Thursday, December 01, 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia: Hurry the Heck Up
 |
Give me talking beavers, a messianic lion, and Tilda Swinton’s turn as Jadis, though, and my little heart is all beating fast and happy. The extra-extra large trailer only made my ardor a little, ahem, more ardurous. For all my enthusiasm, I have to admit to a few worries (which, in the grand tradition of blogging, I will share with you whether you want me to or not).
- Will the movie capture the magic of the books? My biggest problem with the Harry Potter movies is that they never fully captured that wild sense of a boy discovering a world of magic and danger. It isn’t special effects and it isn’t pretty speeches; the magic that transforms a book from dead text to a lifelong friend is something hard to define and even harder to capture. Will The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe manage the trick?
- Special effects are a curious thing. I have sat through movies that were technical marvels or so lush and beautiful in their otherworldliness that it was almost unbelievable--and still never wanted to see those movies again. The Wizard of Oz had laughable special effects, but I will watch it whenever I get the chance. The original version of Star Wars looks clunky by today’s standards, but I will watch it whenever I get the chance. The last two Matrix movies, on the other hand, had special effects that were tremendous, but the story lost me.
For that matter, sometimes directors reach a little too far in trying to make their visions come to life; it makes me wish for a time when directors realized that they couldn’t do absolutely everything. One of the oddest things about being a graphic designer is that moment where you realize that it isn’t a blank page filled with possibilities that makes a good design, it’s the limitations and requirements that force a creative solution. Without those boundaries, designs usually fail--they might be pretty, they might be impressive, but they are rarely compelling. It’s the boundaries (and learning how to push them) that makes designs good.
Directors these days are like artists without boundaries. Which might go far in explaining why Chronicles of Riddick sucked and its inexpensive predecessor, Pitch Black was a small wonder. Directors, the lesson shall ever be: Thou shalt not put thy faith in special effects. - The most important worry that I have is this: will the g-phrase enjoy the movie. She’s something of a C.S. Lewis fan and a Narnia fanatic which means that she might be like the Lord of the Rings purists who couldn’t accept that not every bit of the books--not every little bit of storyline or minutiae--could be made to fit into a movie and some things simply wouldn’t be the way that they had envisioned them. Expectations that are too specific are awfully hard to meet. I would hate for her to not come away with a smile on her face.
Beside that, I just have to ask: is it wrong for me to have a little bit of a crush on the White Witch? She also played Gabriel in the surprisingly fun Constantine--and, to be honest, whenever I see her I say a near-silent, “Hubba hubba.”
In case you were wondering.
(1)
Comments & Trackbacks
What will inevitably disappoint me about the movie is the marketing. The last shred of decent literature without a huge marketing effort is just about to get one. The Narnia figurines at McBurgerDonaldSonicBell, etc.
And being that it’s a “christian” topic, there will be an extra push of “evanelical” marketing, which will make me even more ill.
I think the thing that special effects takes away is imagination. Lewis was a master at stirring imagination, and special effects take imagination and pound it into submission in a dual-processor g5 with 3d rendering software. Even the real things look fake.
I can’t wait to see the movie and am SO glad to hear that the witch is the same lady who played Gabriel. She rocks.
Exhibit A on why limitations can be a good thing: Star Wars - limited on effects, Star Wars Special Edition - not.
I’m looking forward to the movie, but I think bryan has a good point. Imagination does suffer in the movies. Movies made out of books rarely live up to the things I see in my head while reading.
That being said, I’ll be happy if they stick to the story Lewis wrote and get the feel mostly right. That way I’ll be able to enjoy the eye candy without the temptation to yell at the screen. Unlike, say, The Two Towers, where I had to be restrained from standing up and screaming “THERE WERE NO FRIKKIN’ ELVES AT HELM’S DEEP!!!!11!!”
We’ll see. I’m still looking forward to it.
I’m trying to find a way to not sound pedantic when I say: I wish more people would understand that concept in relation to life and the progressive idea of ever-expanding rights/freedoms.
Aw, heck: I’m worried about pedantic at this point? Run with it!
Matt, you restrain yourself?
I do, but I lean over and in respectful whisper mention the difference to one of my daughters.
I am not sure what to think. I appreciate film, but can’t stand it when extreme artistic license is taken, so while I am excited-- and that may be because my daughters are very excited-- I am still not sure because I think I do have that tiny concern that the magic might be vanquished if what has been in my head for so long doesn’t translate onto screen.
Bryan is right about the evangelical push. I’ve already seen a couple of church banners flying marketing to the masses to come visit and learn about Narnia, complete with amazing movie graphics etc. They don’t miss a trick and I don’t blame them, but it still creeps me out a little.
I agree with David that I’m still more excited about Narnia than a KK remake. Give me the 70s version of my youth all day with a young, sexy Jessica Lange.
It will of course be impossible to please the purist Narnians, just as it was for Lord of the Rings. I’m still pissed that they didn’t complete the Return of the King with my absolute favorite ending, The Battle for the Shire. That was the perfect ending to a perfect trilogy and the cut it. Aaaahhh! Hopefully, they will make several Narnia movies in an attempt to please its fans.
As for Harry Potter, the fourth movie was totally jacked up and will probably be the end of the successful movie franchise, unless they just skip a book or two and focus on making another great movie.
Rae,
No I don’t restrain myself. That’s the Wife’s job.
You know what? I’ve got no problem with movies being completely different than the book. If a good book is turned into a good movie, why do we care if they took some liberties with the story?
If you can't wait til Friday, and don't mind having some surprises ruined, here's a 9 minute trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia, via NarniaWeb. A rather odd beginning, but appropriate, I suppose. Two words for you. German bombers. Hat tip: ResurrectionSong....