Three 'Avatar' morphing screens and a baby

CC waits to get morphed into a Na'vi from "Avatar" at The Grove.

You might have heard that this whole "Avatar" thing is, like, huge.

You also might have heard that moviegoers were finding it a bit of a downer to leave the amazing, 3D world of Pandora for ... well, the real one.

So, if you're looking to get back to Na'vi Central, The Grove is hosting an "Avatar" morphing station for the next couple of weeks that takes your facial features and transforms them on screen in real time into your personal Na'vi avatar.

When I heard about that, I scooped up CC and made a beeline for The Grove. Who doesn't want to see their preschooler turned into a Mini Na'vi right before their very eyes?

A partnership between Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and outdoor advertising company Inwindow Outdoor, the structure has three screens that allow visitors to walk right up and get morphed. The process takes about 25 seconds, and then you can email the video and photo results to yourself (or an unsuspecting relative) via touchscreen.

I talked with Jeffrey Cohen, managing partner & director of business development for Inwindow Outdoor, who said that the display "definitely captures the spirit and the interest" of avid "Avatar" fans who are eager to return to Pandora.

The trick with the screens, though, is that you had to stand still for a second or two, and you have to be tall enough to fit into the set outline. I tried holding CC up, but it was a no go. There was no way her head was fitting in the outline, and there was really no way that she'd hold still for that long.

So, bummer that I didn't get the Baby Na'vi pic that I wanted to hang over the fireplace. I did, however, morph myself, which turned out to be pretty funny. I'll post it here (above) at the risk of never showing my real face in this town again.

Neytiri may have been able to work it, but Ian said he definitely prefers the real me.

(The Wired story has more photos from the event.)