Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

[Pumpkin]

[SIZE=1]I was shocked when I looked in this forum and did not see a thread up about Narnia yet. I just saw it today and I have to say that some parts of the movie were dissapointing such as the acting in some parts were poor and I felt Peter's character wasn't displayed as the serious responsible child he is in the books. However, I still enjoyed the movie, especially Aslan (although I thought he was going to be a bit bigger perhaps?) I thought that [SPOILER]when Aslan died at the stone table it should have been more dramatic. [/SPOILER]

Narnia is one of my favorite series and although it doesn't quite have the intensity as LOTR it's still an enjoyable movie. However, this was my least favorite book, infact #4 is my favorite since it tells more about the country Calormen. My question is when did you go to the movie and what did you think? What did you dislike and like? Are you hoping they will continue to make more Narnia movies and which was your favorite book of the series?

Feel free to add anything else too. [/SIZE]

[Dagger]

I saw it last night. To be honest, it came across as being a kiddie version of LotR. It didn't have to feel like that, but the way it was directed & written ended up (deliberately or accidentally) emphasizing certain LotR parallels. I'm not yelling "rip-off" here or anything, but I think there were ways to do this movie that would have made it seem more unique.

The opening scene was cringe-inducingly bad (ye gods, what awful CGI), but I actually very much liked everything else that took place in the real world. A lot of what happened in Narnia was pretty good, at least at first. I loved Lucy's initial meeting with Mr. Tumnus and their conversation by the fire. Things just started to degenerate once all four kids entered Narnia, though. I also felt that the pace got rather screwed up--it was nice and deliberate during the first quarter or third of the movie, but events became absurdly compressed in the second half.

My main complaint is that things were just too pretty in Narnia. I suppose some of this stems from the fact that they wanted to keep the rating PG, but I never got the sense that there was something truly serious & dire at stake. Moreover, it seemed as though success came to the children much too easily. The [spoiler]"I dub thee Sir Peter etc."[/spoiler] scene was almost laughable because of how easy they made [spoiler]killing the wolf[/spoiler] seem.

On the plus side, the little girl who played Lucy totally stole the show. And the melee scenes were surprisingly excellent.

To be frank, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my least favorite Narnia book to begin with. I'd have been much more interested in seeing a movie version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (or The Silver Chair, or The Horse and His Boy). Assuming they do plan to film all the sequels--and they probably will--I'm curious as to whether they'll go by publication order or chronological order. Well, they've already broken chronological order, but they could do The Magician's Nephew at some later point and keep the rest of the stories chronological. That's what I'd prefer, personally.

~Dagger~

[Semjaza]

The movie could have admittedly benefitted from being longer, but overall I had no real problem with the pacing. In some ways it felt rushed, but in other ways it avoided completely useless downtime that is very, very prevalent in so many other fantasy films. Strangely, I've read reviews that seem to complain about how slow it is and others that complain about how fast it is. I didn't have much of a problem with the balance of it... that's kind of just how the book flows. Next to nothing happens and then a bunch of stuff happens lol. I didn't really get a lot of LotR feeling from it, but I figure a lot of people will. It's probably only been attempted at all because of that series' success in the first place.

I didn't really find any of the CGI to be "laughably bad", but there were many times that it was obviously computer generated. That's true of really 99% of films, though. The make-up and costume effects largely made up for it.

While I understand why the film avoided showing a lot of direct violence, I did find it to be a bit of a problem. As mentioned, [spoiler] it winds up relegating the death of Maugrim to a total accident[/spoiler] and removes a lot of its purpose and feeling. The battle scenes, largely, still wind up feeling as forceful and violent as they should. I found these scenes to be well directed since you could easily tell what was going on without it ruining the flow. Most films seem to rely on a chaotic scene where next to everything is hard to really make out.

I keep reading reviews that seem intent on finding problems with the film, as well. Many of them really, really overblow the Christian themes. They're almost totally glossed over in the film compared to the books. Yes, the idea is there, but I doubt anyone enjoying the film would even really pay much attention to it; whereas, in the books, it's basically beating you over the head. It just seems like something for certain people/groups to latch on to, making their decision before they even see the film.

Overall, I thought it was good. It's certainly better than most films of its ilk I hear a lot about, but won't mention the names of to avoid problems lol. However, considering this is Adamson's first film directing live action, I think it turned out rather well. I think the mistakes made in this film could be easily rectified even by the next one.

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Generic NPC #3]
I didn't really find any of the CGI to be "laughably bad", but there were many times that it was obviously computer generated. That's true of really 99% of films, though. The make-up and costume effects largely made up for it.[/QUOTE]
I actually thought the animals were quite well done (especially Aslan), but the planes at the beginning were... I dunno. They were very "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," I guess. Not really a huge problem, since it's just that one scene, but I found it sort of jarring.

