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MacBeth
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Build your own coat of arms on the Walden Media Educator's site.
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MacBeth
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Musical lessons from Narnia soundtrack. Click here
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teachingmom
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I just now found this thread. I have to chime in and say that my girls love the BBC Narnia movies. And I don't quite get why the older ones (ages 9 and 11) love them. I honestly would have guessed that they would have had the reaction that Chari's kids did. It's more like watching a play than a movie. But they keep borrowing them again and again from the library and Blockbuster. So you might want to try them on your own crew because you never know . . .
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MacBeth
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marychris wrote:
| Does anyone know what the film will be rated? |
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This just in...
"As expected it now appears that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has been rated PG by the MPAA."
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MacBeth in NY
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teachingmom
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MacBeth wrote:
This just in...
"As expected it now appears that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has been rated PG by the MPAA."
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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MacBeth
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I have not seen the movie yet (almost had a mutiny on my hands here when Trip's cello lesson was cancelled, freeing up our morning...but I have other plans). See some reviews:
Decent Films
USCCB
Also, see a streaming video on EWTN's website of their show "Life on the Rock" where Steve Greydanus reviews the film.
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MacBeth in NY
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ladybugs
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We saw it....
AND LOVED IT!!!!! I got paid yesterday from my voice work and decided to spring for tickets since we very rarely go to the theater!
We give it 10 Thumbs up...Steve didn't go this morning...just me and the kids...
Very encouraging...and I just loved Mr. Tumnus...
Liam Neeson did Aslan's voice...which I didn't realize he would be doing...
The Peceli household recommends the movie, fwiw. My Juliana who is highly sensitive, was not frightened by any of the scenes, too...for those concerned about the movie....
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ladybugs
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I just read Greydanus' review and agree with it...but truly, the redemptive aspect of the story came over loud and clear. At least to me.
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Elizabeth
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Chari wrote:
Leonie wrote:
Jenn,
We really like the BBC productions - some of the special effects are a bit low budget - but we have enjoyed the series.
We have them all.  |
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I always am hesitant to give the opposite view of Leonie.......since she is one of my favorite mentors 
but, here goes.......
My kids cannot stand the BBC versions.....while they are pretty true to the stories.......they find the acting painful to watch, and they find the choices of actors for the characters off the mark.......they are quite annoyed by Lucy! they moan and groan whenever the topic of the movies is brought up.......seriously
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Chari,
I hate to disagree with Leonie too, but I do agree with you on this one. My kids hate the BBC version too. And the production snob in the family (who regularly pans kids' videos and various cable religious programming for its poor quality) is so vocal in his critique of the BBC version that it's annoying to watch with him .
Someone (Disney or Ascension press?) sent me a disc of trailers and a ton of other hype materials. I think the PG is a bit liberal--this is certainly a scary PG. Also, Ascension Press has put together 100 Questions About Narnia in an attempt to ascertain that no one can deny the Christian message. The book is worth having and they've made it very affordable.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Victoria in AZ
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We saw the new movie yesterday, and only for lack of time not for lack of enthusiasm, can say
magnificent!!
Long live C.S. Lewis. He would be proud.
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Victoria in AZ
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teachingmom
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We saw the Narnia movie today and thoroughly enjoyed it. My kids loved it without reservation. I have a few, although I do think it is a magnificent film.
I must admit that I agree with Steve Greydanus on many points. I think that I simply loved Lewis's book so completely that I cannot stand to have them take any liberties with the story. I kept thinking to myself, "But that's not the way it happened in the book!"
One disappointment for me had to do with the limitations of the medium of film. When I read the book, I was completely and totally in love with Aslan by the time he died. The emotional connection that I felt for Aslan, Lucy, and Susan in the scene of his death was almost overwhelming. I think that someone watching the film without having read the book would not experience anything like what I experienced with the book. In talking with friends who also saw the movie with us, we came to the conclusion that that is simply the difference between books, in which we can go inside the thoughts and feelings of any number of characters, and movies, which are much more limited.
The circumstances of our movie-going make me chuckle. A good friend of mine has an acquaintance who attends a nearby protestant "seeker" type church that meets in a movie theater. They showed the Narnia movie for free today as an evangelistic outreach and my friend was invited. My friend told us and a few other Catholic families about it, and we all decided to go together. She said that the email invitation said "no strings attached" so we were pretty sure there would be no hard-sell evangelizing going on. We prepped the kids about what we may hear, and decided to go. (After all, saving $40 on a movie during the budget crunching Christmas season is a real gift for my family.)
