Appa, along with all the other animals, in both the TV series and the film.
Creation and conception
The show's creators
Michael Dante DiMartino
Michael Dante DiMartino (born July 18, 1974) is an American animator, producer, writer, and director. He is best known, together with Bryan Konietzko, as the co-creator of the animated TV series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...
and
Bryan Konietzko
Bryan Konietzko is an American animator, writer, producer and musician. He is best known, together with Michael Dante DiMartino, as the co-creator and executive producer of the animated series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and ''The Legend of ...
have described Appa's appearance as a cross between a
buffalo and a
manatee
Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...
,
although its
body plan
A body plan, ( ), or ground plan is a set of morphological features common to many members of a phylum of animals. The vertebrates share one body plan, while invertebrates have many.
This term, usually applied to animals, envisages a "blueprin ...
does resemble that of a
water bear
Tardigrades (), known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär ...
. According to an interview with the artists involved with creating the show, Appa's design was based on that of
Catbus
The (referred to in the film as ねこのバス, ''Neko no basu'') is a fictional character in the Studio Ghibli film ''My Neighbor Totoro'', directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large, grinning twelve-legged cat with a hollow body that serves ...
from the film ''
My Neighbor Totoro
is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of a ...
'', as they found it difficult to create a six-legged
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
.
Habits
In the ''Avatar'' franchise, Appa is the last known living sky bison, which are large mammal-like creatures that fly through airbending and steer through air currents with their broad tails. The bison are covered in thick white fur with a large brown arrow marking that is remarked to be extremely itchy.
In the show, the markings on the flying bison's backs are what inspired the tattoos which symbolize an Air Nomad's mastery of
Airbending. Their fur is shed at the end of winter.
The Air Nomads summon the sky bison to their side through the use of whistles that only the animals can hear. Aang and friends use the words "yip yip" to get Appa to take off into the air.
Like all animals in the Avatar series, Appa
cannot speak.
Personality
Throughout the series, Appa has demonstrated high intelligence and often appears to understand a portion of human speech, whereas
Momo
Momo may refer to:
Geography
* Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon
* Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon
* Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy
* Joffrey Tower, in ...
, the winged
lemur
Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...
, struggles to understand. Although placid, Appa has shown himself capable of fighting when necessary.
Other aspects of Appa's character include his fear of fire
and his trusting of those who have been kind to him.
He can become quite temperamental towards anyone who he thinks is a threat to himself or his friends, especially Aang. Conversely, he has demonstrated an unrestrained affection towards those that he likes. Appa also has a fear of going underground or in small tunnels, evidenced by his
claustrophobic
Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with ...
panic in the episode "
The Cave of Two Lovers".
He has a special friendship with Momo the lemur, with whom he is often in company. Appa also shows a special preference towards
Zuko
Prince (later Fire Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino ...
, who saved him from his imprisonment beneath Lake Laogai.
Appearances
![Dee Bradley Baker by Gage Skidmore 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Dee_Bradley_Baker_by_Gage_Skidmore_3.jpg)
Appa is featured prominently throughout the franchise, not only in the ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
'' TV series, but also in the film ''
The Last Airbender
''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 American action-adventure fantasy film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeo ...
'', various video games, and comic books.
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...
voices Appa in both the TV series and the film.
In the animated series
Appa is in almost every episode of the animated series, having appeared in 58 of the 61 episodes of the three seasons. Much of the back-story about the character comes from the episode ''
Appa's Lost Days'', "in which the most under-explored member of the team gets his very own episode."
The first meeting between Aang and Appa is seen during a flashback sequence in ''Appa's Lost Days''.
It is tradition with Air Nomads that each young
Airbender is given a sky bison calf once they come of age to be the Airbender's lifelong animal companion. In a flashback on
Appa's Lost Days, Appa's herd flies down to an Air Nomad Temple where Aang and other young Airbenders are waiting. Aang brings Appa an apple as a sign of friendship, which Appa accepts, sealing their bond as well as giving Appa his name, after the word "apple". Almost immediately, the two became friends and would remain close, Appa being the one thing aside from his staff and robes from Aang's home that Aang took with him when he fled the Southern Air Temple.
Appa remained in suspended animation along with Aang for 100 years until their discovery by
Katara and
Sokka
Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and its sequel series ''The Legend of Korra''. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Jack De ...
.
Since then, Appa has been the group's main form of transportation in their quest, as well as occasionally assisting in battle.
Appa was a consistent part of the group throughout the series until his capture by the Sandbenders in "
The Library".
Appa became lost for a short time when the group was traveling in the
Earth Kingdom. He was kidnapped by Sandbenders in the middle of the vast Si Wong desert, while Aang, Katara, Sokka, and their winged lemur Momo were trapped in a vast underground library.
It is later revealed that he was eventually sold to a
Fire Nation
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
circus where an animal tamer attempted to make him part of the show.
Appa later escaped and journeyed throughout the
Earth Kingdom until he encountered the
Kyoshi Island Warriors, who attempted to heal the various wounds he had sustained in his travels and escort him back to Aang.
Appa was forced to leave after an attack by
Azula
Princess Azula () is a fictional Character (arts), character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and voiced by Grey DeLisle.
In the show, Azula is the ...
and her allies, ushered away by Suki while the warriors tried to delay the three Fire Nation girls.
On his journey he encountered a
sadhu
''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...
named Guru Pathik at the
Eastern Air Temple, to which he had fled.
Being healed of his personal turmoil and directed to Aang by the sadhu, Appa flew to Ba Sing Se, where he was captured by Long Feng.
Appa was kept in a secret location at Lake Laogai until his rescue by
Zuko
Prince (later Fire Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMartino ...
, who was initially planning on utilizing him to capture the Avatar. Appa eventually returns to the main group in the last scenes of
Lake Laogai.
Appa still accompanies Aang and his group even after they enter the Fire Nation. However, in order to make sure that he does not give away Aang's identity when flying, Aang covers Appa with clouds as a disguise while in flight.
At the Western Air Temple, he was among the first members of the group to accept Zuko as Aang's firebending teacher, as he is still grateful for Zuko freeing him in
Ba Sing Se.
He flew Aang and Zuko to the Sun Warrior Temple in order to learn the origin of firebending.
He also flew Zuko and Katara to the Southern Raiders ship, so Katara could confront the murderer of her mother.
After the search for Aang in the ''finale'' failed, the group was forced to divide their efforts to prevent the Fire Nation from wiping out the Earth Kingdom. Appa flew Zuko and Katara to the Fire Nation capital where they fought and defeated Azula before she could assume leadership of the throne. Afterward, Appa is last seen outside of Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se, listening to Iroh play a horn.
In the film
Appa appears in the 2010 live-action film ''
The Last Airbender
''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 American action-adventure fantasy film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeo ...
'' with roar effects provided by
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...
. Appa's role in the film has been noted to be significantly less prominent than in the animated series.
[
The sky bison was rendered entirely in ]computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
for the film by Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
(ILM), with Pablo Helman
Pablo Helman (born July 5, 1959) is an Argentine visual effects supervisor. He was nominated for three Academy Awards for his work on the films '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002), ''War of the Worlds'' (2005) and ''The Ir ...
as visual-effects supervisor.[Ditzian, Eric.]
'The Last Airbender': An Inside Look At Four Cool Creatures: Visual-effects supervisor Pablo Helman describes the challenges of creating these animated characters.
" ''MTV''. July 1, 2010. Regarding the challenges of adapting the cartoon Appa into a realistic-looking CGI beast, Helman said:
ILM animators also looked at polar bears while imagining the two front legs moving as arms while Appa walked.[
]
In other media
The first video game Appa appeared in is the 2006 ''Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...
''.[Video Game Filmography]
" ''Appa (Character)''. IMDB. Appa also appears in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth'' and in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno''. In the ''Avatar: The Last Airbender Plug It In & Play TV Game'', Appa takes center stage in "Appa Air Attack" in which Appa destroys Fire Nation airships using his airbending abilities.
