two narnia movies

[lcohen]

a few years ago (looks like it was probably five), jonah and i went to see the first narnia movie, the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (LWW) in a movie theater and liked it tolerably well. it wasn't perfect, but it included most of what one wanted included, and didn't hammer the religious metaphors and all seemed to be going smoothly

Comments

[mistdog]

I completely missed Prince Caspian coming out too, and thought they'd skipped straight to Dawn Treader until someone corrected me. It can't have been in cinemas for very long.

the whole thing is slightly ridiculous--aslan keeps showing up to fix this, that, or the other thing but is apparently powerless against this mist that can ruin all life in narnia.All the books are like that, VDT especially. Having re-read them earlier this year (for the first time as an adult) they're fresh in my mind. Aslan knows everything, but sends the children to find out for themselves as a test of faith, the point being that you can't succeed without faith in Aslan. But this is constantly undermined by Aslan popping up and intervening, like when he de-dragons Eustace, so that faith is not necessary because Aslan is real and is the only solution to many problems

[lcohen]

the het relationship is not at the core of either film, but there's a little implied flirting and a kiss between susan and caspian in PC, and the glimmer of a het relationship in VDT, but that one is actually there in the text, between caspian and ramandu's daughter. naturally they had to add a glimmer of implied competition with edmund over that one, but what can you do.

it does pass the bechdel test, if you include small girls. they added a sailor and his small girl to the story and lucy and the girl have a scene together that is about how the small girl should grow up to "be the best you, you can be." in PC, there are some scenes where susan and lucy talk together, mostly about whether they believe that aslan is there or not, but i think that aslan is enough "not a man" (to say nothing of not being a tame lion) that those scenes would count towards the bechdel requirements.

[selki]

I saw PC with my sister when it came out in the theaters, and we loved it. BTW, I do remember some understated conflict between Peter and Caspian (at least on Caspian's side: uncertainty? Insecurity?) from the book.

Sorry to hear that VotDT was such a disappointment.

[lcohen]

i just reread the book, the day after seeing the movie--there's maybe one sentence of it--yes, insecurity. not really like what the movie conveyed and implied.

[cassielsander]

Your opinions pretty much correspond with my own. It's kind of too bad that they grew-up Caspian in PC, so that the two films plus Silver Chair don't show him at three different stages of life, but otoh it's nice to be able to use the same actor without waiting for him to somehow grow up at a different rate than the pevenseys.

Speaking of off-canon, I did like the extra stuff they added to PC. And I did do a little review of it, though I'm unoffended you missed it as it's in the middle of a post.

Dawn Treader I like a little more than you, otoh everything you say about it is true. The changes add new problems without eliminating any of the old ones, but I did like the moments of epic humor, mostly dragon related (hee hee, I AM EUSTACE).

Didn't review it myself, but rollick did, in her professional capacity.

[lcohen]

oops ;-)!

well i comment on your reviews often enough that you know i usually see them and read them. and enjoy them, btw.

i did enjoy moments of VDT. i thought they did a pretty good job with eustace. but the new plot elements dumb it down and make the quest and conflict so....ordinary. i mean i know there's still a large talking lion, but somehow the mist parts of the movie felt very un-narnian, if that makes sense to anyone outside of my brain.

[lcohen]

just took a look at rollick's review--she says so much of what i felt only she writes it better -- maybe she should do that for a living or something? ;-)

[replyhazy]

here they've gone so far off the book that they're relying on their own resources and apparently their resources include some sort of cliche factory.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[lcohen]

i'll be very interested to read what you think of VDT if you do get to see it.

[vito_excalibur]

Oh what a bummer. Dawn Treader is my favorite of the books.

[lcohen]

do you know about these posts:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/02/into-light-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader