Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine The Chronicles of Narnia: The Movie

Saw the trailor before Star Wars too and it looked REALLY good. I might have to try and read the books before the first movie comes out...

Saw this last night before Star Wars. I think this looks good. Lets just hope they dont mess around to much with the story.

Battles, talking animals, magic and evil queens. Looks like a great mix.

I hope they don't try to make it too "epic" in scope. Part of the great charm of the book is that it's written in a very kid-friendly, chummy way.

I read a little of it last night to Maddy to see how she does with a non-picture book. She fell asleep soon, which was after all the desired effect.

for the old thread!

I'm very worried about this movie.

First of all, BEARS?!? What the hell are those polar bears doing there? They're supposed to be reindeer! Does anyone here really beleive that Edmund wouldn't have been scared silly of a woman in a sleigh pulled by BEARS!?!

Second, I don't like how the entry through the wardrobe is being depicted in the trailers. I like how, in the book, Lucy getting into Narnia seems almost accidental at first. Again, does anyone beleive that she would really go through by herself if it looked the way it does in the trailer, with the light streaming out and all.

Next, it's clear in the book that Mrs. MacCready would rather the children stay out of her way (particularly when she leads tours of the house), but the Professor is generally depicted as rather welcoming (if, with his heavy beard, a bit alarming to Lucy and amusing to Edmund). When the four end up in the wardrobe, it's for the very specific reason that Mrs. MacCready is leading a tour of the house that seems to drive them there (an example of the magic of Narnia exerting influence on the children). I'm not thrilled about how the children seem to be so unwelcome in the house. It makes it seem like that's why they go to Narnia, which isn't the case at all.

Finally, I'm unimpressed by the shots of them striding through snow-covered mountains. While such shots are ideal for LotR, they really don't fit the image I have of their flight to Aslan. I'm not saying that Narnia doesn't have such landscapes, just that the book describes a journey along the valley of a small river. It's probably just my own experience prejudicing me, but I've always pictured that landscape they traverse as being a lot like the forests of western Massachusetts as they look in the wintertime: close and intimate, with lots of trees, lots of snow, and rolling hills and valleys.

All of these points are just indicators to me of how the filmmakers are approaching the story. Based on these factors (and others), I'm fairly convinced that they've missed the stuff that has always made the books so meaningful to me.

I imagine I'll still go see the movie, but I'm really nervous about it.

DL, I hear ya. Lewis wanted something much simpler than his buddy's grand epic. He wanted something kids would be awed by, that would appeal to and capture the innocence of youth.

It's hard to tell from the trailer, but I think they are going to work the youth angel. But it's harder today then when the books first came out. And the original readers are more cynical. So it takes more to get us awed.

Least, that's what I'm hoping.

I'm assuming the movie will do well enough to justify at least one or two sequels.

Does anyone know the order they're planning to film them? I suppose it makes sense to film Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Last Battle in sequence, since those feature the Pevensie children and the series would flow better using the same actors throughout...

I also think they should definitely make The Magician's Nephew at some point, since it sets up a lot of backstory for Narnia/the Witch/the lamppost/the wardrobe, etc.

Plans are already in the works for Prince Caspian. I agree that it makes sense to do Dawn Treader and Silver Chair next. After that, I think I'd do Magician's Nephew, followed by Horse & his Boy, then Last Battle. Doing them in this order would provide some time for the Pevensies to grow up a bit, since in AHahB they're young adult kings and queens and in Last Battle, they're also young adults. Also, the Pevensie's appearance in AHahB is essentially a cameo, so could build interest for the final film. If you look at about two years to produce each film, the actor playing Peter will be in his late twenties at least by the time they do Last Battle, which is just about right.