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The Chronic(WHAT!)les Of Narnia

By TK | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (20)

Voyage-of-the-Dawn-Treade-006.jpg

You know what sucks? I want so badly to love these movies. And Lord knows I tried. I really tried. I thought that Anna Popplewell was excellent as Susan, and James McAvoy was wonderful as Mr. Tumnus in the first one. Liam Neeson can do Aslan’s voice in his sleep, and not surprisingly, Tilda Swinton killed it as The White Queen.

And yet… I just couldn’t. They had many of the right ingredients, and the effects were solid, I suppose, but the films simply lacked heart. Maybe that’s colored by my childhood fanatical love of the novels. I probably read the entire series 15 times when I was a kid. Maybe it’s unrealistic to hope for it to live up to that expectation. I never noticed or cared about the heavy-handed Christian subtext. It didn’t matter, and it still doesn’t. C.S. Lewis’s tales were simply great storytelling, and I’ve yet to see it well-rendered on the big screen.

Anyway, here’s the trailer for the newest entry, The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader. It looks pretty and exciting and cute and utterly without inspiration. I’m disappointed in advance. Maybe that’ll help me this time. Maybe diminished expectations are the key. Maybe I’ve just had too much whiskey and I’m feeling nostalgic and maudlin. Maybe all of you should just shut your fucking pieholes and watch the trailer.









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Comments

I didn't like either film because they went way over the top on the Aslan is Jesus interpretation. Yes, it's religious allegory. No, you don't need to put a lion on a cross to get that vision across*. It sacrificed the other characters and actual story in films targeted at children. It makes me feel icky. This isn't The Nativity Story, it's a lovely fantasy series that can make nods to Christianity without abandoning plot. I'm sure there were people who went to see the first two who weren't expecting Aslan to rise on the third day and bring salvation.

In conclusion, please find a way to include cut footage of Tilda Swinton in the first film into this one so she can give another interview going "I didn't film anything for that. What are you talking about?" Those awkward moments make me smile.

*Ok, so technically Aslan was crucified in the films, but it's only a slight exaggeration.

Posted by: Robert at August 16, 2010 11:12 AM

"I didn't like either film because they went way over the top on the Aslan is Jesus interpretation."

While I agree that noticeable allegory can be a huge turn-off, I think it's hard to claim that the first film (I haven't seen the second) made the allegory any more noticeable than in the books.

When I re-read a couple of the books later in life, I frequently found myself getting squicked out by the sheer over-the-topness of the allegory. I don't think it's fair to call it an interpretation. As far as the author was concerned, I think it was the point of the whole set of books. Lewis certainly hits the reader over the head with it enough.

Posted by: ZombieScientist at August 16, 2010 11:19 AM

You basically just summed up my exact feelings on these movies. What a waste of a great series.

Posted by: Kristen at August 16, 2010 11:27 AM

I wasn't interested in the first one because it was only in 2D.
It'll be different this time...and indefinably better.


Posted by: Simon at August 16, 2010 11:29 AM

I didn't particularly enjoy the first one because (and I think you're right) it didn't have any of the heart or passion of the books. When Prince Caspian came out I was in no rush to see it but would have rented it eventually. Then we went to Disney world.

Due to a bunch of long line ups the Prince Caspian ride was the only one that was reasonable so we took it in. What we were treated to was a ten minute trailer in a small room with a fucking rock in the middle of it standing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of other sweating pissed-off tourists. It was then that I decided I will never watch a Narnia Film again. Fuck you Disney.

Posted by: admin at August 16, 2010 11:29 AM

Dawn Treader is my favorite of the Narnia books, so I'm going to see this film. I saw the trailer in the theater about a month ago, and didn't see anything off-putting. I don't expect to love it the way I love the books - that's very hard for a film to accomplish.

Posted by: Pat C at August 16, 2010 12:06 PM

I think the beauty of allegory is that if you get it, you get it. If you don't you still have a good story if it's well-written. If you're old enough to get it and it still has to be pointed out to you, then maybe you're a little slow off the mark. Ergo, the problem with the films. When I first read the series I didn't get the Jesus connection. A few years later (I think I was 12), it hit me, and that was fine, I re-read the book with a new perspective. The films just don't let that happen: the "this is an allegory" message is blasted all over the screen. And TK is right. The films don't have any heart. But then I wonder if anyone could ever put the heart into a film adaptation of this for someone who truly loved it as a small child?

Posted by: PaddyDog at August 16, 2010 12:28 PM

Had they cast Sir Didimus as Reepicheep, as the good Lord intended, I might have been interested in seeing this film. Since he looks like a cartoon, I'll likely pass.

Posted by: Beckylooo at August 16, 2010 12:30 PM

Dawn Treader is my favorite of the Narnia books, so I'm going to see this film. I saw the trailer in the theater about a month ago, and didn't see anything off-putting. I don't expect to love it the way I love the books - that's very hard for a film to accomplish.

Dawn Treader is my least favourite of the Narnia books, so there's no way I'm going to see this film. Seriously, nothing happens. They're at school, then magically transported to a ship that sails until it hits the end of the ocean, then they jump off a cliff or something and then they're back at school.

