The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe - the movie

[kindagay]

Okay, I feel like a complete geek posting this now, considering the movie's not out for another 7 months, but, I have been waiting for this for, as long as I can remember & I'm very excited

Yes kittens, thanks to Walt Disney Pictures (:bow to the wonderful Disney for making the movie) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be appearing in a theatre near you this December.

With C.S. Lewis's step-son as co-producer, I expect they won't deviate too much from the books.

The official website is http://www.narnia.com
An exclusive teaser trailer can be found here http://movies.channel.aol.com/franchise/exclusives/chronicles_of_narnia_movie
&, http://www.narniaweb.com is a very detailed & accurate fansite that I highly reccommend (it's a lot better than the official Disney site)

They're making all 7 of the Chronicles into movies... geeks like me wonder how they're gonna fit 'The Magicians Nephew' & 'The Horse & his Boy' in. I assume they'll be made last, after the 5 more popular books, although, that seems kinda strange to me, but, well, as I said I'm a Narnia geek.

Someone should really shut me up, 'cos I could & probably would babble on about this for hours on end.

Is there anyone else out there who's as excited as me? Or should I go live in isolation for the next 7 months so that I don't annoy the hell out of everyone?

Hugs
Jeanne

[Hemiola]

Well, I can't really say that I'm excited--interested would be more correct. I rather enjoyed the old BBC TV adaptations (which were shown here on PBS), and I even liked the old animated version of "LWW".

I have seen the trailer that was shown recently, and it certainly looks like they (i.e. Disney) are going to give it the "full" treatment, very much in the manner of Peter Jackson's LOTR adaptations. I can't really say whether or not this will be a good or a bad thing (although it's interesting to note that Cate Blanchett, the magnificent Galadriel of LOTR, will be the witch;) ), but it's bound to be worth watching.

I'm not a big CSL fan, but I wonder if anyone will ever take a stab at adapting his "sci-fi" trilogy ("Out of the Silent Planet"/"Perelandra"/"That Hideous Strength") or "The Screwtape Letters"??

[urnofosiris]

Given the origin of this board´s name, this movie can definitely get a thread that much in advance. I must admit to never having read the book and knowing very little about it. I planned on reading it, but I think I will go see the movie first. They showed the trailer on Dutch TV last week and it was stuffed with special effects. The LotR look is no coincidence given that they are using WETA workshop and other special effects folks who worked on LotR as well. Cate Blanchett is not in it though. :( Probably a look a like, bummer. Dawn French is in there though, but only her voice, but that´s good enough for me.

[Gatito Grande]

Not Cate, but the faboo Tilda Swinton is playing the White Witch.

GG The best thing about seeing Star Wars (Sith) twice, was another chance to see the awesome Narnia trailer!!! Out

They're making all 7 of the Chronicles into movies... geeks like me wonder how they're gonna fit 'The Magicians Nephew' & 'The Horse & his Boy' in. I assume they'll be made last, after the 5 more popular books, although, that seems kinda strange to me, but, well, as I said I'm a Narnia geek.

Because they're making the movies in order? (i.e. the original order: not that revisionist whack way, w/ Magician's Nephew first. Maybe we have this Lewis relative to thank for the return-to-basics?)

[kindagay]

GG, I understand that the movies will be made in the same order that the books were written & published, but that order is not the correct order.
'The Magicians Nephew' tells the story of how Narnia was created & 'The Horse & His Boy' occurrs during 'LW&W'.

Even Lewis himself, when asked by one of his readers which order the books should be read, said that the correct order is:

Megicians Nephew
LW&W
Horse & his Boy
Prince Caspian
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Silver Chair
Last Battle

The order that the movies are being released will see the five 'main' stories, followed by a randon flashback to a story that happened at the same time that the events of LW&W were happening & then finishing off with the first ever Narnia story that explains where Narnia came from.

I understand that LW&W is the most popular & well known of the Chronicles, and that in order to generate interest that has to be the first movie released, but, it bugs me that 'Magicians Nephew' & 'Horse & his Boy' are just going to be stuck in at the end.

However, as I said I'm a big geek , so, I guess stuff like that would bug me.
Once they're all released on DVD I shall watch them in the correct order, & until then, I just have to deal with it.

