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There's a wookie in Narnia!

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
There you have it, my submission for the nerdiest thread title ever.

So I scored some free passes to an advance screening of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" and checked it out last night. I thought it was good. After LOTR, I was totally ready for them to butcher the story. But actually, from what I remember (I read the books about 25 years ago) they pretty much stuck right to the book. Some things that stood out for me:

1) The religious symbolism was more than I remembered from the books, although when I read the books I was probably too young to get that stuff.

2) The special effects were done by Lucas's ILM. Lucas is pretty good at CG robots and aliens, but my opinion is that he's not as good at CG mythical creatures. But at least they didn't go totally over the top with the special effects like LOTR and the Star Wars prequels.

3) The chick that played the witch did a great job of balancing evil and hot so you hated her but still secretly wanted to hit it.

4) It basically seems like a movie for 8-14 year old kids, and adults who enjoyed the books when they were kids. I heard some younger (like 4-6 year old) kids crying during some parts. Some high school kids will probably think they are too cool for this movie.

Overall I'd say go check it out. I'm gonna go see it again.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,980
22,020
Sleazattle
Echo said:
1) The religious symbolism was more than I remembered from the books, although when I read the books I was probably too young to get that stuff.
I read an article about corporate America branding things towards Christian markets and they used this movie as an example. I was a little confused because I too did not remember any religious stuff from the book.

I'll probably re-read the books before seeing the movie.
 

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
Westy said:
I was a little confused because I too did not remember any religious stuff from the book.
Probably the most obvious religious stuff has to do with what happens to Aslan, don't wanna put too many spoilers in here though in case someone didn't read the book.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,980
22,020
Sleazattle
Echo said:
Probably the most obvious religious stuff has to do with what happens to Aslan, don't wanna put too many spoilers in here though in case someone didn't read the book.

I remember reading the book and liking it. I honestly remember nothing about it.
 

Echo

crooked smile
Jul 10, 2002
11,819
15
Slacking at work
Westy said:
I remember reading the book and liking it. I honestly remember nothing about it.
That's pretty much where I was going in. It was cool how much stuff came back while I was watching. I suppose that means they did a pretty decent job of translating the ideas to visuals.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
narlus said:
are they gonna do movies for all seven? (which i think is where robdamanii was going w/ his post).

I have read that if this flick is a hit, Disney will have 6 more sequels to cash in on...
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
N8 said:
I have read that if this flick is a hit, Disney will have 6 more sequels to cash in on...
i recall _voyage of the dawn treader_ and _the silver chair_ as my favorites of the entire series.

- geek alert -

anyone read the steven r. donaldson "white gold wielder" series? those were some great books
 

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,577
277
Hershey, PA
narlus said:
anyone read the steven r. donaldson "white gold wielder" series? those were some great books
[geek]
Yup, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. I just found first prints of the first series in great shape at Goodwill for a buck each. :) Did you know that Donaldson released book 1 of a new Unbeliever series in August? Runes of Earth.
[/geek]
 

Crashby

Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
947
1
Rochester, NY
"...Working closely with The Walt Disney Co., the aim is to shift millions of books over the coming months and generate appetite for other titles in the seven-book Narnia set in anticipation of a film series to rival Potter or Star Wars.

"We have global rights for Narnia which is very unusual, and we've maximized it to the full," said Claire Harding, children's business development director at HarperCollins. "This has really opened the door to make this a massive worldwide franchise."

She said the publisher was already looking forward to tie-ins with the next Narnia film, expected in 2008.

In Britain alone, HarperCollins, owned by News Corp, is releasing 17 film tie-in editions of Narnia books and dozens more in other countries.

"It's been the most extraordinary choreographed marketing plan I've ever seen in terms of publishing," said Graham Marks, children's editor."
 

Tenchiro

Attention K Mart Shoppers
Jul 19, 2002
5,407
0
New England
Westy said:
I remember reading the book and liking it. I honestly remember nothing about it.
Wierd that there are so many people in the same boat. I wonder if we weren't brainwashed or something... :help:
 

Silver

find me a tampon
Jul 20, 2002
10,840
1
Orange County, CA
narlus said:
anyone read the steven r. donaldson "white gold wielder" series? those were some great books
Disney isn't making that movie anytime soon. Leper magically finds himself in fantasy world, where he rapes an underage girl before the opening credits finish... :D
 

Tenchiro

Attention K Mart Shoppers
Jul 19, 2002
5,407
0
New England
Silver said:
Disney isn't making that movie anytime soon. Leper magically finds himself in fantasy world, where he rapes an underage girl before the opening credits finish... :D
That is an awesome series of books though.
 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,841
19
So Cal
narlus said:
are they gonna do movies for all seven? (which i think is where robdamanii was going w/ his post).
If they are they should have started with The Magicians Nephew. Though CS Lewis wrote Wardrobe first he also felt that one should read them in numerical order instead of chronological. Though I guess that if they do all 7 they could call Magicians Nephew a prequel. It describes the origins of Narnia, the wardrobe and why there is a lamp post in the Narnian wasteland.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
65
behind the viewfinder
johnbryanpeters said:
I read them - what do you see in them that makes them good?
'

the SRD books, or the CS lewis ones?

the narnia books were just great fantasy/adventure books that i read when i was like 10 or so. was the silver chair the one w/ Puddleglum? what were those things called, the marshwiggles?

the SRD books i read in high school (ie, a long time ago). i just recall them being very gripping books; i couldn't wait to finish one and getting on to the next one. and the hero was a much different sort of character than typical mainstream fantasy books. at least at the time, i haven't kept up. i think the Dune series was the last ones i read, and althoguh God Emperor of Dune was really good, i think i lost interest in the following ones.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
67,786
14,145
In a van.... down by the river
narlus said:
<snip>
the SRD books i read in high school (ie, a long time ago). i just recall them being very gripping books; i couldn't wait to finish one and getting on to the next one. and the hero was a much different sort of character than typical mainstream fantasy books. at least at the time, i haven't kept up.
What sort of character were you when you played AD&D? :blah:
 

ÆX

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
4,920
18
NM
narlus said:
'

the SRD books, or the CS lewis ones?

the narnia books were just great fantasy/adventure books that i read when i was like 10 or so. was the silver chair the one w/ Puddleglum? what were those things called, the marshwiggles?

the SRD books i read in high school (ie, a long time ago). i just recall them being very gripping books; i couldn't wait to finish one and getting on to the next one. and the hero was a much different sort of character than typical mainstream fantasy books. at least at the time, i haven't kept up. i think the Dune series was the last ones i read, and althoguh God Emperor of Dune was really good, i think i lost interest in the following ones.

yes, marshwiggles are tall and lanky.

i would call one of my Friends one.

 

Ciaran

Fear my banana
Apr 5, 2004
9,841
19
So Cal
narlus said:
'


the narnia books were just great fantasy/adventure books that i read when i was like 10 or so. was the silver chair the one w/ Puddleglum? what were those things called, the marshwiggles?
Yes and yes..

I have read the books many many many times, and re-read the whole series about once a year. They are a favorite of the wife and I. My personal faves are A Horse and His Boy, The Magicians Nephew, and The last Battle.

Hmm... now I am inspired... I think it's time to re-read them again.