ReelViews: The story, which Shyamalan based on an animated Nickelodeon TV show, tells of a world where four tribes exist, each representing an element (air, water, earth, fire). Within the tribes are "benders" - wizard-like individuals who can manipulate the tribe's element. And, somewhere in the world is the "Avatar," a person who can control all four - but he has been missing for 100 years.