Chronicles of Narnia!
 

So these were like my favorite books as a kid and I'm soooo excited that they're coming out with the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe! I googled it and found a cool trailer from Apple . . . what do you guys think? I think it looks soooo good!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney...of_narnia.html

I'm off to see Hitch this afternoon . . . looking forward to some Will Smith funnies :D

I am very VERY happy that CS Lewis has been resurrected to kick JK Rowling's ASS!!!!

:D

Hey, no need to go ragging on JK Rowling. After all, she acknowledges Lewis as a major influence on her own writing.

Me? I love them both.

I have to bump this because I just found these new Narnia action figures that look seriously scary and cool. Goes to show you the movie's coming up if they're making toys for it! Woo hoo!

http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=199&dl=2126315

Bumping because of this article in USA Today:

The wonderful world of "Narnia".

okay, yes - i'm a total narnia fan, so don't laugh...but my friend just forwarded me the trailer and OMFG...it is SO good!!!!!

i dont know if anyone else if familiar with the books - they were my fav growing up- but the white witch and aslan look amazing....

www.narnia.com

Sounds great - I loved that book as a kid.

i think i read the book way back and saw the movie (the old version) on pbs.

i too saw the trailer during the harry potter movie on channel 8 this past saturday. i cant wait! christmas right?

Re: Chronicles of Narnia!
 

Here's a new trailer (Quicktime required) to check out:

http://movies.channel.aol.com/franch...er_extra_large

SO cool....I'm a little wary since it's a Disney film, but I can hope for the best.

The Seattle Children's Theater did this as a play about a year and a half ago and it was SO good. I was so excited when I saw that a movie was coming out.

I think you can indeed hope for the best. My understanding is that CS Lewis's step-son, Douglas Gresham (who controls the rights to the books), kept veto power when he sold the movie rights. My understanding is that he can veto any part of the script. That should make sure that the adaptation is faithful.

Yeah, it's coming out Dec. 9... can that come ANY quicker???

MysticCat - I agree, i think that they will do a great job and the reason they chose the production staff they did is because they all swore to remain faithful to Lewis's vision.

What'd you guys think of the trailer? Mermaids are sweet!

This movie could be a major Oscar contender....

just saw the trailer and wow, it looks like the film event of the year....of course, next to that small "independent film" coming out from Fox and Lucasfilm next week.....LMAO

I am going to be furious if they gloss over the main point of the series which is, after all, a Christian allegory. Especially in The Last Battle, when everything comes together and you know for sure who Aslan really is.

I actually don't think they'll gloss over it at all...I think they really are trying to make it as loyal to the book as possible.

ZetaPhi - isn't the trailer amazing? I literally had chills on the back of my neck watching it! The music adds a lot and the scenery is breathtaking - no wonder they shot it in New Zealand!

I agree, for two reasons:

1) Lewis's step-son, Douglas Gresham (who, if I recall correctly, is an Anglican priest), controls the rights to the books and is a co-producer with creative control; and

2) The producers have to know that they have a built-in audience for the movie, and that built-in audience will not be pleased if the main point of the books is glossed-over. "The Passion of the Christ" showed that this built-in audience (I'm betting it's many of the same people) can make a movie extremely successful. By the same token, if that audience is disappointed by "glossing over" and stays away, the movie is likely to fail.

That said, I doubt they'll be overt in the drawing attention to the allegory either. But then again, Lewis wasn't very overt about it himself, until the last chapter of The Last Battle.

very good points...and i totally agree...i didn't know that lewis's family had a role in it, and that's great.

But regardless, the trailer is beautiful and more than i ever expected. This will be such an unbelievable film!

I saw a trailer when I went to See Star Wars: Episode III.

It looked so good that it gave me goosebumps. I am a huge fan of the book, so I am super excited for the movie.

I've only seen the trailer on the computer...my friends went to see Sith this weekend and said the crowd was cheering during the Narnia trailer! Awesome! I'm gonna have to go this week to see it - I bet it looks amazing on the big screen:D

Oh, it does. I saw it also during Star Wars III. I had seen it before, both on the computer and on TV. I had managed to catch the trailer for it during a network TV showing of Harry Potter 2, but the TV doesn't do it justice at all. It was absolutely breathtaking on the big screen. This movie I think will definitely be a must-see-in-the-theater. I can't wait!

Maybe it's because I'm a Jew, but I never noticed any "Christian" allegory...

Please enlighten me.

(It's not spoilers, since I've owned the books since I was 10.)

***SPOILER WARNING*** (I know kstar said it wouldn't be a spoiler, but just in case it would be for anyone else...)





There are many parallels between Aslan and God/Jesus.

To name a couple:

-Aslan creates Narnia. God created the Earth.