~Dagger~

[Semjaza]

Oh, I almost entirely forgot about those. I actually agree very strongly with what you're saying in that case. It actually took a few minutes before I realized it wasn't a trailer for another film heh.

Really, I don't think a lot of that was necessary. The close-ups are what drew away from it... I would say the silhouettes in the sky were more than effective all by themselves and really would have been plenty.

[Endymion]

[size=1][color=darkslateblue]Seeing the previews for the last month or two really got me going for the release of the movie. I'd read the books some twelve or so years ago, but I could remember most of the main points of each(actually looked at my favorites at Border's and skimmed through them, which would probably be The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, and Prince Caspian.) The german bombers in the beginning were a little...bleh. The shadows made more of an impact to me. Other than that I thought the movie rocked. I didn't mind waiting one bit til 10:30, the first non-sold out show. Not that it mattered since I didn't get out of work til 9:30 anyway. The scenery and music of the movie were really good. The battle scene towards the end was thoroughly enjoyable. Lucy I think sorta stole the show during the movie(sorta like Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai.) Though I think Peter was probably my favorite character...since I could probably relate to him the most. Anyway, out of 10 I'd probably give the movie a 9. Tomorrow after work i think I might see it again.[/color][/size]

[b][font=Verdana][size=1][color=blue]Edit:[/color][/size][/font][/b]
[color=darkslateblue][size=1]I missed a final today, professor is letting me retake it on wednesday. What did I do with my free time? I went to the movie theater and saw Narnia again. Why? I needed to. For some reason, the movie fills me with something most movies down have nowadays. Pure, old-fashioned excellence. Saw it, went Christmas shopping, went to work. Then there was a problem. I couldn't go home, brother was awake and I couldn't let him see his handy-dandy new lightsaber, so I decided to see a movie. Rent didn't appeal to me in the slightest. Syriana I could more than likely wait for HBO. There were other movies, but to me it was 'Bleh' reading as the title. One stood out. The movie I'd seen some 10 hours beforehand. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe magic'd another viewing out of me. I'm sure my best bud would punch me in the face for doing it, but it needed to be done. I needed it. If three viewings weren't enough, I'm more than likely going to see it wednesday. My brother hasn't seen it, so I'm going to take him and his friend. Well, I think it's me that wants to see it, taking him is an excuse, but whatever. And remember kiddies.... too much of a good thing rocks your world.[/size][/color]

[font=Verdana][size=1][color=blue]Double posting is not allowed. Please use the edit button if you'd like to add more after you've already posted.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Verdana][size=1][color=blue]- Petie[/color][/size][/font]

[Doukeshi]

[SIZE=1]I too thought that the movie could have been longer. Everything seemed to be happening rather too quickly for my liking. The scene where [spoiler]Peter kills Maugrim the wolf[/spoiler] was terribly short and it made it seem like [spoiler]Peter killed him by accident rather than actually fighting him.[/spoiler]

Having grown up with the BBC adaptation of the books I couldn't help but compare the two and as such I found many good points and some not so good. I really loved the movies portrayal of Lucy, she is much less annoying than she is in the BBC. I was also impressed with the actor playing Peter. I absolutely adored the beavers, but the scene in the lodge is something I thought could have also benefited from a bit of length.

I still really enjoyed the movie and I believe it will be something that will appeal greatly to younger viewers slightly more than adults. [/SIZE]

[Pumpkin]

[QUOTE=Dagger]I actually thought the animals were quite well done (especially Aslan), but the planes at the beginning were... I dunno. They were very "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," I guess. Not really a huge problem, since it's just that one scene, but I found it sort of jarring.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]


[quote name='Generic NPC #3']Oh, I almost entirely forgot about those. I actually agree very strongly with what you're saying in that case. It actually took a few minutes before I realized it wasn't a trailer for another film heh.[/quote][SIZE=1]It's funny because my boyfriend and I who went to see it thought the same thing. We thought it was a preview of another movie that was made by like pixar or something lol it wasn't until [SPOILER]I saw Edward running toward the shack[/SPOILER] until I realized it was the movie.

I have to agree one thing about the movie though, that it was rushed. When Lucy [SPOILER]went to look for Mr. Tumnus, she found him impossibly in an instant[/SPOILER]. In the book, Aslan is suppose to have a frightful appearance and the children are kind of frigtened of him when they first meet however they seemed to warm up too him awful fast. I read somewhere that Aslan was made less-scary because they were scared children would be scared by him and decreased the original size. Personally, Narnia is a children's book, but that doesn't mean there wasn't violence in it. Edmund wasn't as snasty as he is in the book.

