Narnia

fallacy · Post by **fallacy** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:47 am

hallo zusammen,

read anyone the books?

what do you think about these books, and are those worth to buy?

in few weeks the film starts in our cinemas, and the trailer is very interesting. but i never heard of it before.

grüsse alex

Crocodile Hunter · Post by **Crocodile Hunter** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:57 am

Well the books were good, mostly like Lord Of The Rings.
The movie is as my friend said after seeing it in some pre-show thing.
"its like a Lotr but for children". Im getting ticket for the 23th october date.
Worth of waiting i think, mostly i want to see it because Weta-workshop (wich made graphics and armors etc. for lotr) has been involved a lot in the making of the movie.

Post by **HoodedMan** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:15 pm

I read the books a long time ago, and I was planning on a re-read with the advent of the film.

They were good books, though, and I would highly recommend buying them.

theatrepirate · Post by **theatrepirate** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:22 pm

I adore the Chronicles of Narnia! I own several additions. They are excellent books, though a much easier read than Lord of the Rings, since they were written more for children. Even though the publisher changed the order of the series a few years ago (to put them in chronological order), I would still recommend reading "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" first before "The Magician's Nephew." After all, LWW was the first one Lewis wrote. And they are a bit heavier on the Christian allegory than LotR as well. (which I love!)

On a side note, I am currently directing a musical version of "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe." We open our show on December 8, the same weekend as the movie opens here. I'm hoping to use the movie as some good publicity for our show. The musical is a bit different from the book, and definitely not as intense as the film appears to be, but I am trying to put several elements of the film (including costumes) in my version. Sort of a homage to the movie for Narnia enthusiasts.

Yea for Narnia!!

Angelique · Post by **Angelique** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 6:03 pm

Yes! The books are very well worth reading. I think it's very fair to say that they've impacted my formative years even more than Star Wars did. Even so, it isn't just kid stuff. I still read those books, to my kids. Yeah, to my kids. Right.

wsg · Post by **wsg** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:10 pm

Same as theatrepirate said, I have all of them and they are well worth the money! They are like the best books in the world! After the BIBle and the X-Men books I have......

Tyros · Post by **Tyros** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:13 pm

Great, great books! I really recommend reading them before seeing the movie.

Angelique · Post by **Angelique** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:44 pm

Oh, yeah, and I even cite them in one of my fics, too. (Any way to combine C.S. Lewis and X-Men fandom, in my opinion, has got to be fun squared.)

kladyelf · Post by **kladyelf** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:18 am

Yay Narnia! i still have the boxed book set i got as a child ... somewhere...

anyway yes i have fond memories of that series, i saw the TV version of the chronicles of Narnia and remember the animated version of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and i am hanging out for the movie

Fun factlet: CS "Jack" Lewis and JRR Tolkein were friends who went to the same writing group 'Inklings' and Lewis had apparrently commented something on the lines of 'there just isn't enough of the books that we like to read, so we're just going to have to write them ourselves'

Crocodile Hunter · Post by **Crocodile Hunter** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 10:51 am

Alkuperäinen postittaja kladyelf
i saw the TV version of the chronicles of Narnia and remember the animated version of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and i am hanging out for the movie

My god i remember the series too. I wondered few times how much their budget was. As their armors and weaponery and stuff were the same as the ones i could have bought from the supermarket 2 km away from my home.

Angelique · Post by **Angelique** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:45 pm

And I wondered about the budget for the animated version. Like they couldn't get a dialect coach to help the kids sound English?
I actually have and prefer the BBC version.

Tyros · Post by **Tyros** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:19 pm

The BBC version was great! I have very fond memories of watching it with my mom and my brother. I am so looking forward to this movie! Now if only they would make a movie of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, then I would be really happy.

Garble · Post by **Garble** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:04 am

My parents read me the Chronicles many times when I was a kid and I loved the Lion Witch Wardrobe cartoon. I got to see the BBC version of the Chronicles and yes, they were cheap but still good by BBC standards.

I'm looking forward to seeing this new movie because it looks like their trying to treat it with the respect LotR got. The only two actors I recognize, I think are excellent choices. Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan is great because he has a gentle yet deep strength to his voice. And Tilda Swinton as the White Witch will be most interesting. Her performance in Constantine really struck me and I think she'll lend an interesting not-quite-human feel to the Witch.

As I've gotten older and seen more things adapted into movies, I've built up a tolerance for how much things have to get changed to make a smoother jump from one medium to another. I'm curious as to what they'll change and what they'll leave out.
Will the White Witch still tempt Edmund with Turkish Delight?
Will Father Christmas(Santa Clause) show up to give the children weapons? (He did not in the animated version).

The thing I'm most aprehensive about is watching talking animals in a non-comical movie. What I've seen in the previews is... okay looking. But I don't know how easy it will be to swallow for the amount of talking animals there are in this story.

fallacy · Post by **fallacy** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 12:28 am

hallo folks,

it´s me again ;-)
thanks for the many infos!
so i bought myself the first two books on ebay... but in german at first ;-)

if i read the first one, i tell you how i like it!

