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Return to Narnia
Prince Caspian opens in theaters tomorrow, and WORLD has excellent and extensive coverage of the second movie installment of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia in this week’s issue, which is available online:
Cover Story: “Return of the Lion” by Megan Basham. With Prince Caspian, Chronicles of Narnia film creators make bold departures from a beloved story: “This one is about losing faith and regaining it.”
Related: “To Narnia and the North!” by Melanie M. Jeschke. Remembering the haunts that haunt C.S. Lewis’ books.
Review (available for the first time online today): “The Dark Side of Narnia” by Megan Basham. Adamson’s latest chronicle captures the high-stakes battle for Aslan’s kingdom.
In her review, Megan writes:
With his second foray into Lewis’ magical world, director Andrew Adamson took a different tack. Feeling less shackled by audience expectation to see the events of Prince Caspian, a less popular book than the first in the series, play out exactly as they remembered them, he made several bold and many subtle changes.
back to top29 Comments to “Return to Narnia”
I’m seeing it tonight–my first-ever midnight movie. I’ll admit I was amazed by the WORLD reviews, particularly quoting the directors as saying they stuck so very closely to the book for the first one that they can depart a little on this one–I didn’t think the first one was all that close! Dialogue was all completely new, and the Pevensies were whiny brats.
Prince Caspian is probably my least favorite of the books, so they may well have improved it by changing it–I’ll wait and see. But I didn’t buy the first movie because it didn’t rise anywhere close to the level of the book, and I doubt I’ll be buying this one either!
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I was quite disappointed with the first movie. There was too much left unsaid which would have explained much of what was going on. You had to infer and conclude and make too many connections to actually follow – and I’ve even read the book several times.
I also didn’t like that totally made up scene with the witch at the frozen waterfall/dam.
And about the hundredth time we got a panned view of Lucy’s beatific smile, I thought I was going to die of boredom…
Can the second one get worse? I hope not…
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I refuse to see it, but I am inspired to re-read the book.
The first movie did not seem to capture the “feel” of Narnia the way I wished it would, especially in demoting Aslan to a cool talking lion who advised the children to follow the will of destiny. (And the charge scene was so poorly done that I had to go back and watch the charge of Rohan in Return of the King).
LONG LIVE THE BOOKS!
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The first one was mediocre. What I wish screenwriters would understand is that there is more to a children’s book than just the episodes that are narrated. C. S. Lewis crafted the Narnia books so efficiently that rewriting anything means that people miss the entire point.
It’s not just about capturing a flavor or about putting most of scenes from the book into the movie. It’s about conveying the same message–that is, telling the same story.
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It’s unlikely any but the most dedicated Lewis purists will be disappointed with where Adamson is taking the franchise.
That would be me. .
I know I’ve already posted, but I read Megan’s review and couldn’t resist taking a shot at it:
* Megan claimed that usually movie directors have to mix things up to make a good book into a good move. Usually, it’s really the other way around: Lord of the Rings stayed (relatively) close to the books (at least closer than Narnia) and those movies were fantastic. C.S. Lewis complains about the earthquake/flooding in King Solomon’s Mines that destroyed the tense waiting mood in the books. So … Narnia would likely be better movies if they stayed closer to the books.
* “Changing” a book also usually doesn’t mean making it closer to reality (as if we wanted that anyway … all we want is a good story) or making it more appealing to the audience. What moviemakers really mean is making something that looks good visually. Hence we have a very visually-driven culture that has trouble even reading books today, because they’re not visual.
For me, I like my imagination and those beautiful little sketches in the sidebars. (Are they Lewis’s, by the way?)
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People who love a certain book are generally not going to be satisfied with the movie. That’s just how it works. Books are written to please readers. Movies are produced to please the viewing audience.
I’m sure that some people’s first encounter with Narnia was the first movie. And probably some of those who in turn read the book did not like it as much as the movie. And that’s OK to think that.
I’m not much of a reader of fiction, but I have read Narnia and LOTR. I like those books. I also like the movies, though they are different. I would not have wanted to see a LOTR movie that followed the book precisely.
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“I would not have wanted to see a LOTR movie that followed the book precisely.”
Hmph! What Jackson did to Faramir and Boromir was unforgivable. Not to mention the fact the Jackons just didn’t “get it”. Yeah he stayed true to the storyline in a lot of ways, but you could tell that he didn’t really understand some of the premises.