I think the fact that it was a mini-lotr feel (especially with the battle, which kind of sucked really with poor acting might I add) because I heard the lotr director worked on the film if I'm not mistaken. But anyways, I was dissapointed but I'm definately looking forward to if they are going to make one of my favorite books The Horse and His Boy or The Dawn Treader. Until then, I can only hope. (That and Aslan should be bigger)[/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

Nah... Peter Jackson had nothing to do with this movie. He did Lord of the Rings, etc. The guy who did this was previously known for his work on the Shrek films. Andrew Adamson, or something like that. This is his first time working with live action as a director.

As I said before, I had little problem with the pacing. Yeah, it's fast... but I really don't feel like much more would have been gotten out of it if it was 3 hours long. It would be a bunch of largely useless padding. I don't think a lot of it would have benefited from being longer as much as it would have benefited from being approached in a different way... of course, stuff like the Beaver's home scene did seem remarkably short for something so intrinsic to the film. I guess it needs a better balance, really.

[Guest AerialXT]

I am seeing Narnia tomorrow, it sounds good from some of the reviews and comments people have used, seems like justt he genre I am interested in as well. From the previews I have seen it seems to be quite dramatic as well. Hoping its as good as I'm expecting it to be.

[Shinmaru]

I saw Narnia this afternoon and I liked it. I can't say that I had [i]that[/i] much of a problem with the pacing... obviously some parts felt a bit squeezed, but I think that it worked well overall. And I have to agree that the complaints about the Christian overtones are very overblown (not here but elsewhere). From what I've heard the themes of Christianity are much stronger in the Narnia books than they were in the movie - they were still present in the film, of course (Daughter of Eve, Son of Adam, [spoiler]Aslan's resurrection[/spoiler], etc.), but it never felt to me as if the film was laying it on thick lol.

I liked the kids well enough (Lucy was particularly good as other people have pointed out), and the battle scenes were great. The White Witch was also pretty cool. What an evil, evil lady. :p

[RedSkyCoffee]

[size=1] I saw it a couple weeks ago and I real didn't like it all that much. You could tell when they were faking the parts, and it seemed more of a little kid movie to me. The funny thing is that they were making such a big fuss over Narnia and saying how it good it was, yeah right ... [/size]

[Riku]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=1][COLOR=RoyalBlue]I saw Narnia just a couple of days ago and I really liked it. It actually made me cry.... T T

It's actually a good movie if you like all that fantasy and adventure crap, which is why I actually liked that movie. XD

I totally loved Aslym (I think...>.<;;) the Lion and I definitely love Mr. Thomas!!

You go get 'em, Mr. Thomas!!! XDXD[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Guest +Priss+]

Saw it two days ago...
And well It wasn't bad... =)
I think it was pretty good... =)
There's been used a lot of fantasy and that's what I like...
Btw.. The faun rules!! :cool:

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I read the book so long ago that I barely remember it, which in a way is probably a bad thing...it was tougher to appreciate the movie in terms of how it drew on the book.

But in another way, seeing the movie in its own right may have been a good thing. That way I can just enjoy it and I'm not constantly comparing it.

Basically I thought it was pretty standard fare, save for a few little flourishes that I really enjoyed. The actual story was reasonably well handled - probably as well as it could have been. The story itself had some aspects that I really enjoyed, particularly the end sequence (about how you can only enter Narnia when you are not looking for it and how the children had lived entire lives in mere seconds). I feel that these smaller aspects were handled with great care, which was very pleasing.

In terms of acting and stuff, I have no real complaints. Most of the acting was decent enough - child actors are notoriously bad at times, but the ones in Narnia were mostly just fine. So I have no issues there. And the adult characters were fine as well.

As for effects, again, I have no real complaints. I agree about the planes at the start, but everything else was reasonable. Aslan was done well and other aspects were done quite well too - basically, yes, you can often tell that CGI is used...but I don't think it detracts. It was mostly incredibly seamless in Narnia, which I appreciate.

So although the film didn't blow me away or anything, I did find it enjoyable. I actually liked it more than Lord of the Rings in some respects - perhaps because the pacing was a little better and because it wasn't quite so dry.[/font]

[Guest Hyde]

THe movie was awsome...yea...i like the wolves and ...*thinks* :catgirl:

[Chikara Kokoro]

I saw Narnia today, and I found it to be a decent movie. Nothing too special, but it does have something that keeps it just barely above average movies. The DVD might be something to look at just in order to see deleted scenes. The flow of the movie gave me the feeling that I was missing something, though I couldn't put my finger on what.
Based on the clip in the middle of the credits and the fact that this is a Disney movie, it's fairly certain that Prince Caspian is coming very soon, I think.
One thing that was brought to my attention after seeing the movie, though I hadn't noticed it at all, was that towards the end of the movie, there was a wookie. I didn't belive them at first, but after googleing "narnia wookie" I got a surprising number of websites. There is a picture on the web (although I wonder how it the person got it) [URL=http://n1ck.com/WOOKIE.PNG](here)[/URL] that kind of makes you wonder, no?
It looks an awful lot like a wookie, but most likely the people who were making costumes became lazy and decided to stick faun ears on a Chewbacca wanna-be. Another thing to note is that the effects studio for Narnia (ILM) also did the effects for Star Wars.

