Monday, October 24, 2005

The Chronicles of... Oh, Never Mind

Curiousity: Why do I have so little interest in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, the latest lit-rich fantasy epic to be transmorphed into a film series? I love C.S. Lewis as an author and all throughout my life I have had little use for his contemporary J.R.R. Tolkien yet The Lord of the Rings films couldn't have excited me more. Perversely I greet each new Narnia image or trailer with something approximating a shrug. Is it the talking animals? The director of Shrek? Fantasy epic fatigue after 3 Christmases of Middle Earth? Anyone else not feeling excited or is it just me?

16 comments:

adam k. said...

Why won't it let me watch this trailer? I try to, and computer gets confused and gives up.

I kind of know what you mean, though. I loved the Narnia books, too, and found the LOTR books too huge and unwieldy... but I'm just not feeling this movie. I think my particular "whatever" feelings might be because I already experienced the BBC movie versions of the Narnia books and they satisfied me just fine. I realize they're not considered "definitive", but they're totally stuck in my head since I owned them as a little kid. And they were totally charming in that old-school BBC way. I remember Prince Caspian in the dawn treader movie being totally hot... and I was only like 10. I guess maybe I did know I was gay before puberty...

Anonymous said...

Personally, I cannot WAIT to see this movie. I have great memories of reading the series as a child and unlike Adam I haven't seen them adapted on film. I really think (and hope) that this will be a big critical and commercial success.

Plus, Tilda Swinton as the White Witch? Talk about GREAT casting.

adam k. said...

One thing am I excited about, though, re: Narnia, is seeing Tilda Swinton get all badass in a big blockbuster. I hope this will increase her visibility/bankability and draw more parts her way.

Javier Aldabalde said...

Tilda Swinton. Tilda Swinton. Tilda Swinton.

That's all the reason you need.

I hope my blockbuster hunger this season is filled by "King Kong", though.

I mean, it's from the director of "Heavenly Creatures", and, you know, "LOTR"...

I don't know... I'm just starting to feel that "King Kong" will be really great in a "fantastic" kind of way. Am I the only one?

Anonymous said...

all i know is that the sight of tilda swinton makes me want to vomit
-billy

OhMyTrill said...

Could be good...problem is now it just looks like a LOTR rip-off...the look of the movie (according to the trailer) is just all too familiar.

Ash said...

Walden Media one of the films distribs...only markets Christian movies and they are marketing this film heavily to churches in the States...so religious nut jobs like Pat Roberson and James Dobson have apparently already come out in support of this flick...me thinks we might just have a backlash

Joe R. said...

That would be a shame, I think, if the right wing nutjobs glomming onto this picture ruin it for everyone else. Like, stick to hating the entertainment I love, fundies. Stay on your side!

Anonymous said...

Well, I've never read the Narnia books and I'm pretty "meh" on the whole idea, judging by the trailers I have seen.

My friends are excited though. However, they're a bit confused as to whether they're going to make all the Narnia chronicals because TLtWatW is the second book in the series (or something along those lines)

I'll see it though for Tilda Swinton and the lion. I love big cats.

-Glenn

NATHANIEL R said...

i thought tLtWatW was the first book?

NicksFlickPicks said...

Oh, so now it's Tilda Tilda Tilda.... where were all of you during the Actress Poll?

Look at me, Tilda - don't listen to them. They only care about Meryl and Nicole. I'm the one that you want, the one who'd do anything for yooouuuuuu!!!

[Explodes]

adam k. said...

tLtWatW is the first book in the series, but the second book chronologically. The 6th (next-to-last) book actually takes place before the events of the first one and is something of a prequel. Then, I think, the 5th book is actually the third, chronologically... the last one is really last, though... and quite a finale it is.
The order is rather confusing... but I didn't question it when I read them. I recall that shortly after my run with Narnia, they rereleaed a new boxed set with the books in chronological order... do that's how many people think of them now. I do think doing Wardrobe first as a movie makes the most sense... it's the best entry point into the story... kind of a Star Wars/A New Hope Thing... though I do love Book 6: The Magician's Nephew - I'm not saying it's the Phantom Menace of the series, far from from it - it's one of my favorites... but appreciated better, perhaps, with knowledge of what's to come.
This makes me want to go reread all the Narnia books again before I see this movie. They were a pillar of my childhood... I loved them so.

Anonymous said...

The Narnia books are brilliant "children's" books. Love them. So simply told and so powerful by the end of the seventh book.

Not sure which I love more, this series or The Lord of the Rings.

LOTR is certainly more unwieldy than the Chronicles of Narnia, but who can deny Tolkien's monumental creative genius?

Anonymous said...

Adam, while my friends were confused as to why TLtWatW was the first film made they also said that it makes sense as to why.

But if they're planning to make a series then it might be a bit odd.

Hey, just because I like certain others before Tilda, doesn't mean I don't think she's fab. The Deep End was one of my top 5 of 2001, and she came third in my Best Actress category, after Naomi and Nicole.

-Glenn

Anonymous said...

well, i might see this, but ill see Harry Potter any day before i see this...that movie looks fuckin amazing, plus i havent seen a neg. review of HP4 yet, while ive seen many mixed for Narnia...

Anonymous said...

er, where have these reviews been?

Harry Potter got an M15+ rating in Australia, which is quite possibly one of the best things that could've happened to HP. But naturally, they'll appear and it will go to a PG

Australia's system
G
PG
M (your PG-13, just more severe)
MA15+ (Your R, just less severe)
R18+ (your NC-17, pretty much the same)

-Glenn