Uhm, sorry for the rant, I guess I needed to get that off my chest.

Hugs
Jeanne

[Gatito Grande]

Hmm: well, I'd have to see that Lewis quote.

That said, authors don't always know best. *

The order that the books were published (1. LWW, 2.PC, 3.VDT, 4.SC, 5.HHB, 6.TMN, 7.LB) is, in some sense, Lewis' correct order (that's the way they came to him in his imagination . . . at least to the extent of completing/publishing them).

My take on the revised order (whether from Lewis or his later publishers), was that of someone thinking "chronology trumps all else" (the chronology within the Narnia universe) . . . which I just believe (in this case) is unwise: not true to the spirit of the larger narrative (i.e. TMN and HHB are supposed to be flashbacks).

JMO.

GG YMMV! Out

At any rate, "Lion" looks great (well, I'm not entirely sure about the CGI Aslan Himself, but we'll see) . . . can't wait!

*Like the "author" of and , capice? (Need I say more?)

[eirnlove]

I saw this big cardboard advertisement of the movie, kinda 3d image of the "wardrobe" when I went to the Star Wars Revenge of The Sith for the first time.

I've read the books, and knew there were the animation series, the cardboard did look rather like an animation, so I thought the animations were going to be remade or put in cinemas once more..

so the movies are coming

did you know Aslan means "Lion" in Turkish?

I never really figured out why Lewis used Turkish Delight and Aslan for the Lion's name..

[Hemiola]

I have a possible answer for this. CS Lewis and Tolkien were close frineds, and both of them (especially Tolkien) would sneak real words and real place names from foreign languages into their works.

Example: in some old atlases, the name of the Ethiopian province of Gundar is often spelled "Gondor"?;)

[Sheridan]

You know when I first read the title of this thread I completely misread it and thought, 'their making the board into a movie?' Ah well the LWWB should be a good movie anyway...

[s82 v]

I am so excited for this! I know I sound like a total dork, but I was just in the play version, and once I saw the trailer for this movie, I got incredibly excited for December. haha. : )

ps. I for one, did not know that Aslan meant lion in Turkish, but I'll be sure to pass that message on to our Aslan.

[Tangetman]

I remember watching the animated move when I was a kid and that prompted me to read the series. (And reread it, and keep rereading it...) I watched the BBC live productions with smiles (Thank you wonderworks). They did a really nice job considering the constraits they have to work with.

Now that Disney is working on the whole series, I can't wait to see what they will come up with ... thinking that they will though a full buget and special effects into the project. I just hope they stay with the storyline as much as possible.... It should be a fun December.

Thanks

[Incarnadine]

Thr trailer is great, saw it before War of the Worlds and the poster is pretty sweet too:

[idontlikejam]

wow, i couldnt remember if this was real or a dream till i read this but im dying to see the film, i used to watch the bbc version of LTWATW over and over and always hated lucy so hopefully she'll be less annoying. the magicians nephew is the best in my humble opinion, probably cus ive read it more than any other. apparently mum read them all to me when i was younger except one that went on about dirty arabs that she thought was rascist (fuck i dont even know how to spell that).

anyway, fingers crossed it will be better than the bbc version which was a bit dodgy to be honest

[xita]

Ok the trailer for this kicked some serious ass. It really makes you want to see it. It's the best sort of fantastical looking movie. I am not sure we've had one like this in a long time.

[Gatito Grande]

Ditto, xita.

In reference to idontlikejam: I bet those thinly-veiled anti-arab elements (the "Calormen", IIRC?) will be toned down for the film(s), in the future.

What I wonder: will C.S. Lewis' all-too-apparent sexism still be intact, or will it, too, be revised?

Every female authority-figure is viewed negatively by Lewis.* In fact, for a female to grow up---witness the eldest Pevensie girl---is to become either a flighty and/or castrating-female. It's all quite revealing of the misogynist headcase Lewis was, at the time he wrote the Narnia books (though his relationship w/ Joy Davidman---as depicted, somewhat fictionalized, in Shadowlands---supposedly removed whatever was stuck up Lewis' wazoo in this regard! )

GG I don't mind being "not true to the book", when a book has such obvious deficiencies! Out

*Right down to the stereotypical "evil embodied as female," in terms of the books' witches: not a Willow&Tara-type portrayal!

