Moviefone is holding a Summer Sequel Smack Down. In the running for the best Fantasy sequel, we have four franchises in the running: The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Twilight. It stands to reason that The Lord of the Rings and Narnia should outclass Harry Potter and Twilight, but that will only happen if we work together. If you watched what happened with the MTV Movie Awards, the Twilight fans are prepared to do whatever it takes, by whatever means, to try and win for their cast. This is our chance to put Narnia into the limelight, where it belongs.
Moviefone asked me to write up a few hundred words for why I feel each of the Narnia movies is better than the Harry Potter films it is up against. I had a bit of fun with it, as I’ve only seen the two Harry Potter films once or twice.
Vote at Moviefone!
‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ vs ‘Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’
There are many reasons why Caspian is a better sequel than Azkaban, and three of those are Dinklage, Balin and Neeson. Where else are you going to find Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Ken Stott (Balin, The Hobbit trilogy) and Liam Neeson (Taken, Star Wars) sharing screen time together in the same film? That’s not to mention the rest of the returning cast: Georgie Henley (Lucy), Anna Popplewell (Susan), William Moseley (Peter) and Skandar Keynes (Edmund). Warwick Davis (Star Wars) and Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) also join the cast. The film was written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Captain America 1 & 2, Pain and Gain).
And with a cast like that, what about the story? Well, for one thing, it doesn’t feature the inclusion of an item that, if used correctly, could have brought an end to even the creation of the primary villain, thus ending the entire story in only three books. The time-turner anyone?
I must also mention the battle at the end of Prince Caspian, which is as epic as it is dynamic. Plus, the trees come to life to help out, in much the same way as author C.S. Lewis’ friend J.R.R. Tolkien has them do in his Lord of the Rings. This film is a fantasy variation of Hamlet, with incredible action sequences, and a warrior mouse called Reepicheep (voiced in this film by Eddie Izzard). What more could you want?
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ vs ‘Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader’
When it comes to great sequels, having a story that makes sense is important. As the end of the saga, Deathly Hallows Part 2 couldn’t deliver the goods. Where were the other schools that played in the Tri-Wizard Tournament when old Voldy was on the hunt? Remember, we’re talking about a movie here, not a book.
In Dawn Treader, we have a trump card, however. A man that captured the imaginations and hearts of all of us in Star Trek and will again in Star Trek: Into Darkness. A big time fan of Star Wars. One of the writers of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Yes, friends, I speak of none other than SIMON PEGG. The new voice of Reepicheep, the warrior mouse, whose performance brought tears to the eyes of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth, at the Royal Premiere of the film in 2010.
Plus, we could all enjoy the marvelous discovery of Will Poulter as the Pevensie children’s cousin: Eustace Clarence Scrubb. A boy who almost deserved his name, and is turned into a dragon. The film also featured Australian star Gary Sweet and the return of Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes and Liam Neeson. (With cameos from Anna Popplewell and William Moseley, to boot!)
An amazing Dragon ship and a battle with a giant sea serpent, plus a fun and lighthearted journey that makes you happy for having been on it, it was a fitting finale for the Pevensies as the world awaits a big screen return to Narnia.
Vote at Moviefone!
I don’t know Paul, I voted for every franchise except Twilight!
I hope that Narnia will win this time…
Let’s go Narnians! For Narnia and For Aslan!
Here’s my story about this news: http://thenarniacontinent.blogspot.com/2013/04/movie-sequel-smack-down-2013-vote-for.html#more
Narnia and Middle Earth all the way!
Go Narnian Elf!! You chose the awesome ones!!
I did vote for Caspian over Prisoner of Azkaban, but I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Dawn Treader over Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Treader was just far too unfaithful to the book.
This isn’t about faithfulness to the book, though. This is movie vs. movie. Ah well.
Honestly…DH2 Was still better than VotDT, they atleast had a story line that made sense..I’ve seen Voyage multiple times…and still never understood the swords or the green mist…why would Aslan have given the Lords the Swords when they didn’t believe in Him…Parts were amazing..just..confusing..if they could have explained it..then I could maybe except it..but..can’t…therefore DH2 as a movie still made more sense..(if you’ve atleast seen DH1).
