The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

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goldenboy

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What did you guys think? I thought it was surprisingly good, but not truly great. I went back and read the book again a few months ago. It's weird reading it as an adult. I was surprised at how simple and unadorned the language and narration is (when you compare it to Harry Potter, for instance. I haven't actually read a Potter book or seen a Potter movie though.)

I thought the movie was quite faithful to the book. It felt right. Lucy and Edmund were very good. Peter and Susan were kinda blah, but maybe that's just their characters' personalities. The White Witch was just right. Aslan seemed slightly less powerful and majestic in the film somehow. The battle was fleshed out really well...
 
When I first heard about this movie I was so excited and I thought everything seems to look to great. Then some of my friends went to see it and they told me it sucked. Then some other friends (who I trust a bit more) said the same.. I really expected to be disappointed when I went to see it... But I honestly loved it. As children's movie it's just awesome. Sure some things aren't as great as they could be but I don't care honestly, I just loved it...
Agree about Aslan, although the witch creeped me out for various reasons..

And yeah I think the Peter and Susan thing has got a lot to do with their characters, they're not super interesting really...

Anyways, I thought everything worked great, and it was a lot like the book (which a read like once a year as a kid).. I wish I had been 10 when I saw this....
 
Those of you who visit Screen-gems have probably already seen my raving on this subject, so I'm not going to go through it all agin, I'll just say this:

I LOVED it. Narnia was such a cherished part of my childhood that if this had been awful or untrue to the books, I would have been VERY upset. I think I know how lifelong LotR fans felt for Fellowship of the Ring, now. But this was..perfect. Edmund was exactly right, Lucy was beautiful, Tumnus was the cutest. Even the scenes they added I thought served the story well. I was a little bummed that they left out the Witch turning the little party of forest creatures to stone, but oh well.

I was also a tiny bit disappointed with Aslan. I wish someone other than Liam Neeson had done the voice. I love Liam Neeson, but listening to Aslan wasn't like listening to ASLAN. It was listening to Liam Neeson impersonate Aslan, if that makes sense. i didn't want to be able to recognize Aslan's voice as an actor. I wanted it to be ASLAN's voice.
 
I have to say I liked it. I thought it stayed very true to the book with a few minor exceptions, like the Beavers escape from the dam, and the point at which Peter tells Edmund he's a little s*it. I did like that they mention the White Witch by name, Jadis. I can't remember the book doing that, and it's not till you read the Magician's Nephew that you learn how she came to be in Narnia in the first place. I felt the creatures of Narnia were brought to life as if they'd stepped directly from the pages of the book. The Centaurs were magnificent, as were the wolves, beavers, horses, mice, etc. They all looked SO great. Loved the White Witch, she was perfect. I loved Aslan, he was perfect as well, and Liam Neeson did his voice WONDERFULLY. The Stone Table didn't look exactly as I'd imagined it, but Cair Paravel was WAY better than the picture in my mind. It didn't have the epic and grandeur it could have had, but maybe that's just my feeling. The Chronicles of Narnia aren't as epic in scope and don't deserve to be compared to genre novels that are....as I believe has been discussed elsewhere! I hope it does well and becomes a franchise of two or three more movies...I'd LOVE to see The Magician's Nephew and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader made into films. Out of the series, these are my three favorites. I saw it opening night at a place that had it on three screens, and the theater was 3/4 full, so that bodes well.
 
Miffed67 said:
I felt the creatures of Narnia were brought to life as if they'd stepped directly from the pages of the book. The Centaurs were magnificent, as were the wolves, beavers, horses, mice, etc. They all looked SO great. Loved the White Witch, she was perfect. I loved Aslan, he was perfect as well, and Liam Neeson did his voice WONDERFULLY. The Stone Table didn't look exactly as I'd imagined it, but Cair Paravel was WAY better than the picture in my mind. It didn't have the epic and grandeur it could have had, but maybe that's just my feeling.
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I think Weta deserves a lot of credit here. When I saw the first movie stills this summer, I was a little worried. Everything seemed so bright and colorful and clean"”almost too perfect, like a toy version of Middle-earth. Was never really crazy about Andrew Adamson's visual effects work. He worked on those last two Batman movie duds. I thought they were really garish and just, yuck. Never saw the Shrek movies, but they look kinda ordinary, visually.

But, I do think the style they developed works well here after all"”bright, pure colors. Cair Paravel in particular is nice. The interior makes me think of the Emerald City, nice greens...
 
I think I read the books, or was made to read the book in school. I can't remember to be honest. Anyway went to see it last night, it was nice. Visually it was very well done, and the story was good. Not my first choice of what I would have seen, but good all the same.
 
Anchovy said:
I LOVED it. Narnia was such a cherished part of my childhood that if this had been awful or untrue to the books, I would have been VERY upset.
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I am sooo with you here and that's also why I loved the movie. I honestly was impressed by how true they were to the book. I did have to say that they REALLY made a critical mistake with Aslan - when the three Pevensies meet him for the first time and Aslan finds out Edmund betrayed them. He seemed surprised - which we all know isn't how the book goes..he calls out Peter - makes him tell the truth. I just felt this was really important as to the all-knowing and all-seeing character of Aslan and it ruined it a bit for me.
 
S
StuckinTraffic
That was another small thing that bothered me, too.
i just got back from it and i LOVED it...i havent read the book but it was still awesome.
 
goldenboy said:
I think Weta deserves a lot of credit here. When I saw the first movie stills this summer, I was a little worried. Everything seemed so bright and colorful and clean"”almost too perfect, like a toy version of Middle-earth...But, I do think the style they developed works well here after all"”bright, pure colors. Cair Paravel in particular is nice. The interior makes me think of the Emerald City, nice greens...
Click to expand...
I didn't know Weta did the work on this, altho I knew they shot in NZ. Don't know why I didn't put 2 and 2 together on that one.....anyway...I love the effects, the creatures, the mise en scene. (Sorry, don't know how to do accent marks!) Very nice work on their parts.
 
X
Xander
The "alt gr" button (the alt button on the right of the keyboard) and the letter you want ;)
So far ive heard that it was good from everyone that has gone to see it, me and my friends are trying to see it when we have the time.
 
I loved that movie, and I so totally agree with Anchovy on Tumnus being the cutest. He was adorable!! I work at a movie theatre, so I get in free. I'm actually going to see it for the third time tomorrow with two of my friends who haven't got to see it yet... One's getting in free through me, and the other will get in free when we go to see King Kong... Anyways, I absolutely enjoyed the movie... I thought everything was magnificent.... I would love to see The Magician's Nephew as a movie, and a few of the other books as well...
 
Jenny
Jenny
Ditto to that..I'd love to see them ALL made into movies!
I haven't seen this film yet, but i've heard a lot of positives about so am considering although i know it'll annoy me all the way through just because they started the so called "chronicles of narnia" with the second book in the series
 
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