[sabriel]

Hemiola

It's a long time since I saw CS Lewis' second sci fi book actually named properly as Perelandra

It's usually given the title "Voyage To Venus"


I'm not sure how I feel about the Naria books being made into a film as I have quite a problem with CS's attitude towards women. I never could quite deal with his belief that wearing lipstick and stockings would send me to hell

[eirnlove]

i've seen the trailers now.. it's gonna be a kinda movie. great action scenes, Aslan with all his might, and kids as i remember them from the books.

yay!

[Warduke]

New trailer

Freaking awesome!

[Twisted Minstrel]

I just stumbled on this - and just an FYI: the ice queen in the film is being played by the amazing Tilda Swinton who some of you might know from the film adaptation of Viirginia Woolf's Orlando.

[Jennpurr]

I can't wait to see Aslan.

Liam Neeson is the perfect voice for him. Pretty kitty.


Jen

[tarebear]

can't wait for the movie to hit our local screens as well... i'm brushing up on my narnia, reading the books again when i have time to...

[Shinnen]

I'll be at the test screenng of the movie on 7 Dec. I've seen the trailer and it seems like LOTR but geared towards younger audience. Hope the movie is good with the talking lion

[umgaynow]

I cannot wait to see this movie...the trailer looks great...I have seen the BBC versions of the trilogy but never read the books...my interest is Tilda Swinton, whose work I have actively been seeking out since Orlando...she is such an amazing actress and definitely has the otherwordly quality to play a magical character...frankly, I'm surprised she's never been recruited by the Harry Potter crew...still I suppose she would be better at something spooky...anyway, if you really want to see some great work by her (including some juicy lesbian bits...OK not that juicy...but our girl Tilda knows her way around a nipple) look for a little indie film called Female Perversions incredible perfprmance by her as well as Amy Madigan...a very talented actress who doesn't get much film work these days cuz she's not "pretty"...just make sure you look away when she's in the bathroom and picks up the razor blade...trust me!

PS - Tilda Swinton has to be the most caucasian woman on earth...look at her nekkid on those sheets in Orlando...they are almost the same color as her flesh (although I suppose Madelyn Stowe should win the whitest woman in the world contest for being that pale without the virtue of being a redhead)

umgaynow/Sandi

[dark_chylde]

Just returned fromt he cinema watching what we've all been waiting for....
my comment to The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe : Oh - My - God.

It's just perfect, better than I've ever dared to hope. I'm usually dissapointed in every movie I see where I read the book first, but this time... I have no words to describe it, I'm totally overwhelmed. Just go and see it for yourselves, I promise you're gonna love it !

I could go right back and watch it again, but unfortunately, I gotta work tomorrow - which means the night is over in 5 hours anyway, but I envy everybody who's sitting in the cinema right now, watching this year's greatest movie !

[kindagay]

I've been waiting all day to post in here.

Saw the movie this morning, & it was well worth getting out of bed for (it was even worth waiting since I was like seven for too).
It was magnificant!

The acting, especially from the four children, was brilliant. The special effects were wonderful.
I don't remember the last time I was quite so moved by a movie. When Lucy & Susan were crying over Aslan's body, I was almost in tears too. When Peter shouts his battle cry to lead his army into battle, I was ready to draw a sword and march in to battle - that was such a powerful performance.

Anyway, you can find my full review here. I won't post it here, 'cos a lot of it might be kind of spoiler-y (if it's even possible to 'spoil' a movie that was based on a book? ).

Overall, it was an amazing movie which was almost everything I could have hoped that it would be.
I highly recommend it - go see it, more than once, & buy the DVD when it's released too. No really, it is that good!

