With The Chronicles of Narnia soon to be remade, it's the perfect time to remember Disney films and observe some harsh realities. Greta Gerwig Chronicles of Narnia the reboot is coming, and it's a mystery what approach the dramedy's director will take to the two-part movie plan. The original films were released between 2005 and 2010, adapting the famous novels by English writer CS Lewis. However, they did not always adapt them faithfully, and even when they did, they did not always adapt them well.
The Chronicles of Narnia The books were written in the 1950s and display the attitudes of the time. Lewis's Narnia series is his masterpiece, and the books are classics for a reason. And yet they present studios and would-be adapters with the question of transforming an archaic text for a modern audience. The difficulties of adapting Lewis's 1950s Christian story were evident in the Disney films and the Fox sequel. But with any luck, by studying these challenges, they can be avoided in future films.
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Child actors' performances vary in the Chronicles of Narnia
The Pevensies are inconsistent in the Narnia films
The Pevensies' performances varied throughout the Narnia films, with some highlights and a slight lag between them. William Moseley played Peter Pevensie, Anna Popplewell played Susan Pevensie, Skandar Keynes played Edmund Pevensie and Georgie Henley played Lucy Pevensie. Interestingly, the youngest Pevensie seemed to perform the most consistently.
Some of the joys and darkness could occasionally seem quite dull.
Georgie Henley's petulant but bold Lucy was typically brilliant, but it didn't seem like any of Pevensie's actors captured the full scope of the roles. James McAvoy was the perfect Mr. Tumnus for the Narnia film, pairing excellently with Lucy of Henley. But There was potential for a lot more humor of the script, and it didn't happen. Likewise, some of the joy and darkness can occasionally seem quite dull.
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It's hard to recapture the magic of the first film
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the best film
It was difficult for The Chronicles of Narnia movies to recapture the magic of your first ride. from Disney The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe It was a great movie, but the franchise got progressively worse henceforth. While The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian got 66%.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader reflected Disney's departure from the franchise with its decline in quality and critical reception.
About that, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader accumulated 49%. These were the only three films made in the most recent set of Narnia photos, the first two being produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader reflected Disney's departure from the franchise with its decline in quality and critical reception. But also, the first film's sequels struggled with challenging source material.
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Maybe the series should have started with the magician's nephew
The films may have been better chronologically
There is a very real chance that it would have been better for the Narnia films start differently. An intriguing timeline tease for the new Narnia the adaptation suggests it might start the way the films always should have started. Although C.S. Lewis published The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first, in 1950, The magician's nephew is the first novel in the serieschronologically.
|
Book of Narnia (chronological order) |
Release date |
|---|---|
|
The magician's nephew |
1955 |
|
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe |
1950 |
|
The horse and his boy |
1954 |
|
Prince Caspian |
1951 |
|
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader |
1952 |
|
The silver chair |
1953 |
|
The last battle |
1956 |
THE Narnia films struggled to recover after the success of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobewhich was, in many ways, the easiest adaptation to make. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the best book in Lewis's series and probably the easiest to adapt. Perhaps Disney movies should have saved this movie for laterbuilding towards this, starting with The magician's nephew. This may have kept the audience engaged longer.
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The movies couldn't decide how seriously to take book Christianity seriously
Narnia films involved in Christian allegory
Lewis has always been outspoken about the starkly Christian symbolism of his work, but the films weren't sure how to adapt this. All the films carried a healthy symbolism which ranged from subtle to obvious. However, Lewis's novels actually varied in tone, from entirely allegorical to very event-focused. This didn't always work well in the context of film scripts.
THE Narnia the films have certainly been adapted for a modern audience. For example, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader edited many of the allegories that Lewis wrote in his book in order to make the narrative more logical and conflict-oriented. This made sense, but it left the film thematically empty. This was symptomatic of a broader problem across all films, proving that the franchise had not yet decided what to do with the Christianity in the books.
6
Susan and Caspian's romance complicated the story
Prince Caspian's romance with Susan was forced
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian forced a romance between Susan Pevensie and Prince Caspian, and it didn't entirely work. This novel was not present in the booksso the film had none of Lewis's genius to guide it. However, it wasn't because he was unfaithful that this change didn't work. Adaptations are all about adding your own flavor to a story. The novel didn't work because it wasn't thought out.
