Narnian Media

26 April 2010 | Filed Under Books vs. Movies 

I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a terrible bookworm. I judge books by their covers, I’m super picky about what I read, and – and -

I liked the Narnia movies so much more than the books!

There. Now you know my dark secret. I could just leave it at that, but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t justify my outrageous claims?

First, to give credit where credit is due, they did a great job of casting. They didn’t sell out and get Dakota Fanning or whoever to be Lucy. They went out and found perfect matches for the characters. If you don’t believe me, watch the actors’ commentary. And Liam Neeson as Aslan? Genius. Already you’re on the road to a good movie, because you’re not snickering at the actors and their phony and/or pompous acting.

But casting doesn’t in and of itself make a movie better than a book. (It’s just a sweet bonus.)

What really makes it stand out is the screenplay. Director Andrew Adamson did an amazing job with the adaptations of both books. The story is moving and the characters are lovable (even traitorous Edmund).

And how is this different from the books, you ask? Same moving story, same lovable characters, right?

Wrong.

C. S. Lewis’ works were simplistic. I mean, of course they have to be on some level, they are children’s books. But man. I’d like to think children are intelligent enough to understand some complexity. The characters were too black and white.

Thankfully, Adamson wrote in some gray areas. He gave us character development, a trait seriously lacking in the books. And hey, who’s going to pass up juicy drama?

Think I’m exaggerating about the lack of character development and overall simplicity? Here’s two examples:

1. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children don’t believe Lucy discovered a new world. And why would they? They give her grief, and are soon proved wrong. Fast forward to Prince Caspian. In the book, Lucy sees Aslan, but the other Pevensies don’t believe her. Sounds familiar, right? And it makes absolutely no sense.

Adamson keeps the plot point, but he at least gives us a good[-ish] reason why Lucy’s siblings so quickly discount her. They’re hurt because they don’t know why they couldn’t see Aslan too.

2. When the Pevensies arrive in Narnia hundreds of years after their original sojourn, they discover all the friends they’d made were dead. Do the book Pevensies react? No, cold-blooded jerks that they are. They don’t care one whit. But the movie Pevensies do.

I have to admit, I never finished the Narnia books. They were too frustrating after watching the first movie. I think I made it through the first chapter or so of the fifth book (counting chronologically Narnia-time) before I gave up completely. But I am looking forward to the next Narnia movie!

My work here is done. Okay Narnia fans. Challenge me, if you dare!

Comments

5 Responses to “Narnian Media”

  1. Dan on April 26th, 2010 1:40 pm

    “…but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t justify my outrageous claims?”

    A typical blogger, I daresay. :p

    I haven’t read all of the books in a long time–I got the complete set when I was in 4th grade and read them all then, and then I reread LWW senior year of college for my Reading Children’s Literature class.

    That said, I think you’re missing the point a little bit in saying you would hope that children could understand/deal with a little gray area rather than black and white characters. One, as I recall, the books were based on stories CS Lewis used to tell his kids (although I might be confusing my authors here), so it’s reasonable that he would have originally made up much more black-and-white characters on the spot. But more to the point, I think they’re intended as allegories (what with Aslan in LWW being a Christ figure), so again, the clear-cut morality makes sense.

    Not saying you’re wrong to want something more deep…just saying you’re wrong to look for it in an allegorical story for kids :p

    (Kind of like how one of my middle school English teachers, long after I was out of middle school, commented that if I could turn my brain off and enjoy them for what they were I might like the Harry Potter books, but not to expect much out of them.)

  2. Jenn on April 26th, 2010 6:42 pm

    I thought the bedtime stories was the guy who wrote Peter Pan. And Winnie the Pooh. Maybe it’s all three?

    Yeah, that allegory thing is something I have to remind myself, not being big on Christian mythology. To me, it makes sense for [Christ figure] Aslan to have clear-cut morality, but not the kids. Just because you have a Christ figure doesn’t mean his followers should be saints. (See: the Apostles.)

    And then you went and ruined your point that second to last paragraph. The movie has the same allegorical story, but it added depth. So hey, I found the depth I’m looking for in an “allegorical story for kids” :P

    Ah, and your middle school teacher is – more or less – telling me to ignore the allegory and enjoy the Narnia books for what they are. Which I can’t. The books were just not enjoyable for me at any age. It’s only recently I’ve pinned down why.

  3. Dan on April 26th, 2010 7:21 pm

    I could argue that the movie adaptation of LWW was not truly for kids; after all, it was rated PG ;p Granted the PG rating vs G was not for “kids won’t understand it,” but for the fight scenes. I don’t remember the way they’re depicted in either the movie or the book off-hand, so I can’t say whether the descriptions in the book are more or less vivid or visceral.

    Also, the screenplay for the version in question was written probably 50 years after the book, and after other dramatic imaginings (wikipedia tells me it was made into a TV series on multiple occasion, as well as a stage production); one wonders if all/any of those had deeper morality considerations, how they were received in that light, and whether any of that influenced the screenwriters this time around!

    (You are of course welcome to not like the written series, for any reason or no reason. You just welcomed challengers, and I’m bored while waiting for my computer to update :p)

  4. Jenn on April 26th, 2010 8:06 pm

    Yeah, the rating was for the fight scenes. I don’t remember this either, but I’m pretty sure Lewis didn’t go into detail that much during the battles.

    And yes, I did welcome challengers! I like hearing the other side, even if I don’t agree. Thanks for defending the novels!

  5. A Farewell to Narnia’s Best | A Single Bell on January 8th, 2011 9:54 am

    [...] no secret that I greatly prefer the Narnia movies to the books. They have more character development and depth, and aren’t nearly so black and [...]

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