This World and Me

Just a few days ago, I finished a rewatch of Avatar: The Last Airbender with my sister. It is really quite a special show; countless observers have described it as one of the greatest American animated television series ever made. The first time I watched this series was not as a kid, but rather just last year in college with my roommate. Although I was aware of the series' existence as a kid growing up, I think the primary reason why it wasn't a direct part of my childhood was because of the arc-style structure of the story. The show would air episodes on Nickelodeon, but it's not really the kind of show that you can pick up in the middle, so if Nickelodeon aired a mid-season episode, I wouldn't have enough context of the broader story arc to appreciate what is going on. The shows I watched as a kid were ones whose premise was clear enough that I could still understand what was going on even if I watched an episode in the middle of the season without broader context,...

If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out! Out of service, out of Africa—I wouldn't hang about! My favorite character in The Lion King is Zazu. This is the red-billed hornbill that describes himself as the King's majordomo . At the beginning of the film, Zazu delivers a morning report to Mufasa and accompanies young Simba and Nala on their way to the water hole. In what has to be a contender for the most iconic musical sequence in the entire Disney repertoire, the cubs manage successfully to ditch Zazu and go instead to an elephant graveyard. As a kid, I think there is a natural inclination to dislike Zazu. He is the annoying adult character who—much like an overbearing teacher or parent—tries to stop the children from doing the exciting thing they want to do. As I've gotten older, however, I have grown much more sympathetic towards his character. Despite being a bird less than half the size of a lion cub, he is trusted unconditionally by Simba's parent...