Promotion and merchandising
Appa has been featured in varying pieces of merchandise, including toys and plush dolls. The sky bison has also been featured as a McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
Happy Meal
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face ...
toy—with Appa as a launcher that shoots out Momo, the flying lemur.
Reception and legacy
''KidsTelly.coms Dan G. Hughes noted that "the flying six legged bison has a lovingly sketched personality," further commenting how every character (including Appa) changes and grows throughout the series. Kevin Fitzpatrick of ''UGO Entertainment
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
'' praised Appa's "love and courage throughout the series" citing how "our cuddly 8-foot tall buddy swilling to face any danger, and overcome any hardship to return to his master."[Fitzpatrick, Kevin. "Flying Bison." ''Every Insane Animal From Avatar: The Last Airbender''. UGO Entertainment. August 12, 2010]
Leading up to the opening of ''The Last Airbender
''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 American action-adventure fantasy film written, co-produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Based on the first season of the Nickelodeo ...
'', reporter Kofi Outlaw of ''Screen Rant'' remarked that Appa "is a fan-favorite of the series." Similarly, Edward Douglas noted in ''Superhero Hype!
Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...
'' that "Two of the characters from the cartoon fans are most anxious to see brought to life aren't even human. They are Appa, Aang's six-legged flying bison, and Momo, his flying pet lemur."[Douglas, Edward.]
BEHIND THE SCENES OF M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S THE LAST AIRBENDER
" ''Superhero Hype!'' June 27, 2010. The film trailer shown during the Super Bowl led ''UGO Entertainment
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
'' critic Jordan Hoffman to ask, "Where's Appa?" as the sole complaint, noting the character's lack of prominence in the preview. Correspondingly, MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's Rick Marshall provided instructions online on "how to find the elusive Appa" for the character's brief appearance in the background of a trailer scene.
As with the rest of the film, Appa's appearance in ''The Last Airbender'' was met with largely negative reviews. ''Geekosystem
Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Abr ...
s Susana Polo found the CGI version of Appa "really quite creepy," noting "that prey animals (like bison) have eyes on the sides of their heads, and so moving them to the front without changing rest of the facial structure tips us right into the Uncanny Valley
In aesthetics, the uncanny valley ( ja, 不気味の谷 ''bukimi no tani'') is a hypothesized relation between an object's degree of resemblance to a human being and the emotional response to the object. The concept suggests that humanoid object ...
."[Polo, Susana.]
New Airbender TV Spot: Appa’s Creepy Face
" ''Geekosystem
Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Abr ...
''. June 20, 2010. With regards to the film's scripting, ''io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
'' reviewer Meredith Woerner wrote, "The saddest cut by far was watching Appa and Momo's personalities disappear."[Woerner, Meredith]
What the Last Airbender TV series has that the movie doesn't
" ''io9''. July 2, 2010
In season 4 of the television series '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'', Clone Sergeant Appo
The Mexican state of Oaxaca was embroiled in a conflict that lasted more than seven months and resulted in at least seventeen deaths and the occupation of the capital city of Oaxaca by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO). The con ...
has a white arrow on his helmet referencing Appa. The supervising director of ''The Clone Wars'', Dave Filoni
David Filoni (born June 7, 1974) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked on ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''The Mandalorian'', and on the theatrical film and television series of '' Star Wars: The Clone ...
, worked on the first season of Avatar.
References
{{Portal bar, Animation, Television
Avatar: The Last Airbender characters
Dark Horse Comics characters
Fictional bison
Fictional characters with air or wind abilities
Fictional sole survivors
Fictional cryonically preserved characters
Male characters in animated series
Television characters introduced in 2005
Animated characters introduced in 2005
Fictional characters displaced in time
Television sidekicks
es:Anexo:Personajes de Avatar: la leyenda de Aang#Appa
pl:Awatar: Legenda Aanga#Drugoplanowi bohaterowie