Pandoran Facts About Avatar

January 3, 2024 | Miles Brucker

Pandoran Facts About Avatar


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

The movie that take our imagination and broke countless box office records in 2010, it’s time to count down some facts about James Cameron’s Avatar.


1. Not all that live

Avatar is 40% live action and 60% photo-realistic CGI.

Avatar

2. The wonders of language

The Na’vi language sounded so genuine for a reason – it was genuine. It was created by linguist Dr. Paul R. Frommer, who was tasked by James Cameron to create a language that can be easily pronounced by humans, yet does not resemble any existing language. Frommer ended up creating about 1,000 words in Na’vi.

Avatar factsWikimedia Commons

3. Reaching the revenue top

It was the first film in history to cross the $2 billion mark worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time (of course, not accounting for inflation).

Avatar factsGetty Images

4. The story behind the blue

One of the alleged sources of the Na’vi’s blue skin colour comes from Cameron’s mother, who had a dream about a tall blue woman.

 

Avatar factsFlickr

5. Alternatives for Jake Sully

Before Sam Worthington was cast, Jake Gyllenhaal and Matt Damon were considered for the part. Jake Gyllenhaal was too busy being the whitest Persian ever in The Prince of Persia.

 

Avatar factsGetty Images

6. The difficulties of the American accent

Sam Worthington revealed that it was easier for him to master the ways of the Na’vi language than to learn an American accent.

Avatar factsGetty Images

7. Lucky timing for Sam

The timing for casting Sam Worthington in the lead could not be any better; the actor was living in his car at the time.

Avatar factsGetty Images

8. One of many films in the pipe

Avatar is just the first installment out of the planned five movies to be set in that universe.

Avatar factsWikipedia

9. This could have been done in 1999

Cameron originally wanted to have the film completed for release in 1999, but the special effects the director wanted would have run the bill up by an extra $400 million and would still not complete his vision. So, he shelved it until later.

Avatar factsGetty Images

10. The leg question

Jake’s atrophied legs were actually prosthetics cast from a real paraplegic’s legs. The actor’s legs were hidden under the wheelchair and removed in post-production.

Avatar factsAvatar, 20th Century Fox

11. The most eventful three months

If you follow Jake’s logs in the film, the entire plotline of Avatar unfolds over a span of only 96 days. Those are some action-packed days!

Avatar factsAvatar, 20th Century Fox

12. Disney inspiration

James Cameron has stated that he was inspired to make Avatar after seeing Disney’s Pocahontas.

Avatar factsPocahontas, Walt Disney Pictures

13. Hair colour changes

Sigourney Weaver dyed her hair red for her role as Grace. Sigourney Weaver FactsShutterstock

14. The spirit of Pandora

The connective spirit on the planet of Pandora is based on the concept of Gaia, described in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation’s Edge.

Avatar factsGetty Images

15. High time for CGI

Cameron was finally convinced that the time is ripe to make Avatar after he saw the CGI wonder of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Avatar factsThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, New Line Cinema

16. Why Sam Worthington?

The reason Cameron cast Worthington in the lead is because he wanted a complete unknown to play Jake, someone you’d want to hang out with and grab a drink.

 

Avatar factsGetty Images

17. Hours of computer time

Some CGI scenes took an average of 47 hours to render. That’s more than a work week for just one scene, which explains why the film took four years to complete.

 

Avatar facts

18. Struggling with the music

Composer James Horner has stated that he created the score for the film with immense difficulty, often starting work at the crack of dawn and working through until 10 pm for a year and a half!

Avatar factsGetty Images

 

19. Different colour scheme for Pandora

There was an idea tossed around to make the sky on Pandora purple and the plants blue, but Cameron thought working with the Na’vi being blue was difficult enough and let the plant life stay green.

Avatar factsShutterstock

20. Flipping the perception

The film at its core is about aliens (which in this case are humans), who try to take advantage of a peaceful population of inhabitants on a foreign planet – who to us look like aliens, but from the movie’s angle are not.

Avatar factsGetty Images

21. Get into the jungle spirit

To prepare his cast for their jungle-based roles, Cameron took them to Hawaii, where they spent several days trekking through the forestry as tribes. This was done because there would not be any actual jungle sets during the filming, since everything is computer-generated.

Avatar factsFlickr

22. Caught white-handed

In the final battle scene, Neytiri’s battle paint includes a white handprint on her chest. The print has five fingers, meaning that it’s Jake’s since the Na’vi only have four digits.

Avatar factsAvatar, 20th Century Fox

23. Help from the hyenas

The cackling sound the wolf-like animals make in Avatar are recordings of the spotted hyena call.

Avatar factsFreestockphotos.biz

24. The director’s pay cheque

To make 20th Century Fox happy, especially after going horribly over-budget with Titanic, James Cameron agreed to waive his director’s salary if Avatar flopped at the box office. That obviously did not happen.

Avatar factsGetty Images

25. Familiar noises

Most of the animal noises used in the film are actually recycled dinosaur sounds from Jurassic Park.

Avatar factsFlickr

26. Horrible smoke habits

The smoke that Sigourney Weaver is seen using is actually computer-generated. No unhealthy habits on the Avatar set, y’all. Scream queensWikimedia.Commons

27. Avatar cost a pretty penny

Don’t let your jaw drop to the floor with this one, but the film is one of the most expensive ever made – with a price tag of $280 million! Public transitShutterstock

28. The difference between avatars and the Na’vi

Avatars still have five digits and sport eyebrows, whereas the Na’vi have no eyebrows and only four digits. The more you know.

Avatar factsFlickr

29. Representin’ Stanford

Sigourney Weaver’s avatar wears a Stanford tank top for majority of the film and it so happens that the actress attended the college in the 1970s.

Avatar factsAvatar, 20th Century Fox

30. Smile for the camera

The actors playing the Na’vi had cameras attached to their heads, filming the close-ups of their faces. The dots painted on their faces allowed the framework of their expressions to be captured for the CGI artists.

Avatar factsShutterstock

31. Digital cinematography

It is the first film ever to pick up an Academy Award for Best Cinematography that was completely digitally shot.

Avatar factsGetty Images

32. Baby time

In the original ending, Neytiri was planned to be pregnant with Jake’s child.

Avatar factsAvatar, 20th Century Fox

33. Not mobile friendly

James Cameron is famous for many things – one of them is being strict on the set. The director allegedly kept a nail-pistol with him to nail cellphones that would ring during production above the exit sign. Yowza!

Avatar factsGetty Images

Sources: 1, 2, 3


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.