It made us laugh to think that little did the organizers know that most of two rows were being taken by 20 devout Catholics.  True to their word, there wasn't a sermon, just a short intro in which "Pastor Paul" (who looked to be about 24 years old, by the way) introduced the movie and said something about how he believes that Jesus died for us and rose from the dead, like Aslan. He invited those who want to know more to return next week, etc.
Going to the movie with this church provided a great catechetical moment for our families. When "Pastor Paul" got up at the end of the movie for announcements, he again invited those there to join them for church another week. He said that they meet there every Sunday morning. Not two minutes later, he said that they will not be meeting on Christmas morning, nor on New Year's day. He said that they were doing that in order to let everyone spend that special day with their families. He said that their motto is "No rules, just a relationship." (OK, if we were being ultra sensitive, we could have interpreted that as an anti-Catholic slam, but I think it was more of a "We don't want to appear church-y in any way, so we will go out of our way to distance ourselves from the organized religion you visitors grew up with." Either way, I thought it was a rather scary motto for Christians to have.)
It provided a great opportunity to point out to the kids that the people at that church say they are about a relationship with Jesus, but they don't think it's important enough to gather for church on His birthday! Since they don't have Jesus, in His real sacramental presence, they don't feel any need to gather. But the sad thing is that by missing out on the Eucharist, they are missing out on the most real way that they could have that "relationship" they so desire.
Sorry for my long-winded aside, but I just had to share about our unusual experience!
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Karen E.
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teachingmom wrote:
We saw the Narnia movie today and thoroughly enjoyed it. My kids loved it without reservation. I have a few, although I do think it is a magnificent film.
I must admit that I agree with Steve Greydanus on many points. |
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Me, too, Irene.
Overall, we loved it, and I would certainly recommend it. But there were things they changed that needn't have, such as the way in which all four children ran into the wardrobe together. Running away after breaking a window?? Only Edmund would have been that dishonest. It would have been so easy to stick to the book on that point (the walking tour coming through and the children hiding from Mrs. Macready.)
Most importantly, there was far too little of the relationship with Aslan, as you pointed out.
I also thought Aslan's roars needed to be bigger, louder, more overwhelming, rather than the passing thing they were. We needed more of Aslan, and they seemed to be somewhat minimalistic with him. I can't imagine why. That was definitely the biggest weakness of the movie.
Still, the sacrifice scene had the girls and me crying throughout. That was absolutely the hardest for them to watch, much harder than the battle scenes.
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Kelly
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We saw it and loved it. Philip Anschulz (is that the spelling?) deserves a lot of credit. The theater was packed.
Meanwhile, the critics in our end of the world are all panning it, of course, and raving about "Broketop Mountain"  . When WILL Hollywood figure it out? They trashed LOTR, at least initially, and it made millions. They hated "The Passion of the Christ", and look what happened. And now this.
Kudos to Mr. Anshulz for putting his money where his mouth is, and standing up for the Christian faith!
Kelly in FL
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Mary G
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We're going on Thursday as a "field trip" -- had to wait till then as 16yos is home (done with finals) and can watch JP while I take the other 3. We're very excited about it and sounds like it's going to be worth it!
We read the book as a read-aloud this Fall, did the unit study put out by Narnia Academy which was great, made the Turkish Delight (twice ) and have watched the BBC version -- we are ready.
DH is planning to take his 8th grade class after Christmas Break so maybe Hollywood will figure it out!
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MacBeth
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Caution: MacBeth on critical rant!
Karen E. wrote:
| Overall, we loved it, and I would certainly recommend it. But there were things they changed that needn't have, such as the way in which all four children ran into the wardrobe together. Running away after breaking a window?? |
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I totally agree here, and was horrified that they did that. It was completely unnecessary, especially when Lewis himself wrote in a perfectly good reason for hiding. In fact, while I enjoyed the film, I was disappointed that they changed so much of the original dialogue. In a way, Lewis is much like a young Mozart, who wrote music to be played very precisely. Lewis never has a character say anything that is meaningless or does not fit in. Why not use the dialogue he wrote? It's not as though it would have made the film longer, but it would have enhanced the characterization, and made the dishonesty and cowardice unnecessary.  And no mention of Plato? In a way, the film dumbed down a book that is beautiful in its simplicity.
