Who saw "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?"

Puddle Jumper · Dec 13, 2005

How did you feel it kept up with the book? How did you feel about the Christian aspect to it? Anything else?

I liked the movie. Special effects have come a long way since the BBC version. The scenes were well done and it was nice to see Cair Paravel look like a castle should in that kingdom. The characters felt a bit stiff towards the beginning but I felt they got better by the end.

I love the character of Edmund. I love seeing the transformation of him changing from this mean, nasty little boy you'd like to lock in a closet to this sweet boy who picked his sister up in a hug and bravely fought in battle. I think I like his character the best.

My-Immortal · Dec 13, 2005

I've read that the director filmed the scenes in order so perhaps that is why they seemed more stiff to you at the beginning (but I thought that worked to their favor - at first they seemed a bit more distant but near the end it really felt like they had grown together as a family).

I thought the film overall was done extremely well. It told the story well - keeping values in without beating anyone over the head with it. I enjoyed watching it and hope to watch it again sometime soon.

Take care all -

Inspired · Dec 14, 2005

I agree. I loved it. The minor changes did not change the overall story or allegory.

DrCaelinPaul · Dec 14, 2005

Thought it was brilliant

Have been reading the story to my 4-year old who has bugged me to go see it. Some of the battle scenes were a little scary for her but she was enraptured from start to finish and to be honest so was I. I thought the movie stayed right on top of the book which makes a refreshing change to most Hollywood movies that end up decimating the author's original work.

Puddle Jumper · Dec 14, 2005

Towards the beginning when Tumnus asked Lucy if she was a daughter of Eve and she didn't understand and then he asked her if she was human, I thought they would spend the rest of the film saying "human" instead of "sons of Adam and daughters of Eve." So I was pleasantly surprised when they went back to the sons and daughters thing.

I'm glad they didn't show Aslan flying with the girls on his back. It looked bad enough in the BBC version. A flying lion might only look believable if he had wings and that might look funny.

I didn't see how the enemy's army was bigger than Peter's army. They looked the same to me.

I liked the the White Witch was a blond because it made more sense than for her to have dark hair, but her hair and clothes looked terrible imo. I also found it interesting that Peter rode a unicorn. Was that in the book? I don't remember.

Pat~ · Dec 14, 2005

I saw it and thoroughly enjoyed it even though no movie will ever compare to what you see in your mind's eye when you read the book...

I, too, thought the White Witch's clothing was a bit odd--though I thought the character was played very well. It was interesting to me that the 2 'brothers' apparently have no movie credits prior to this one. (The girls did have prior credits.) I thought they did a good job.

Betty W01 · Dec 15, 2005

I loved it and thought it kept to the book pretty well, with all edits and additions fitting in nicely. I liked the casting, the CGI animals were amazing, especially Aslan, and the witch was well-done. DS#2, who wants to go into CGI work, thought the CGI stuff was great, but the movie itself was a little thin. Of course, he's 21 and was hoping for something more like LOTR. DD#2 liked it, but thought the BBC version was better. There's no accounting for tastes...

I read a local reviewer who said that the only people who would see Christian themes in it were those who were reading them into it themselves. ???? Wonder what movie he saw?

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Puddle Jumper · Dec 15, 2005

Betty W01 said:
I read a local reviewer who said that the only people who would see Christian themes in it were those who were reading them into it themselves.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Huh?

What is DS#2?

Parts of it felt like Lord of the Rings, but you can't get that kind of epic quality in a children's movie I think. Seeing Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in real battle looks more believable than four children.

The only thing I didn't like about the original BBC was the cartoon animals. That was the only intolerable thing for me. I really liked the kids in that one, especially Peter and Susan.

I've already seen on the Narnia web site that the next film "Prince Caspian" is being planned for a December 2007 release.

So what does everyone think about this?

I kind of have mixed feelings because I loved the little boy who played Caspian in the BBC series so much that I really don't want to see anyone else play that role. Actually, I sincerely hope they can get that boy to play the adult Caspian in "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." That would be awesome!

MadScientistMatt · Dec 19, 2005

Just saw it this weekend and was quite impressed. I'm glad to see that Hollywood has been getting better at curbing their impulse to "improve" a book. It was a little surprising to see the opening where they'd made several scenes out of one or two sentances, but other than that, it followed things very closely. I was particularly impressed with how British the film felt overall.

One critic made a remark about the White Witch looking "vaguely Aryan" and probably influenced by World War II. I didn't see very much of that other than a few hints - wolves, secret police, and of course that she was played by a blond woman. Still, I have to wonder if one or two of these elements did get in there. Lewis patterned Hell after Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia in The Screwtape Letters, so it's possible he may have let some of those ideas also show up with Jadis.

Who saw "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?"

Puddle Jumper

My-Immortal

Mr. Invisible

Inspired

DrCaelinPaul

Puddle Jumper

Pat~

Luftmensch Emeritus, A.D.D.

Betty W01

Empress of Cyberworld

Puddle Jumper

MadScientistMatt

Empirical Storm Trooper