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Kimberly- The sketches in the books are by Pauline Baynes.
I am trying to decide if am up for going at midnight, and if I will be the wise mom and leave the kids asleep in bed (with DH at home), or the fun mom and take them along!
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I read in a trade paper recently that Stephen Knight is at work on the Dawn Treader screenplay. He also wrote Amazing Grace (as well as Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises). I’m hoping the screenwriting improves there.
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What Jackson did to Faramir and Boromir was unforgivable. .
And Two Towers was the worst of all three movies ….
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MIM,
I didn’t mind the way Boromir was done on screen. I thought his character added to the movie’s suspense while not removing him too far from the book.
Faramir did bother me in the movie–he was too girly (hope I’m not offending any girls) and truly was not anything like what I expected him to be like on screen.
But with that aside, I still thought the movies were excellent.
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I don’t get Kimberly’s comment in #5 about LOTR movies staying closer to the books than Narnia did.
Other than understandably having to compress the story, FOTR stayed pretty close, though I thought they made Pippin and Merry unnecessarily goofy and I missed Glorfindel.
Two Towers deviated from the book in many ways for no good reason I could figure out. Why put Haldir and the elves at Helm’s Deep? Why send Aragorn over the cliff? Why have Faramir take Sam and Frodo to Osgiliath? (Faramir was my favorite new character in the book and they ruined him in the movie.) Why have the ents originally vote against getting involved in the war? (Actually I think I know why they did that, but still didn’t like it.)
We’ll see ROTK after we finish reading the book. I’m hopeful the movie will be decent since Kimberly said TT was the worst.
Anyway, I mostly like the LWW movie, maybe in part because I didn’t have high expectations of it. The reasons they gave for some of the deviations in “Prince Caspian” make sense to me. Sometimes a good book just doesn’t make a good movie. It will be a different story, but may still be a good one. We’ll see it tomorrow afternoon.
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Aragorn over the cliff probably scores as the biggest deviation (besides Faramir of course).
What I really liked about the movies was the sweeping epic feel that helped catch the feel of the books …. and I don’t think the Narnia movies managed to catch the feel of Lewis’s whimsical books.
But I’m re-reading the LOTR books right now and reminding myself why the books are better.
We’ll look forward to your ROTF movie review (maybe on WV).
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Don’t get me wrong, I thought the LOTR movies were well done, and I even enjoyed them. It’s just that Jackson didn’t have the vision to not mess with the story, and I don’t think he understood what he did to it.
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And if he did, he should be taken out and whipped behind the barn…
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he stayed true to the storyline in a lot of ways, but you could tell that he didn’t really understand some of the premises.
I think the Narnia producers understand even less ….
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I can see we have strayed off of Narnia and are now discussing The Lord of the Rings, just the same I will return to topic.
I am very eager to see Prince Caspian and I frankly enjoyed the first movie very much. No one says that a movie has to be exactly like the book, and I don’t feel as though purists or even fans should anywhere near expect it. I am glad to see movies like these out where people, who would never touch the books, will see them. I try to enjoy movies on their own merit and refuse to draw constant and needless compairisons.
If you cannot enjoy a movie for what it is and forgive it what it was never supposed to be, then by all means reread the books instead. But don’t mock those who gain enjoyment and inspiration where you could not. The battle between book-purists and film-fans is probably never going to end, but ultimately I would say there are far more important things to be emphatic about than entertainment.
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I was very disappointed in reading World’s review of the movie. I took it to mean that the directors took license with the script because they followed the book so closely in the first movie. They also added in some radical feminism, pandering to the feminazis by having a female character do much more than Lewis every wrote. Their justification? They “thought” that Lewis “grew” in his feminization later in life.
Sickening.
I won’t be seeing the movie, and I urger others not to either.
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Yeah, what Siri said.
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“No one says that a movie has to be exactly like the book, and I don’t feel as though purists or even fans should anywhere near expect it.”
Obviously I disagree. One should at least adhere to the general ideas and not change the world view of the original author. And if it’s not recognizable to the book fan, then why pretend to follow the book by naming it after the book? Just rename it and write your own dang movie.
I should be able to expect it to be at least close to the book.
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I believe my wording indicates that no one should anywhere near expect exactness. But interpret my words as you like. That aside I don’t see a lot of arguing here on “the spirit of the book” or “world view of the author” not being adhered to, rather complaints that things have been changed that contradict the purist’s or fan’s exact specifications. In your very own comments your complaints were directed at things you would have changed or added — that is hardly the same as ignoring the entire spirit of the book.
