How Much Do You Actually Remember About Avatar?

100 Days of Avatar

We’re counting down the days until James Cameron’s dream comes true: The Way of Water opens in theaters.

100 Days of Avatar

We’re counting down the days until James Cameron’s dream comes true: The Way of Water opens in theaters.

“It’s expensive to be me.” — James Cameron

In 2009, James Cameron made film history and reminded the world of what a little weirdo he is when he released his passion project, an original concept (well, “original” if you didn’t have Pocahontas or FernGully on VHS) called Avatar. The sci-fi blockbuster pioneered technological innovations in motion capture, rendered CG environments in synchronicity with human performances, and spawned a wave of studios releasing their tentpoles in RealD 3D. It cost $237 million to make, was nominated for Best Picture, and remains the highest-grossing movie globally of all time, earning more than any single film from the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel franchises (although Avengers: Endgame has it beat domestically). It was a behemoth. Everyone saw it. I saw it. You saw it. But can you quote a single line? Do you remember the villain’s whole deal, or even his name? If you saw Sam Worthington on the street, would you think, Hey, that’s Sam Worthington, star of the most successful film of all time, or would you not recognize him at all?

Was Avatar just a half-remembered mass hallucination?

It wasn’t, but it is actually a feat of sorts for something so massive to have so little cultural penetration, like Facebook in 2022, or Hudson Yards. (Of course, many people are genuinely fans of Avatar … this quiz will be a breeze for those.) This December, Cameron will release the first of four sequels, building on the story introduced to audiences 13 years ago. Avatar: The Way of Water follows the last film’s main characters and their daughter as they fight a new war against those pesky humans. With around 100 days to go before the film’s release, it’s time to start boning up on your blue-alien lore.

How Much Do You Actually Remember About Avatar?

Most present-day middle-schoolers were not born yet when this movie came out. Have you seen it since then?

True or False: Avatar takes place on a planet in the Alpha Centauri star system.

True

False

This lush CG land, which drove many viewers into a depression by dint of their inability to live there for real, is called _______.

Pangaea

Pandora

Panthera

Batuu

The film takes place in the year ...

2084

2154

2231

2300

The native humanoid aliens are called the ______.

Na'boo

Ra'vi

Na'vi

Na'tu'li

The story is from the perspective of an outsider, though. What’s the name of the main character?

Jim Scully

James P. “Sulley” Sullivan

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

Jake Sully

He has traveled from Earth on a five-year journey in cryo-sleep to come to this planet. Why is he there?

He is discharged from the U.S. military for being a loose cannon who doesn’t play by the rules, so he finds paramilitary work with the RDA (Resources Development Administration).

He has a secret ulterior motive of murdering an alien for their carbon fiber bones, which may give him a shot at walking again.

His identical twin brother, a scientist, has died, and only our hero has DNA similar enough to pair with his brother's custom-built avatar. (Avatars are human/Na'vi hybrids.)

Can’t find gf on Earth.

The Resources Development Administration has set up operations on the planet to mine a powerful substance called __________.

Adamantium

Unobtainium

Magufinium

Ethereum

In his new avatar body, our hero becomes bodyguard to scientist Dr. Grace Augustine, played by Sigourney Weaver. In one haunting mo-cap scene, Grace’s avatar plays basketball in a crop top for ____.

MIT

Harvard

Berkeley

Stanford

One thing to know about the inhabitants of this planet and the humans’ avatar forms is they’re not just blue cat people, they’re also lanky. Like a bunch of fit, loinclothed Nicholas Brauns running around. How tall are they, exactly?

7 to 8 feet

8 to 9 feet

9 to 10 feet

10 to 11 feet

Our hero meets Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldaña, when she saves him from ...

A direhorse attack

A leonopteryx attack

A viperwolf attack

A saberhog attack

Our hero learns the way of Neytiri’s alien society while living amongst her people and entering their sacred spaces. He learns about multiple trees of great importance to the planet. Which of these is not one of them?

Spirit Tree

Hometree

Tree of Souls

Tree of Voices

This society prays to the life force that connects them to all living things in the land. The name for this god/spirit is _____.

Eywa

Yahweh

We'ya

Rita'ora

As our good guy spends time with Neytiri, he learns the Na'vi's language, which was constructed for the film by linguist Paul Frommer, who also invented an alien language for __________.

Mars Needs Moms

John Carter

Tomorrowland

Zathura

Our hero proves his worthiness to Neytiri’s clan when he undergoes the traditional rite of passage of taming and riding a dragonlike flying creature known as a ________.

Banshee

Valkyrie

Harpy

Kelpie

Our main character realizes he must stop the human-led mission to drive Neytiri’s people away from their sacred land. The Big Bad leading the invading charge is ________.

General Mason Cain

Colonel Miles Quaritch

Lieutenant Silas Hammer

Sergeant Cam Destrin

In the big climactic battle of this big-budget movie, Neytiri saves the hero’s life a second time and kills the bad guy. Surely you remember this; it cost millions upon millions of dollars. How did she kill him?

Venomous dart

Bow and arrow

Slit throat from behind

Ikran aerial attack

Which of these corny-ass lines is not in the movie?

“You don’t choose your Avatar … your Avatar chooses you.”

“Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world, and in here is the dream.”

“I was a warrior who dreamed he could bring peace. Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up.”

“All this time I was looking, but I wasn’t seeing.”

In the grand tradition of Titanic before it, the movie ends with an original ballad playing over the credits. Called “I See You,” the song premiered on Myspace (slay) and was sung by _______.