Appa () is a fictional character on the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and in the film The Last Airbender. In the series, Appa is a combination of flying bison and a manatee, a species of animals that can fly naturally, and is the animal spirit guide of the protagonist, Aang. Dee Bradley Baker voices Appa, along with all the other animals, in both the TV series and the film.
Creation and conception
The show's creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have described Appa's appearance as a cross between a buffalo and a manatee, although its body plan does resemble that of a water bear. According to an interview with the artists involved with creating the show, Appa's design was based on that of Catbus from the film My Neighbor Totoro, as they found it difficult to create a six-legged mammal.
Habits
In the Avatar franchise, Appa is the last known living sky bison, which are large mammal-like creatures that fly through airbending and steer through air currents with their broad tails. The bison are covered in thick white fur with a large brown arrow marking that is remarked to be extremely itchy. In the show, the markings on the flying bison's backs are what inspired the tattoos which symbolize an Air Nomad's mastery of Airbending. Their fur is shed at the end of winter. The Air Nomads summon the sky bison to their side through the use of whistles that only the animals can hear. Aang and friends use the words "yip yip" to get Appa to take off into the air.
Like all animals in the Avatar series, Appa cannot speak, apart from in one episode in which Aang hallucinates Appa and Momo talking.
Personality
Throughout the series, Appa has demonstrated high intelligence and often appears to understand a portion of human speech, whereas Momo, the winged lemur, struggles to understand. Although placid, Appa has shown himself capable of fighting when necessary.
Other aspects of Appa's character include his fear of fire and his trusting of those who have been kind to him. He can become quite temperamental towards anyone who he thinks is a threat to himself or his friends, especially Aang. Conversely, he has demonstrated an unrestrained affection towards those that he likes. Appa also has a fear of going underground or in small tunnels, evidenced by his claustrophobic panic in the episode "The Cave of Two Lovers".
He has a special friendship with Momo the lemur, with whom he is often in company. Appa also shows a special preference towards Zuko, who saved him from his imprisonment beneath Lake Laogai.
Appearances
Appa is featured prominently throughout the franchise, not only in the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series, but also in the film The Last Airbender, various video games, and comic books. Dee Bradley Baker voices Appa in both the TV series and the film.
In the animated series
Appa is in almost every episode of the animated series, having appeared in 58 of the 61 episodes of the three seasons. Much of the back-story about the character comes from the episode Appa's Lost Days, "in which the most under-explored member of the team gets his very own episode."
The first meeting between Aang and Appa is seen during a flashback sequence in Appa's Lost Days. It is tradition with Air Nomads that each young Airbender is given a sky bison calf once they come of age to be the Airbender's lifelong animal companion. In a flashback on Appa's Lost Days, Appa's herd flies down to an Air Nomad Temple where Aang and other young Airbenders are waiting. Aang brings Appa an apple as a sign of friendship, which Appa accepts, sealing their bond as well as giving Appa his name, after the word "apple". Almost immediately, the two became friends and would remain close, Appa being the one thing aside from his staff and robes from Aang's home that Aang took with him when he fled the Southern Air Temple.
Appa remained in suspended animation along with Aang for 100 years until their discovery by Katara and Sokka. Since then, Appa has been the group's main form of transportation in their quest, as well as occasionally assisting in battle. Appa was a consistent part of the group throughout the series until his capture by the Sandbenders in "The Library".