Kara, thank you.
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Our two twelve year olds have a fencing competition tomorrow, so won’t get to the matinee their sister is going to. However, I informed them that they would first have to read the book before they would be allowed to see the movie anyway.
She started with the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe yesterday and as of right now has just a few chapters left of Prince Caspian. She started reading Prince to me in the car on the way home from piano lessons. He was hooked. After dropping them off at home, I left right away to retrieve eldest from Lit. Club. When I got home an hour and a half later, the two were still at it – taking turns reading aloud to each other sprawled across her bed. They may be disappointed in the movie, but the book will be a sweet memory.
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Siri,
Just for the record (again) I did enjoy the LOTR movies. That does not mean that I don’t have a bone to pick with Jackson. He did more than just “contradict the purist’s or fan’s exact specifications”.
I would like to refer you to a better critique of the LOTR movies than I am able to give, here:
You’re Not Telling It Right! “Peter Jackson’s Betrayal of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Vision in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.”
Not only that, I take issue with your viewpoint that these are things we should not care about. You said this: “…but ultimately I would say there are far more important things to be emphatic about than entertainment.”
I think this is about more than entertainment. Culture at large is influenced a great deal by movies, books, and other media. We cannot ignore the importance that these things play. And if a director takes liberties with the story that are at odds with the original author’s intent, then fans are right to take the director to task.
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Oh… and I apologize for twisting your words. I realize that I twisted them to mean something you didn’t say. I’m not out for perfect exactness, and if I was, I’d have complained that Tom Bombadill didn’t make an appearance. What I’m after is a better representation of the Author’s original vision.
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MIM–
Thanks for the link … I always find it interesting to read other LOTR-lovers (not fan, as that seems to indicate the same sort of mindless fanatacism typical of pop culture) opinions and it gives me an idea where you are coming from.
It would be interesting to list how Walden Media destroyed Narnia’s vision in the same way.
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I went to the midnight showing. Anybody else?
Fairly early on in the movie I realized I would have to let go of my knowledge of the book in order to enjoy the film. It would have been more accurate to say the screenplay was inspired by the book, rather than adapted from it. Peter’s storyline is overwhelming. There is conflict between Peter and Caspian. There is a love interest. It is a different story. There are logical problems with the sequence of events and the blowing of the horn in the screenplay. My biggest disappointment is that it did not make me long to be in Narnia as the first film did, and as the books most certainly did.
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Thanks for the early review, Paula.
I apologize for drawing us further off track down the LOTR line. I didn’t mean so much to critique the LOTR movies as to suggest that the LWW movie was the one more faithful to the book.
Having been so well-prepped by the World articles, I’m going in not expecting the Prince Caspian story I’ve loved, but hoping for a good story nonetheless. T minus 3 hours.
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I went to the midnight showing too. Paula pretty much says my thoughts. At the end, the daughter of the friend I went with said it was probably a better movie than LWW, and I think I agree–but it wasn’t the book at all. Same characters, but that was pretty much it. If you just accepted that and enjoyed the movie, it was good–but too intense for it to ever be a favorite for me. (None of the battle scenes were gory, but there were simply too many of them.) I’m glad I saw it, won’t buy it.
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C.S. Lewis is revered as a genuis of sorts for his ability to write with such a vivid imagination, then using those imaginations to draw people closer to the story of the real Lion – not Aslan, but Jesus. (The Lion of the tribe of Judah) I understand why people would be let down a bit when seeing the movie after having read the books (LW&W and Prince Caspian). However, if you just take the movie for what it is and appreciate the screenplay and all of the details that have gone into making the film for THIS GENERATION to enjoy, you will find a very likable story that children and adults can both be entertained by. I was able to discuss this movie (after having seen it last night) with my 16 year old, my 42 year old husband, my 9 year old, and on Sunday I plan to share it with some 50+ kids! (Side note: what great family discussions we had about the parallels of the characters in the movie with those in real life.) We are coming back as a church group to view it tomorrow and then we will have a special event called “Narnia NIght” the following Wednesday where we will expect 75-100 5th & 6th graders to come and find out “what’s really behind the wardrobe.” This movie is being used all over the country to bring kids to Christ and I think that is an awesome tool, don’t you??? Thank God for Walden Media and Disney right now.
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