Susan and Caspian barely knew each other, so their love didn't seem realistic. Also, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader introduced Lilliandil, who readers of the book know is Caspian's future wife. As such, this strange tension was felt in the filmand it didn't seem like the writers had really considered that. The film did not acknowledge Caspian's conflicting love interests.
5
Peter wasn't that likable in Prince Caspian
It was difficult to evaluate Peter in the films
Peter was undoubtedly the main character of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, but he wasn't entirely lovable. Pedro was trustworthy and relatable, but he never seemed to fully transform into a hero. His character and the film would have benefited from this. Peter seemed desperate to be heard as he stood up to Prince Caspian and anyone else who questioned him.
Peter was the rightful king, so it made sense for him to be frustrated when his authority was questioned. Peter seemed genuinely mature and responsible in the book, coming across as a good leader despite being young. But Peter in the movie seemed arrogant without the nuance that sold him as king. A stronger script and perhaps more complex acting could have helped here.
4
The series would have found the later books even more difficult to adapt
The Narnia movies probably would have turned out worse
THE Narnia the films were a lot of fun, but they kept getting worse and worse, and a harsh reality of the franchise is definitely that this trend would likely have continued, had the franchise continued. CS Lewis' Narnia the books are iconic for good reason, but they jump around a lot and don't present adapters with an easy task. The books don't keep the same protagoniststhat the Narnia the films were already starting to suffer.
This would have gotten worse, with subsequent issues becoming even less recognizable in terms of main characters. The books didn't just jump from protagonist to protagonist, they also jumped across the timeline. This would not have helped the continuity of the next Narnia films. Disney films and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader may not have struck the right balance between fidelity to originality and subsequent the films would probably have to make more changes to Lewis' narrative to work well on screen.
3
Movies are better with all the Pevensies
Pevensies were a key ingredient of Narnia's fun
The Pevensies were what they did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe so good, and the film franchise ended - no pun intended - as it did. This is a reflection of the CS Lewis novels, and fidelity is a good thing in most adaptations. However, THE The Voyage of the Dawn Treader suffered by losing the presence of half of the Pevensies. It wasn't as attractive and it didn't draw as big an audience.
Lucy and Edmund were actually a great team in The Voyage of the Dawn Treaderand Edmund was delightfully insufferable. This strong double act could have been the highlight of the franchise if it had been revived in future films. However, adapt Lewis' complex novels took the films in a more anthologized directionwhich most viewers probably weren't prepared for, having not read the books.
2
Narnia adaptations have a problem with Aslan
The Narnia films couldn't decide how to treat Aslan
All The Chronicles of Narnia the films had a problem with Aslan, which is one of their harshest realities. Liam Neeson was brilliant voicing Aslan, and the lion was a powerful and memorable aspect of the films, as it should have been. But Lewis's concept was too much for Disney. Ultimately, Disney refused to fully commit to adapting Aslan. Films were caught between accepting its symbolic power and dumbing it down.
Aslan had a spiritual tone and commanded respect. That, in itself, was effective. However, the rest of the films weren't made to fit this. As such, the other characters' motivations didn't seem to match Aslan's strength or make sense next to it. The children apparently took his words at face value, although he never really explained himself. Films should have been introduced to Aslan as a symbolgiving you a more accessible dialogue to start with.
1
Narnia films seem very serious
The Narnia films didn't capture the joy of the books
THE Narnia movies are epicwhich works for the big screen, but lacks some of the joie de vivre of the books. The books were full of joy, with children running wild through the Narnia countryside, playing and playing with Aslan and each other. The movies, on the other hand, felt incredibly serious. This helped connect children's stories to adult audiences.
However, it also left the films feeling a little hollow. Some shine would have done the franchise good. A little more comedy in the script wouldn't hurtand a cast that could have performed better could have helped. However, in general, the films are liked by many fans of The Chronicles of Narnia. The cast did well and gave Greta Gerwig an incredible starting point to launch the new films.