Now, the article gives away some major spoilers about the film, and if you haven’t read the book, you might be spoiled by much. Personally, I am not happy that they have included one spoiler that is from the movie, but not the book. I suppose that is the side effect of having so many people at the event, but I would have preferred that plot points that are in the film, but not the book, remained hidden until the film was released. That was privileged information, and now it’s out in front of the whole world, especially as it gives away the majority of the plot of the film.
Personally, I think it’s a terrific addition, that adds a connective tissue and sense of urgency to the quest, making it less of an arbitrary deal for the Narnians, but I also feel that it should have been saved for the screen. If you decide to read the article and spoil it for yourself, don’t say I didn’t warn you. The article is very out of context and incorrect with the plot point. Just so you know, as it was understood by the person being quoted is not correct about a certain plot point of the film… it was a simple case of misunderstanding. [Update: the article has since been corrected, as the production has confirmed what I said to be true. The article mentioned a witch appearing in the film, which was in the original script for the film, but does not appear at all in the final draft of the screenplay, nor the film.] There was a lot of material crammed into only a couple of days so that would be easy to do. So don’t be alarmed by the article. I commented on the article itself, to point that out.
Please consider staying spoiler free for it. You’re in for a real treat. Here are some highlights of the article to show you why.
“We made some mistakes with Prince Caspian, and I don’t want to make them again,” said Mark Johnson, a producer on all of the Narnia films. He said Caspian lacked some of the “wonder and magic of Narnia,” was “a little bit too rough” for families, and too much of a “boys’ action movie.” He said it’s “very important” that filmmakers regain that magic for Dawn Treader, now in the editing stages—and he’s convinced they’ve found it: “I want to climb on the rooftops and say we have a wonderful Narnia movie.”
The Narnia Summit that we all went to included some very high profile people:
“You could call it the world’s largest accountability group, so we were definitely nervous,” said Micheal Flaherty, president of Walden Media. “We had folks with an encyclopedic knowledge of C. S. Lewis and the Narnia books. But we went through every line of dialogue and every scene with them to make sure it was a really faithful adaptation.”
And yes, there was a very big thumbs up from everyone that I spoke to, about the state of the film. The positive reaction was palpable.
“What we saw on film, and some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, was pretty exciting,” said Steve Bell, executive vice president of the Willow Creek Association, who attended with wife Valerie. “It looks very compelling, a nice treatment. There seems to be a high level of respect for the material. My sense was that they really want to go to the authenticity of C. S. Lewis, maybe more so than ever. They’re very aware that they have to turn the corner from Prince Caspian. They know that the ball got dropped, and they’re trying to recapture that momentum.”
“They’re clearly making an effort to say that they respect and understand the spiritual focus of the book in a way that perhaps [Prince Caspian] did not,” added author Philip Yancey, who attended with wife Janet. “They don’t seem to be cutting any corners; they’re throwing the whole ball of wax at this, and that’s a good thing. If they can capture the universal love for these books, it’ll be great.”
The article goes on to talk about the relationships between Lucy and Aslan in the film, as well as another thing that they most definitely got right: Eustace and Aslan.
Flaherty told CT, “This book is the most theological of them all. There are more complex themes, particularly grace, that aren’t easy to get right [in a movie]. We must’ve spent an entire day talking about grace, and the importance of showing that it can’t be earned; it has to be given. This is something that Eustace can’t do on his own; he has to ask Aslan to do it for him. I think it’s a really powerful illustration of grace.”
If you’d like to read the whole article, you can read it here: Will Dawn Treader Float?