Hugs
Jeanne

[Alcy]

Just saw this movie today and I have to give my seal of approval. It was fantastic in staying true to the spirit of the book and really creating the feel of Narnia as I always imagined it to be.
The kids were fantastic, I thought the boy who played Peter did the best job, even if he was a little sissy in some places. However, he did become convincing as he fought the last battle.
The battle scene was awesome, I felt it to be more personal than the ones in LOTR, probably cos it was on a smaller scale. As a side note, that place where the battle was shot is the most awesome place to go rockclimbing, I go there quite often and there's never anyone there...that will probably change now with people coming to have a look at where this movie was filmed.
Hmmm, not too many down points to note...although my partner did say everthing looked too 'spank', too new, like the costumes and everything.
This film, coming so soon after LOTR and right before King Kong makes me extra proud to be a Kiwi. Andrew Adamson proves that Peter Jackson isnt the only Kiwi director hitting the world stage. I think however that too many comparisons with LOTR wont do Narnia justice, it's a completely different journey...and one well worth taking,
Cheers
Alcy

[Incarnadine]

Awesome movie, better than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings in my opinion but my judgement may be bias since I never read any of the HP books and I remember Narnia much clearer than LOTR. Judging by the Friday boxoffice numbers it seems pretty safe to assume sequels will be fast-tracked and if I recall there are 7 Narnia books. Friday boxoffice was $23,900,000 which would roughly come out to a projected weekend opening of $72,000,000.

http://boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?s ... -09&p=.htm

[Sasha]

Just seen it. Here's my 'review', just cos I feel like writing about it. Beware possibly SPOILERS. You have been warned.

Good things:
- Opening scene, at the train station. Made me sniffle, which is saying something cos I hate anything historical, especially WWII sob stories.
- They stuck very closely to the plot of the book, which gets a HUGE thumbs up from me. Admittedly I haven't read the book for ages, so I may have missed a couple of changes, but overall I was very pleased with this, which again is saying something because I am always very suspicious and picky about any movies based on books (don't get me started on Harry Potter!)
- Susan's green dress - very elfish. Like something out of LOTR, very earth-maiden-spirit-goddessey, love it! I NEED that dress!
- The coronation outfits and crowns: just gorgeous! Plus, Susan with a decent hairstyle and wearing that figure-hugging dress = hubba hubba! (and as a teenager myself, I can say such things without being a perv )
- Older Susan and Lucy (at the end) also = hubba hubba!
- Oh and Peter was HOT.
- And now there is oh so much possibility for the ridiculous shipping wars... how about Lucy/Mr Tumnus, Susan/Aslan? Or worse yet, Susan/Peter? *grabs a bag of popcorn and sits back to watch the mayhem*

Bad things:
- Edmund = annoying whiny git. Although the bit at the end when Peter hugs him made me well up, but I'm blaming it on hormones.
- The CGI was pants. Well ok it wasn't bad, but it's nearly 2006 now, not 1999, I expected better. Aslan wasn't consistent - sometimes he was almost a real lion and sometimes they gave him human expressions so he looked cartoonish - and the wolves were terrible, it was way too easy to tell when they were CGI and when they were real. The beavers were a little better but still didn't quite have the realism I expected.
- Some of the other special effects weren't too good either, could definitely tell when they were standing against a screen as opposed to real scenery.
- Lucy looked way too young. Isn't she supposed to be about 8?
- How did Lucy get curly hair at the end? Surely they don't have curling tongs in Narnia?
- Wanted a bit more screentime for the older versions of them... except for older Peter, who looked AWFUL with that beard.
- Mr Tumnus' knees kept changing - sometimes they bent like a goat, sometimes they bent like a human.
- Not a mistake technically, but I always imagined the stone table to be round, so the square one threw me a bit. Shall have to check whether it was specified in the book.

And this could be good or bad, so I'll put it on its own:
The clothes and hairstyles were very old fasioned and realistic, I hate action stories were the heroes always have perfect hair; this was much more believable, but up until the last 15 minutes I was cringing from the sheer awfullness of it all. So that was good for most people, but for people such as myself who have a strange obsession with hair, it made the entire movie almost unwatchable.

[xita]

Knowing that some christian homophobe types helped to fund this movie, I was happy to pay for Harry Potter and snuck in to see Narnia.

It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. The story simple and predictable, the world not really well developed. The cgi was very much shit sometimes.

The best thing about the movie was the white witch! I was cheering she'd kill them all but alas... no but go Tilda, I am glad she's found a movie that has success.

[WebWarlock]

Funny Xita.

I have not seen this movie yet (but I do want to go), but my favorite character in the book was the White Witch!

In an alternate version of the film she won.

And Tilda Swinton is great, loved her since "Female Perversions".

Warlock