Eight years after “Avatar” was released to gradually become the highest-grossing movie of all time, earning an impressive US$2.8 billion (Bt95.14 billion) globally, the planet of Pandora is opening up to the world as a foretaste for four sequels, the first of which is slated to hit to screens on December 15, 2020.

Running at The Mall Bang Kapi until September 3, “Avatar: Discover Pandora” is an interactive exhibition that showcases the alien world’s flora and fauna and the culture of its indigenous people, the Na’vi.

“There are four more sequels in development right now but we’re excited today at the opportunity to actually bring ‘Avatar’ to people while we’re waiting. We hope that this will be something that’s very popular here in Bangkok and brings in visitors from all over the region,” says Kathy Franklin, president of franchise development at Lightstorm Entertainment.

Unlike most movie-based exhibitions that focus on props and costume to get the message across. “Pandora” relies on state-of-the-art technology.

“Since the movie is largely computer generated, we don’t have props to exhibit so this was an opportunity to work with GES to really make it physical and tangible and let you go someplace that was only in your imagination. Our idea was to bring this alien world to life and allow visitors to interact with it, so what we are showing is how Pandora relates to earth. Hopefully everyone will leave this exhibition not just excited about the world of ‘Avatar’ but also having learned more about Earth,” says Franklin.

In addition to “Avatar: Discover Pandora”, the film has a number of other franchise projects including “Toruk- The First Flight” in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, “Pandora- The World of Avatar” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, a global Avatar mobile game in production with Kabam and Avatar graphic Dark Horse Comics.

The exhibition, as Franklin says, is exciting in that it allows visitors to experience familiar settings and scenes.

Fans of the movie know that Pandora does not exist, but the exhibition is created in such a way that visitors will start feeling it is a real place as they learn more about the science and travelling to the Na’vi’s home. The imaginary characters and details become believable and tangible through such scientific explanations as why the Hallelujah Mountain levitates with the help of magnetism.

The fun interactive exhibition is based on James Cameron’s blockbuster and is a collaboration between his Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox’s FoxNext Division, and global events provider GES. To bring the exhibition to Thailand, they worked with Singapore’s Mactus Live Company and Thailand’s Pixel One.

The idea for the exhibition was born about two years, Franklin says.

“It’s the kind of show that allows you to visit an alien world and the way you do that is both entertaining and inspiring. We saw it as an opportunity to bring Pandora to life for the whole family,” she says, adding that Cameron’s suggestion was simple – “He wants it to be fun,” she says.

The travelling exhibition started its tour in Taipei, Taiwan where it drew 300,000 over its 90-day stay. After Thailand, the exhibition will head to show China where it will stop off in various cities.

“We started in Asia because we believe that the opportunity here to reach an audience is very compelling. Our hope is that audiences around Asia will learn from the experience,” Franklin says.

The exhibition is divided into 10 scenes but can be enjoyed by those who haven’t seen the film as well as those who might have forgotten much of the storyline. Curators from the Pandoran Research Foundation welcome visitors at the entrance and introduce them to a 22nd-century world where man can travel 25 million miles to the moon Pandora. The Avatar programme is then explained before giving way to a showcase of plants, animals and the Na’vi culture.

A projection shows the Helicoradian, a super-sensitive plant that when you touch it will coil up and retract to the ground just as it did when earthling Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in his avatar body touches it in the film.

Visitors will also meet the Direhorse and Viperwolf as well as the super tall Na’vi people, experience riding the bird-like Banshee simply by stretching out their arms and waving them as in flight, and the bio luminous plants that are synonymous with Pandora. And in the scene showing the human invasion, visitors can control the AMP Suit (Amplified Mobility Platform Suit) which is used on Pandora, rather like playing a computer game. The highlight of the exhibition is the Tree of Souls – the sacred place of the Na’vi and where visitors can try to see the woodsprite – the seed of the Tree of Souls that will earn them good luck from the Na’vi’s god Eywa.

Chatuphon Sitthichai, chief executive of Pixel One Event & Festival, says he decided on seeing the show that it had to come to Thailand.

“What I love the most is the storytelling. Pandora might not exist but they had me believing that it was real and tangible.”

And rather than staging the exhibition at Siam Paragon Shopping Centre, Chatuphon and his colleagues opted for the more out-of-the-way MCC Hall at The Mall Bang Kapi.

“MCC Hall has 2,2000 sqm of space compared to Taipei’s 1,200 sqm, so it helps to complete the exhibition and draws more visitors,” he explains.

“The exhibition needs a long run so we’ve worked hard to clear the schedule to serve the exhibit. Besides The Mall Bang Kai is a centre for families and they are our exhibition’s target group,” adds Voralak Tulaphorn, senior vice president for marketing at The Mall Group.

Chatuphon says that it takes around 45 minutes to go round the exhibition but there is no time limitation for visitors who want to stay longer. The group can handle around 70 persons per round and some 7,000 visitors a day.

While “Avatar” didn’t beat the Thai record for top grossing foreign film, it came in Bt293.9 million.

“Avatar 2” the sequel is scheduled to open worldwide on December 18, 2020, followed by “Avatar 3” on December 17, 2021. There will then by a three-year break with “Avatar 4” set for December 20, 2024. “Avatar 5” for December 19, 2025.

PAGING JAMES CAMERON

•   “Avatar: Discover Pandora” is on at MCC Hall, The Mall Bang Kapi until September 3. Tickets are Bt490 for adults and kids age 12 and up, and Bt390 for children four to 11 years old or 90 to 140cm in height.
•  Special privileges are available for M Card holders and for groups.
•  Tickets are available at http://www.AvatarDiscoverPandora.com, https://Store.AIS.co.th, at the venue and from all branches |of 7-Eleven.