-When Aslan sacrifices himself in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it is very much like how Jesus died on the cross. Jesus rose again; so does Aslan.

And in The Last Battle, at the end, the children finally go to Aslan's country (Heaven) after they have died. I think it was mentioned in one of the other books that anyone who visits Aslan's country does not return, which would make sense since you have to die in order to go to Heaven.

But where is that "Christian"?

In most religions there are people that sacrifice themselves for others, and/or promises of an afterlife.

And in almost all religoins, a "god" created the earth.

I'm not saying that CSL didn't plan it, but I want more information, I still don't see it.

kstar, here is a wiki article:

Link to the Article

Quite true that in many religions there are people that sacrifice themselves for others, and/or promises of an afterlife, as well as divine creation stories. And it may well be easier for a Christian to spot the allegories that Lewis intended. Perhaps I can provide a few more concrete examples:

In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, it's not just that Aslan sacrifices himself for Edmund. Edmund's life is, by "law," forfeit to the Witch (evil). Aslan offers himself in Edmund's place. This is a concept at the heart of Christian teaching about the crucifixion -- the blameless one taking upon himself the punishment for the sins of others and making the necessary restitution/payment. Moreover, Aslan actually dies, but is later resurrected according to a "deeper magic." It's the crucifixion/resurrection in a nutshell.

As one other example, the judgment scene in The Last Battle is pretty much taken from the judgment described in the Gospel according to the Matthew. And if you'll recall, in the last chapter of The Last Battle, the children lament that they've never scene Aslan in their own world. He corrects them as tells them that they have, and then his appearance changes and they recognize him. Although they don't say "Look, it's Jesus," that is clearly the import.

One could also mention Aslan's frequent references to his Father Over the Sea. Here, The Father Over the Sea = God the Father, and Aslan = God the Son. (God the Holy Spirit is at times represented by Aslan breathing on others -- again, an image taken directly from the Gospels -- or by the fragrance that surrounds Aslan at times.)

There's lots more there, and there are whole books on the subject.

Thank you moe.ron and MysticCat.

I can see it now, but is is bad that I just would rather enjoy them as good fantasy stories with messages of good behavior? (i.e. be nice, just, don't lie... et cetera)

No, that's not bad at all. Obviously being Jewish, the Christian aspects of it aren't going to mean much to you. And I know that when I was a kid, I didn't make the connection. It was only when I re-read the books a few months ago that I really saw it. The books are obviously still very enjoyable without thinking of Aslan as God/Jesus.

so is it true that the audience applaused during the narnia trailer before star wars? all my friends keep telling me this is happening and i think it's so cool! the last time that happened, was i guess when the star wars trailer premiered...

I loved this book as a child and I can't wait to see the movie. I felt like a big kid when I saw the trailer in the theater. :)

I don't doubt that it does happen, but it didn't happen in the theatre I was in for Star Wars.

The boyfriend and I just saw a trailer for this last weekend. A few seconds into it I was like "OMG - They're making a Narnia movie?!?!?!?! "

The boyfriend says "what? never heard of it."

:eek:

I've heard a lot of that too! I can't believe there are actually people my age out there who didn't read these books as a kid!

Never read them....

But I did find out an Alpha Gam chapter sister is doing special effects stuff on the movie! Not sure exactly what...I think makeup.

For those of you that are following the movie or read the books...I found this on another board I go to....its pictures of Mr. Tumnus and Father Christmas!!

http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=287&dl=3066595

:)

narnia
 

i read the chronicles of narnia when i was in like 2nd or 3rd grade in episcopalian private school (christian allegory, hello?) and when i saw the trailer before star wars, i serioulsy couldn't place it in my mind as the same thing i imagined when i was a child. did no one else have that feeling? i kept thinking throughout the trailer, this is for all the people who read it a long time ago as kids and are "grown up" (whatever that is!!) now...

forget harry potter. chronicles is comming out in a few weeks!!!

they have 6 different trailers you can watch here

Weird. Not only has the head wolf, Fenris Ulf, been renamed Maugrim in the movie but he's been renamed that in the republished new books.

Actually, it's really the other way around. In the original British edition of LLW, his name was Maugrim, and it has remained Maugrim in Britain. The movie, I think, is working from the British editions.

It was changed to Fenris Ulf for the first American edition (not unlike how the British Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone became the American Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). More recent American editions have gone back to the original Maugrim.

So far as I know, there is no record of why Lewis made the change, but perhaps he wanted to tap into Norse mythology and the character Fenrisulfr. (The name Fenrir Greyback in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince comes from this same source, Fenrir being another form of the name Fenrisulfr.) This kind of motive seems to lie behind some of his other choices.