2009 original was lauded for revolutionizing 3D and went on to break multiple box office records, but what's more amazing than technical achievement is that James Cameron and 20th Century Fox were never successfully sued for plagiarism.
Jurassic Park (1993)
Pandora's animals stole T-rex's iconic roar and the Raptors' husky communications.
Now let's really get stuck in.
Films
The Emerald Forest (1985)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
Pocahontas (1995)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Last Samurai (2003)
Battle for Terra (2007)
While I'm sure most of the above have formed part of many lists, this may not.
A Man Called Horse (1970)
In 1825, an English aristocrat, John Morgan (Richard Harris), is captured by Native Americans and begins to understand their way of life.
Eventually, he is accepted by the tribe and aspires to become their leader.
Well shit.
It spawned two sequels, The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976) and Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983).
Literature
Jungle planet Pandora was introduced in Noon: 22nd Century (1961), the first book in Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's ten-strong series, which fans later called the Noon Universe.
The girlfriend of biologist Mikhail Sidorov is called Nava, which sounds nothing like Na'vi.
Back in 2010, Boris reportedly said: "The Americans have 'borrowed' our idea - it's very unpleasant. But I won't take them to court. Or shall I?"
Legal action never came to fruition and Boris died in 2012. Arkady passed years before in 1991.
Dune (1965)
Before amalgamated as one, Frank Herbert's epic sci-fi novel was originally published as two separate serials (Dune World) and (Prophet of Dune).
Anyway, precious commodity unobtanium is basically spice melange, commonly just spice.
Sticking with Mr. Herbert, Destination: Void (1965) shouldn't be ignored, the first in The Pandora Sequence series.
The rest he wrote with Bill Ransom.
But 'worst' of all though is this:
Call Me Joe
Poul Anderson's novelette was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in April 1957.
Paraplegic astronaut Ed Anglesey telepathically connects with an artificially created life form (nicknamed "Joe"), enabling him to explore Jupiter's harsh surface and geezer gradually goes native.
UNBELIEVABLE.
Comics
Firekind (1993)
Originally published in 2000 AD progs 828-840 (between 27th March-19th June), xeno-botanist Hendrick Milhouse Larsen is sent to Gennyo-Leil to study jungle planet's fauna, flora and indigenous alien race the Gennyans.
Toxic hallucinogenic atmosphere is filled with psychotropic pollen so geezer wears a filter mask to survive.
 |
| Loylee-Coh |
Cameron says he wrote an 80-page treatment for Avatar in 1994.
How convenient.
The Light and Darkness War (October 1988-September 1989)
The first collaboration between Cam Kennedy and Tom Veitch concerns disabled war veteran Lazarus Jones, who after a car accident is placed in a coma.
He's transported to the Outer Darkness in a star system called Abraxas, where his war buddies (dubbed Light Warriors), are still alive.
Together, they fight against Na, Lord of Reality, and his motley crew of Deadsiders.
 |
| Mentep engineer Mu-Mun-Da-Mandra-Lue Urumm. |
Roger Dean
British artist rose to fame in the 1970s, creating album covers for the likes of Yes, Asia, Uriah Heep and Gentle Giant.
He also designed a host of shit for video game developer Psygnosis, including Brataccas, Obliterator and Shadow of the Beast.
He was also responsible for company's logo, with owl used as the sprite for Agony (1992), notable for title music composed by Tim Wright.
When Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir released their album Stormblåst in 1996, keyboardist Stian Aarstad passed off Wright's piece as his own for instrumental track Sorgens kammer.
Album was re-recorded in 2005, shit was replaced by Sorgens kammer - del II.
Moving on.
Hometree vs Pathways
Stone Arches vs Arches Morning
Open and shut case, right?
Wrong.
(Vigorously shakes head).
As a special bonus, check out sequels.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Tulkuns produce amrita in their glands and is said to stop humans aging, thus replacing unobtanium as the most valuable substance known to man.
 |
| Captain Mick Scoresby uses the SeaDragon to hunt marine animals. |
Firekind
Gennyo-Leil is frequently raided by ruthless poachers, who delight in torturing and mutilating their victims while seeking Hexacrin, which is kind of like an elixir of eternal youth.
To domesticate Kesheen, locals attach symbiotic organism the Lantrisant to giant dragons, with leech creature being the only source of hallucinogen.
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| Archduke Ruggerio Neumann and his sordid outfit of hired mercenaries slaughter flying monsters for this very reason. |
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
Spider's oxygen mask runs out of battery and he collapses from asphyxiation. After his body is wrapped with mycelia, he's able to breathe on Pandora without a mask.
Firekind
Hendrick finds himself stumbling through the forest, twelve hours without a filter mask, breathing in the psychotropic air.
He should be dead, but works out the pollen (a class 'C' hallucinogen) works directly on the sensory vortex, causing neurological changes and making his body immune.
On behalf of creators John Smith and Paul Marshall, I have two words for Iron Jim.
FUCK and YOU.
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