Tyros · Post by **Tyros** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:43 pm

Originally posted by Garble
Will the White Witch still tempt Edmund with Turkish Delight?

Yes: http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=18 ... cf=trailer

Garble · Post by **Garble** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:06 pm

Sweet! Thanks!

That clip really cemented my enthusiasm for Tilda as the witch. Of course I notice a lot of verbage is changed around and adapted. I suppose screen writers feel obligated to do that so they aren't just typesetting the novel again.

Tyros · Post by **Tyros** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 7:17 pm

SIgh, I wanted to go see it tonight, but I just have way to much school work to finish. Oh well, by next week I should be all done (and have my Masters degree, yipppeee) and then I can go and see all the movies I wish.

littlebamf · Post by **littlebamf** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 1:29 pm

I have loved all things Narnia since I was a little tot when I watched the television series and I read the series when I was seven. I have always loved them and it was what got me into fantasy so for that I am very thankful!! Haven't been able to see the film yet, but I intend to at the weekend!

Angelique · Post by **Angelique** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:27 pm

Well, don't tell me how it ends!

Crocodile Hunter · Post by **Crocodile Hunter** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:32 am

Alkuperäinen postittaja Angelique
Well, don't tell me how it ends!

ok im not spoiling anything. but if "good wins the bad"
thats probably pretty predictable ending ... (predictable? unpredictable > predictable... aargh dont blame me, blame the carppy english to finnish dictionary)

Angelique · Post by **Angelique** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:44 am

Gah! Joking! I've only read and reread the books as long as I could read. (And even I don't know how long that's been!)

Nandireya · Post by **Nandireya** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:28 pm

Mmmmmm...Turkish Delight...

I remember reading it when I was a wee lass…back when the earth was still cooling…I always liked Mr. Tumnus ‘cos he was a faun/satyr and my favourite Greek god is Pan…

Movie doesn't open here until 26th December though

Tyros · Post by **Tyros** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 5:14 pm

Yeah, I always liked Mr Tumnas too! I think that is the character I am most nervous about seeing (though the pics look great) because I have such a clear image in my head of what he is like.

Garble · Post by **Garble** » Sat Dec 10, 2005 10:08 pm

I saw it last night and I really loved it. There were many changes to the verbiage and a few bits of continuity re-arranged but nothing that hurts the spirit of the story (example: Lucy first find the wardrobe while playing hide & seek instead of while just exploring, then enters it the second time after waking up in the middle of the night instead of returning to it while playing hide & seek...). If you've got every line of the book memorized (like I almost have), watching this movie will surprise you, but I think you'll be pleased.

The biggest difference that struck me was the way the children are portrayed. In the book, the children are simplified for easy reading. They get along with eachother perfectly (except for Edmund) and are quick to accept the strangeness of every situation they face. This works fine for making the story easier for younger readers to follow and not get distracted from the fantasy. For this movie, however, the children are much more lifelike. They fuss at eachother, they react more to how utterly weird everything around them is, and they worry about ever being able to go home again. All of the actors do an exceptionally good job, and make the emotional connection to the film much deeper.

The rest of the characters are incredibly well done also. Tumnus charms you so you don't blame Lucy for agreeing to have tea with him. The Beavers are funny, lovable and make you think of a real couple. The Witch is stunning, seductive and frightening all at the same time. And Liam Neeson is the voice of Aslan.

As expected, the religious overtones are there, but they don't beat you over the head by any means. The story is about love, sacrifice, forgiveness and family. You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate it, and you never feel like the movie is preaching to you.

I'm really hoping it does well at the box office because I'd love to see them continue with the rest of the series.

Nandireya · Post by **Nandireya** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:56 am

Originally posted by Garble
The biggest difference that struck me was the way the children are portrayed. In the book, the children are simplified for easy reading. They get along with eachother perfectly (except for Edmund) and are quick to accept the strangeness of every situation they face. This works fine for making the story easier for younger readers to follow and not get distracted from the fantasy. For this movie, however, the children are much more lifelike. They fuss at eachother, they react more to how utterly weird everything around them is, and they worry about ever being able to go home again. All of the actors do an exceptionally good job, and make the emotional connection to the film much deeper.

I guess that comes from it being written in a more innocent age…kids really don’t act like that anymore…I’d say they adapted them for modern kids to relate to them more easily…

Originally posted by Garble
The rest of the characters are incredibly well done also. Tumnus charms you so you don't blame Lucy for agreeing to have tea with him.

I guess he'd have to...or it might come across as a bit...

suspicious...

Originally posted by Garble
The Beavers are funny, lovable and make you think of a real couple. The Witch is stunning, seductive and frightening all at the same time. And Liam Neeson is the voice of Aslan.

I saw the trailer with Harry Potter...they animals look wonderful...and yeah...that voice...yummy...

Originally posted by Garble
I'm really hoping it does well at the box office because I'd love to see them continue with the rest of the series.

I'm looking forward to it...my dad's taking me to see it for my birthday (I took him to Harry Potter for his

)