[Ozymandius Jones]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOrange][QUOTE=Chikara Kokoro]
[URL=http://n1ck.com/WOOKIE.PNG](here)[/URL] that kind of makes you wonder, no?
It looks an awful lot like a wookie, but most likely the people who were making costumes became lazy and decided to stick faun ears on a Chewbacca wanna-be. Another thing to note is that the effects studio for Narnia (ILM) also did the effects for Star Wars.[/QUOTE]

Effects, yes, creatures, no. WETA (responsible for Gollum and the Orcs of LOTR) did the creatures for Narnia. That, my friend, is a Satyr, a greek creature that is a mixture of goat and man, much like a faun, only with more animalistic features.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Panache]

There was a wookie but since the people from star wars helped make it they probably did just use the wookie suit with fawn ears(lazy bastards).

[Chikara Kokoro]

[QUOTE=Ozymandius Jones][SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkOrange]

Effects, yes, creatures, no. WETA (responsible for Gollum and the Orcs of LOTR) did the creatures for Narnia. That, my friend, is a Satyr, a greek creature that is a mixture of goat and man, much like a faun, only with more animalistic features.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

After reviewing the credits, I can see that you're correct about it being called a satyr and that ILM did not create the Narnia creatures. However, I still find the similarity humorous, whether or not it was intentional.

[celestialcharm]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]I finally saw the movie yesterday! I read the books, when I was in grade two, and read them again over the years. I really liked the movie! But, the whole red and gold reminded me of Harry Potter... But, then again it, Narnia came first.

I really felt like I could relate to the characters. I come from a family of four, and I guess each of the characters had a bit of us in them. My sister said I was most like Lucy, and it's true! No one would have believed me too.

But, even if, as some of you are saying, the costumes look like wookies, it is recycling, reducing and reusing, right? :p

But anyhoo, Peter looked hot. I thought Mr and Mrs Beaver were going to be bigger. [/COLOR]

[childofthemorgu]

It is funny how people compare it to The Lord of the Rings because JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis were best friends. I always enjoyed the books and have a lot of information and other types of books talking about CS Lewis and his work. As for the movie I did enjoy it and felt it captured the book well. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is not my favorite but still was a good book and the movie was something I enjoyed. The only thing that bugs me is the music on the soundtrack. I like the instrumental stuff but it is the songs that bother me. They seem they lack the fantasy element that I always enjoyed with films like Labyrinth, Legend, The Lord of the Rings etc.... I guess it is a diffrent type of fantasy after all.

The effects have holes but normally that is do to looking at the same scene over again in the editing and finishing touches. Trust me trying to find errors in CGI effects can be hell. Anyway I liked the CGI expecially with Aslan (being one of my favorite characters).

[Renate]

I'm currently reading the first book now after seeing the movie, and at the moment I still find the movie better (perhaps this is because I'm not very far into the book yet). It's very likely because it's a children's book I find the movie better? I don't know, the story was one of the reasons why I liked the film so much in the first place, but the writing style is slightly disappointing in the book...

I really loved the film, and it's my favourite of 2005 (My favourite does change with my mood though XD). I really loved the storyline of course, it's a real story for me. It has so magic in it, and I don't mean the inside the story. I mean the story has this aura of magic about it... If that makes sense.

The music is simply wonderful and the soundtrack immediately became one of my favourites! I especially liked the musical pieces named 'Evacuating London' and 'The Battle'. The songs were nice too, especially Wunderkind.

The scenery and clothes and weaponary was very well done as well, but this was to be expected. It was done by Weta Workshop who did these things for the LOTR movies as well.

[Guest madz2323]

Ive seen this movie twice, i loved it, i thought the acting was great, and the CG's were awesome, Aslan was pretty awesome, i also thought it was emotional, as well, i'd give it 10/10, easily one of the best movies out.

[Disenchanted]

The CG aslin looked so much better than the puppet in the original. Yes ive seen the original ! ive also seen the movie twice i loved it. The CG really makes the characters come alive and i wish that, that fauns flute thing was real. i couldnt speel his name if my life depended on it. 10/10

I want a pack of police wolves !