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IPFS News Link • Entertainment: Movies

WELCOME TO PANDORA, AVATARS ARE INCLUDED

• https://www.theverge.com, by Bryan Bishop

The human brain isn't accustomed to seeing mountains floating in the sky, so it's hard to process exactly what you're seeing the first time you step into Pandora: The World of Avatar. The latest addition to Disney's Animal Kingdom park is mostly hidden as you walk the rest of the grounds, but cross the right bridge, and you'll see those mountains, hovering off in the distance. It's enough to cause a moment of legitimate cognitive dissonance: are they real? Is it an optical illusion? Are they actually floating?

The mountains were a key piece of the landscape in James Cameron's 2009 film: massive chunks of stone hovering magically in the air. The indigenous blue Na'vi would ascend them as rites of passage. But at first glance, the mountains of Pandora the park seemed small compared to the mountains of Pandora the cinematic world. Or at least that's what my brain was telling me had to be the case.

I continued down the path, passing a drum circle as I drew even closer. Eventually I came into a clearing. Exotic purple and blue plants grew to my right, while a large totem created by the Na'vi hung to my left — marking the mouth of a sacred river I would visit later that day. But my eyes kept returning to those twin floating mountains, now in full display before me. Up close they were massive and majestic, vines swaying gently, while a waterfall spilled off the stone face and into thin air.


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