To answer your questions:
It doesn’t matter when or why Aslan would have given the Lords the swords, just that he did. He used Father Christmas to provide the Pevensie children with gifts, so it stands to reason that he could have used another means to give the swords to the Lords. In all honesty, a scene that showed why or how he did so would have been distracting and wouldn’t have had anything to do with the themes of the film, so it wouldn’t really have fit other than to spoon feed an audience. I think it’s more fun to kind of guess at how it happened. Remember, these Lords were sent away from Narnia for a reason… what was that reason? Was it to explore? Was it because they became believers?
The green mist, I believe, makes about as much sense as the Dark Island, where the worst nightmares of the sailors become true. And that was in the book, without explanation for why it was there, or where it came from. The mist, however, was an extension of that, and would have later been explained as being the Lady of the Green Kirtle’s way of reaching out and taking more slaves. Hence the sacrifice to the mist. There was a pact made with the Lady, or some form of threat that they’re taking care of for her.
As for the last part of your comment: “if you’ve atleast seen DH1),” that’s what makes this particular argument make sense. If you haven’t seen DH1, then DH2 doesn’t make sense, but you can see VDT without having seen Prince Caspian, and VDT still makes sense. You can watch Iron Man 3 without having seen Iron Man 2 or Avengers, and it still makes sense. The fact is, if DH2 doesn’t make sense without having seen DH1, then it’s a fail, and VDT makes a better sequel on that alone.
It would have been great if another brand new Narnia film could have been released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S.Lewis. As for Harry Potter it is worth pointing out that in one of his films (I forget which one) there is a scene from Diagon Alley featuring Harry, Hermione and Ronald which appears to poke fun at a mentally ill man talking to a wall. This Movietone Sequel ‘Smack Down’ (?) is all a massive distraction from the substance of the films.
A massive distraction from the substance of the films? Explain.
A massive distraction from the substance of the films? Explain.
One hour, 19 minutes and 40 seconds into LWW Aslan speaks the following words to Peter Pevensie: ‘Peter, there is a Deep Magic, more powerful than any of us, that rules over all of Narnia. It defines right and wrong, and governs all our destinies. Yours…..and mine.’
Aslan’s final message to Lucy occurs at 1 hour, 37 minutes and 10 seconds of VODT with the following words: ‘In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia. That by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.’
A concise summary of the substance of all 3 films, yes?
WHA?? I’m confused.
Yes and no. I just don’t agree that this is a distraction from the substance of the films in the slightest. It’s not even ABOUT that part of it. Not every article about Narnia has to be.
I don’t know. I think this article is a bit off on what should make Narnia better sequels than all the other ones. I am a Christian and in love with the Narnia series, but to me it’s really the Harry Potter sequels and LOTR sequels that are better. Over half of the reasons in this article of why Narnia is the better franchise of sequels is because of it’s actor list. While yes maintaining a solid cast is important i don’t know if that is the way to really sell why Narnia’s sequels are better. I think a very small percentage of people who would think any other franchise of sequels better just because of its actors. I read how the article mentions the story but far too much of it deals with the recognized actors. People like LOTR why? Is it just because of the actors? Or is there something more to like?
How about relaying the magical qualities in the Narnia sequels. Naturally I always felt like Narnia was the purest type of ‘magic’ there is in films. Harry Potter’s magic has it’s wonders too but at times it can be dark and most of the film focuses on just that-using magic in just about every way, everyday, for the user. While in the Narnia films such as Prince Caspian we’re introduced to a magical land, well, without as much magic, giving the children the option to resort to a darker magic or lay back on faith. This is a very strong message and i think that’s what makes Prince Caspian great. And if there is going to be any pointing of fingers at Azkaban for its time-travel plot hole in the movie then it can be the same for Voyage of the Dawn Treader. While Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite movie of the series i must admit, in my own opinion, that the addition of the Green Mist really just messes up the movie as a whole. What does it want? What is its motivation? 2) What does it do with the people it devours (it apparently does not eat them because everyone in the boats is seen unharmed at the end). 3) Why does it want to tempt the Dawn Treader crew? 4) Why doesn’t it just simply devour the Dawn Treader? 5) Where did the mist come from? All these are questions to wish there are no answers for. Also the whole issue with Coriakin not teaching the crew of the invisibility spell that couldve saved them from alot of danger. At least in the Azkaban book we’re given clues as to why Hermione can’t go back to get rid of Voldemort while in both the Dawn Treader film and book events just kind of exist because they just do. Hence, the previous question of why Aslan gave the swords to the Lords. As a movie you should try to make the story make sense to a broad audience. We all know that Narnia is a largely based on Christianity and thus faith is important but to sell a movie will take more than just faith to an audience. Maybe we are okay with things just being as they are because we have a faith in God without seeing him. Whereas many people want reasons why. Again, VDT is my favorite Narnia movie but it would be really nice to see them patch it up a bit, at least, for the movie to really get the sales they wanted(Not saying it didnt sell well just not as well here as other international markets. Whereas we can see clues of why Hermione or anyone didn’t go back to rid Voldemort in the world in the book we don’t see answers to our questions from the VDT film at all in the original source material. As a matter of fact the movie just adds new questions to the list.