Posted by: Brenton at August 16, 2010 12:35 PM

I thought the first one was actually quite good - the kid playing Edmund completely sold it - but Prince Caspian was a disaster. They added in battles and subplots that completely fucked up the story, they aged Caspian a good decade, and just generally screwed it up. This one at least looks more faithful to the book. Look, I just want monopods, is that so wrong?

Posted by: Edith at August 16, 2010 12:37 PM

Oh, Beckylooo, that is the best idea ever in the history of ideas (and before I start putting all kinds of limitations on that, we'll just have to admit that it might be a slight exaggeration.)

My favorite was the Silver Chair. Dawn Treader was always my least favorite, I think because the picture on the cover of my copy had some unattractive men on it.

Posted by: Phaeolus at August 16, 2010 12:48 PM

I think the beauty of allegory is that if you get it, you get it. If you don't you still have a good story if it's well-written. If you're old enough to get it and it still has to be pointed out to you, then maybe you're a little slow off the mark. Ergo, the problem with the films. When I first read the series I didn't get the Jesus connection. A few years later (I think I was 12), it hit me, and that was fine, I re-read the book with a new perspective. The films just don't let that happen: the "this is an allegory" message is blasted all over the screen. And TK is right. The films don't have any heart. But then I wonder if anyone could ever put the heart into a film adaptation of this for someone who truly loved it as a small child?

Posted by: PaddyDog at August 16, 2010 12:28 PM

Does the 8 year old kid in the movie audience detect the allegory? Probably not. Does the 12 year old? If raised as a semi-serious Christian, I'd bet on it.

When you're reading an allegory, you don't necessarily picture the imagery in a way that draws attention to the parallels unless you're pretty used to the attendant symbols. The books are full of very strong metaphors, but as a reader you have the luxury of imagination tweaking it.

Now some adult has to make a film of it, and the allegory is like a brick to the side of the head, which biases where they go with the visuals in and of itself. They are responsible for channeling some percentage of the author's intent.

Posted by: ZombieScientist at August 16, 2010 12:49 PM

"Seriously, nothing happens. They're at school, then magically transported to a ship that sails until it hits the end of the ocean"
Well, you must have skipped all the islands they stop at, where the most interesting things happen. And the Sea of Dreams (if my memory has the name right), which is like something out of William Hope Hodgson.

Posted by: Pat C at August 16, 2010 1:12 PM

Did anyone here watch the Nova Narnia series? I was in LOVE with those as a kid. The new ones are prettier, and probably have better acting, and certainly better special effects but somehow they lack the charm of the low budget Nova movies. I like watching dwarves and people acting in animal suits. Who doesn't?

As for Caspian, its just not a very good story and there isn't a lot to it. Thats why the movie felt like filler.

Dawn Treader is a much better story what with the island-hopping and the king arthur allusions, its structured move like a video game what with every island being its own world. I really really hope this movie wins people over enough to see development of The Silver Chair. Now that is a good book.

For the record, Horse and His Boy is my favourite, but that will never ever become a movie.


Posted by: ThingOfThings at August 16, 2010 2:28 PM

Yeah, somehow, although I read the whole series through several times, this one and the first one were the only two I ended up owning, so I'm pretty protective of Dawn Treader. Trailer looks promising, and infinitely better than that Caspian mess.

Oh, and I got the allegory from the get-go.

Posted by: J. K. Barlow at August 16, 2010 4:16 PM

Well, you must have skipped all the islands they stop at, where the most interesting things happen.

Such as? I remember it being vaguely Swiftian, but with no relevance. Cute things. Scary things. With no real implications. SPOILER ALERT!!: Then Reepicheep sails to heaven.

Posted by: Brenton at August 16, 2010 5:35 PM

I think the movies should have stopped after the first one. That is all.

Posted by: mslewis at August 16, 2010 5:46 PM

JESUS CHRIST IS A LION! GET IN THE CAR!!

...I'm so sorry, people; I had to. I couldn't help myself.

Posted by: Jerce at August 16, 2010 7:45 PM

Simon: Ahahahaha!!!

ThingOfThings: The Horse and His Boy is my favorite, too. Disney better keep their dirty paws OFF.

And I think TK hit the nail on the head: these films have absolutely no heart. They're just too... commercial. I know they're movies, made for raking in the big bucks, but I can't help but to be bitter that an entire generation of kids might grow up thinking that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was all about action. It's so much more than that.

And Prince Caspian was just awful. Prince Caspian's atrocious accent was tantamount to the awful "ME CHINESE, ME PLAY JOKE" accents in Star Wars: Episode One.

P.S. Me put pee-pee in your Coke.
*snickers uncontrollably*

Posted by: Jelinas at August 17, 2010 1:32 AM

So, I guess Peter and Susan are still in this film? That's a pretty big change, although I guess it might be studio tampering or whatever. Hmm. This was always my favourite so I don't know, I guess I'll see it, but so far pretty underwhelmed.

Posted by: Aston at August 17, 2010 4:22 PM