‘Avatar’: First Look at the Creatures of Pandora

Yesterday, a book arrived at our offices. It's essentially a field guide to Pandora, the fictional planet in James Cameron's Avatar. Billing itself as a "confidential report on the biological and social history of Pandora," An Activist Survival Guide actually lists the new species of plants and animals Cameron has cooked up for his epic new movie. In a sprawling New Yorker profile on Cameron, George Lucas had this to say about the ambitious director: "Creating a universe is daunting. I’m glad Jim is doing it -- there are only a few people in the world who are nuts enough to. I did it with Star Wars, and now he’s trying to challenge that. It’s a lot of work. I do believe Jim will take this further out than anyone’s ever conceived of.” I don't know about that, but based on the book, which also features a glossary of Na'Vi terminology, James Cameron is indeed nuts. Check out the best of his zoological concoctions after the jump!