And as far as DH2 being a ‘fail’ because you have to watch DH 1 before it, is a completely messed up statement. Yes, it is true you have to watch DH 1 before 2 but that doesnt make it a ‘fail’ as a sequel. VDT raises many questions in terms of independent viewing from its films its just that its scope is less big because its the 3rd film in the series and clearly not a conclusion. There are many flashbacks in VDT of the Pevensie children. I actually had a friend who went to see VDT without seeing the original two and he was still bulging with questions and not just applying to the film itself but things that happened before it. He had no clue why all the Pevensie children werent there in VDT. He wondered who the lady was in the green mist. Again, we know because we’ve read the books. That it is a foreshadowing of the Lady of The Green Kirtle but he had no clue who she was. You cant just sit through VDT and expect to really get why Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace are there or how Lucy and Edmund know all these people without some general knowledge by watching the first or second movie. Sequels to movies will always need to have some sort of general knowledge gained before watching them or obviously the sequel wont make sense. So to say that DH2 doesn’t make sense because you have to see DH1 doesn’t make sense at all. And granted even though DH1 and DH2 are separate movies they should be treated like one huge sequel because the title isn’t Deathly Hallows 1 and Deathly Hallows 2 but Deathly Hallows PART 1 & Deathly Hallows Part 2. Two is just a continuation of Part 1’s story. The word Part makes it work just like in a play. The concept of the story doesn’t change its just in the middle of the play when it breaks to part 2 there’s just a little break and then a continuation of already established story events.
I will vote for Prince Caspian but not… ugh… that boat movie that falsely used narnia in it its title. Here is a plot hole for ya. So the magician says he turned the dufflepuds invisible to protect them from the mist so hey why not turn the dawn treader and its crew invisible so they can just wander right into the dark island and get the sword… oh wait… maybe its because THE 7 SWORDS DONT EVEN DESTROY THE MIST!!!! They just turn Rhindon blue for some reason, and then only if you stab Rhindon into a sea serpent made of the mist does the whole dark island get destroyed. Sorry didn’t mean to get so worked up… that movie man, it puts in a mood.
🙂
That is my absolute favorite of the three Narnia movies, though, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. That’s not actually a plothole, that you pointed out. If so, then that’s also a major plothole in the book as well. Why? Because the invisibility spell exists, and (according to your logic) could have been used to get them to the end of the book. Problem is that a story is more about the journey than the end, and that would have made for a short adventure. Also, the description you gave of why the Seven Swords don’t destroy the mist… that is precisely HOW they did. With the seven swords on the table, it allowed Rhindon to work against the serpent.
I get worked up when people claim that a Narnia movie isn’t a Narnia movie because *they* wish it wasn’t a Narnia movie. They’re no less Narnia movies than the BBC and Animated versions that also departed from the books in very odd ways. (Maugrim being a morphing wolf-man?)
Oh, and I feel sorry to say this, but I would pick any of the Star Wars movies over Narnia any day (Sorry, it’s my favorite movie series).
I can’t stand both Twilight (Like there hasn’t been a thousand sappy romantic vampire novels) and Harry Potter (It’s about a child wizard with very round glasses).
I am very fond of the movie series Narnia, I view them often I am waiting to see the next ones come, please let me know if the fourth is on its way and how many more are on the making and their names., thank you. Tee in Australia