For setting and scenery, I give the film due credit. It was magnificent. Details in interior scenes were perfect (though wasn't the blue-bottle supposed to be dead?), and the outdoor scenes, like those of LOTR, were breathtaking at times.
I enjoyed most of the characters, though I missed the party with the little woodland animals before they were turned to stone (looks to me like the filmed it and cut it, putting the statues in another place). The wolves were perfect, and everyone in the audience jumped when Edmund assumed that Maugrim was a statue--well done! The death of Aslan was also well done, and horrifyingly close to the book. The relationships between the children was more strained than I would like, but it was effective enough, as I cried by the time Peter and Edmund embraced. I guess the build-up of tension was right, and I didn't notice it until then.
Never, as did Steve Greydanus, did I feel that the White Witch was as strong as Aslan, even when she killed him. I think her fear was there, but it was very subtle, and real in that subtlety--it was an outstanding performance.
And Tumnus was wonderful; I could have watched scenes with him all day.
One comment on the video game: I like to buy video games based on literature or films that I like, but this was too awful. If I were the White Witch, I, too, would have wanted to rid Narnia of those children . All they do is break things, set fires, and kill wolves as they run through the woods from scene to scene.
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MacBeth
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Our theatre was empty (except for three moms and 16 kids, and maybe 10 other people), but that's because we go to the bargain matinee on Mondays when we want to see a film. I often joke that that's why we homeschool .
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MacBeth in NY
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Karen E.
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MacBeth wrote:
Caution: MacBeth on critical rant!
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Loved and agreed with your critical rant, MacBeth!
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Kelly
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I LOVED Tumnus, too. Although I always liked Tumnus in the book---how could you not---I found the film Tumnus to be totally engaging and endearing. He was just so darn cute!
Kelly in FL
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teachingmom
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MacBeth wrote:
Caution: MacBeth on critical rant!
. . .
In fact, while I enjoyed the film, I was disappointed that they changed so much of the original dialogue. In a way, Lewis is much like a young Mozart, who wrote music to be played very precisely. Lewis never has a character say anything that is meaningless or does not fit in. Why not use the dialogue he wrote?
. . .
And Tumnus was wonderful; I could have watched scenes with him all day. |
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MacBeth and Karen,
Good ranting.
I have to say that I always pictured Tumnus as much older, but that was one change I thoroughly loved. I agree that he was perfect!
There was a change in dialogue having to do with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver that bothered me a lot. Did you catch the point when they are running through the tunnel leading to Mr. Beaver's buddy's place? Mrs. Beaver says, "You told me this led to your mum's place!" It's as if they put this little conversation in for some comic effect for the adults in the audience -- wanting us all to laugh at the fact that we are all only human after all (even Mr. Beaver!). But I felt that it diminished the dignity of Mr. Beaver, similar to the way in which running from the broken window diminished the dignity of the children. I know it is a small point, but I felt very indignant at how Mr. Beaver was portrayed at that point. C.S. Lewis created very honorable and heroic characters. I think the screenwriters took away from that to a degree.
And also, regarding the Beavers, what happened to their presents from Father Christmas?!
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MacBeth
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teachingmom wrote:
There was a change in dialogue having to do with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver that bothered me a lot....Mrs. Beaver says, "You told me this led to your mum's place!" It's as if they put this little conversation in for some comic effect for the adults in the audience -- wanting us all to laugh at the fact that we are all only human after all (even Mr. Beaver!). But I felt that it diminished the dignity of Mr. Beaver...I know it is a small point, but I felt very indignant at how Mr. Beaver was portrayed at that point. C.S. Lewis created very honorable and heroic characters. I think the screenwriters took away from that to a degree. |
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This was not a small point at all, and I hope when they do Prince Caspian that the integrity of the beasts is not lost. They are supposed to be constant and faithful.
I had some of the same issues with LOTR, when comic quips were added...like the dwarf-tossing scene in Moria. Haha. Very funny. Now let's get back to the story.
The summer before 7th grade, I wrote LWW as a play, which was performed at camp (Catholic), and I heard it was also performed at a Catholic girl's high school somewhere in Brooklyn the next year. I did not change a bit of dialogue (made the "writing" very easy ). I wish this production team had consulted me . But, seriously...why re-write the dialogue? I just don't get it!
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Narnia
