Much has been speculated about the “Mysterious Little Girl” or “MLG” that was seen on the set of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I have been sitting on this young lady’s name for many months now, as I was instructed. But now that the news has broken, I guess I’ll also report about it.
Arabella Morton plays the role of Gael in the film, and there has been speculation about the role that the character plays in the film, as she doesn’t appear in the book. What makes her an important part of the story as it plays out on film? Well, there is some speculation!
One rumor says that she plays Rhince’s daughter, and that being Rhince’s motive for joining the voyage: to find Gael and her mother.
Ask all you want, I won’t be spilling anything. Arabella is a total sweetheart, though.
Aww, she’s so pretty. 🙂
Arabella is a lovely, polite and very grounded young girl.
I know Arabella and her family personally, and you could not find a more loving and down to earth family.
Honestly, true Narnia fans, it is not Arabella’s fault that the script writers chose to introduce a new character to the film.
All Arabella can do is to perform and portray the new character to the best of her ability – and knowing Arabella, she has given it 110%.
Arabella’s friend
She is admittedly extremely adorable.
She is my second cousin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
she’s soooo cute!!! and boy what an oppertunity that little girl has!!
i tink she is adorable too. but how old is she?
I’m not exactly sure, but if I remember correctly probably between 6 and 8 years old.
She is so adorable! I’m looking forward to finding out what role she plays in the movie.
by role I meant what role her character will play. I’m really curious as to find out who Gael is. 😉
she so cute:)
Aww.. shes cute. Yeah I wonder, who is Gael? I don’t remember anyone by that name in the books. But whatever.
awww she’s a cutie 😉
oh she is sooo cute!!! she looks a lot like georgie! haha awww i want to give her a huuuug she is adorable!!!
She’s so cute! I can’t wait to see how her character fits in the movie!
Not to be a party pooper….but I like the original just fine
You talkin’ bout the BBC version? I can barely get through that anymore.
I agree that the BBC versions can be painful to watch–the sea serpent isn’t the least bit scary and Eustace’s dragon is pathetic to say the least…And I won’t even go into the lameness of Aslan’s roar–But they DID get the story right. And all the cuteness in the world doesn’t justify to me why we need a non-Lewis-created character in this movie. I shall wait til December to be proven wrong, but I have yet to meet a non-book character in these movies that needed to be there.
I agree. I think they should have just stuck to the book you know. I’d have to wait to see how it goes with the new character, though.
she’s soo cute…
Well, they gave her a good Narnian name… if traditionally a Narnian male one. 😉
Ooooooo…. I’m reading the book!!!
Elentari: “I have yet to meet a non-book character in these movies that needed to be there.”
What matters is not whether the character “needs” to be there, but if it works to convey the overall spirit of the story.
For example, in Prince Caspian, there was no White Witch “on ice.” But, her presence in this way conveyed the spirit of the chapter probably better than it could have been done on film any other way.
By the way, while I’m thinking of it: As I was re-reading Dawn Treader a thought struck me. Near the end of the book when Lucy discovers the sea people she (and Reepicheep) are warned not to tell the others for fear the crew will jump overboard. I wonder if that has any connection to the famous video where Gael jumps overboard.
Regardless of how cute she is, I agree, they shouldn’t mess with Lewis’ books. I want to see the story as he wrote it. No one can improve on Lewis’ Chronicles.
Lewis, himself, said later that he’d liked have liked to go back and correct some things here and there. If he could improve them, I think others could as well. But then, this is for the screen. The books aren’t screenplays, however, and that means that things will sometimes change out of necessity.
i must ask, is she australian? did they cast her from australia?
Mr. Mark: If they do have Gael jump overboard for the Mer scene, I bet they’ll have Reepicheep’s jump be to rescue her.
“What matters is not whether the character
i agree!! :)) with what? /:) i don’t know :))
The books are good enough on their own…. as books. As films, the stories in the books cannot stand on their own legs. It’s why Andrew Adamson made The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian based on his memory of the books. Though the writers did lay out the process for writing the screenplay, which you can learn about if you look at the interview on this website.
I won’t go into Prince Caspian’s treatment of Peter, because I was just about to write a book about why Peter’s character in the film is more true to the book than you might think. But that’s way off the topic of this article, so I’ll say this:
Additional characters can help to bring new light to a story that helps to better explain a concept to the audience. Especially considering that, like it or not, more people will see this that haven’t read the book than those that actually have. That’s a simple fact.
When it comes to “telling the story first,” here’s the brakes: In Prince Caspian, the story is: Prince Caspian joins together with the remaining Narnians, now a feared legend, to overthrow his Uncle, the evil King Miraz, who killed Caspian’s father to take the throne. Caspian does so with the aid of the Pevensies, the Kings of old, and without Aslan they cannot win.
That’s the overall story of the Prince Caspian book. It’s also the overall story for the film. So they DID tell the story first. What you’re talking about is telling it page by page, scene by scene, which if you read how they went through the book page by page when writing the screenplay, you’ll understand the process that they went through to make it work. Going through that process also brought out some interesting things about Peter, which they went with, because his character does change in the book.
Anyway, there’s an editorial in there, or 12.
I disagree, stick to the books every time.
While I do honestly believe there were things about the CHARACTERS that they could have done better for the Prince Caspian film, I do agree that looking at the bookverse arrangement of events things needed a little nudge to get going as a film. I can remember a girl at a public speaking competition I entered doing a skit of the scene with the Bear attacking, and her friend telling her how he thought that was the only scene in the first however many chapters that actually had any action in it.
Yes I have been told she is from Brisbane.
A local lass.
1. she’s sooooooooooooo cute!!
2. is this going to be the next Narnia movie?
Cute kid, but I have NO interest in changes if possible. I’d hate to think that they added a girl on the voyage when there shouldn’t be one apart from Lucy and eventually Ramandu’s daughter on the return trek. Grrrrr! I’m sure she’s a sweet girl, but I don’t like it. What is cinematic is highly subjective and thus needs for change are subjective. Maybe someday they’ll get it right and stick to the books and fans (the majority, not just you Paul my bro)can finally be happy for a change. Then again, maybe not. They don’t seem to be learning fast enough…grrrrrr!!!!
I know where you’re coming from, and we’ve spoken at length about this in the past. But since then I’ve been privy to some new data, and unfortunately… according to that data, I’m actually a part of the majority. It only seems like book purists are the majority because they’re the loudest… because they care the most that it changed.
Quite frankly the data surprised me, as I was under the impression that I was the minority. But anyhow, that’s beside the point. Here’s something: Lewis didn’t say that there was another girl on the voyage, but he didn’t say that there was not. Just like he never said there were Narnian creatures on the Dawn Treader in the pages, but with the peace that Caspian was bringing between the Narnians and the Telmarines, it wouldn’t have made sense for him, as King, to exclude them from the crew.
VDT CHAPTER 1: “I’ll give you my cabin of course, Lucy, but I’m afraid we have no women’s clothes on board. You’ll have to make do with some of mine” = There were no other females on board.
That’s the beginning of the story, though. Of course they set sail with an all male crew. Remember, though, they did stop on many islands, and there are many possibilities to pick up girls on the journey. For instance: the Island with the slave trade.
You’ve been doing your homework!
mmm sheis so cute…
I, for one, think that the changes Andrew has made, including the addition of Gael, should prove interesting. I must admit, I’m rather against the thought of big changes to the original story (being an avid Narnia lover), just like the rest of you it seems, although I’m not going to go so far as being called a purist. If changes need to be altered or added so as to make the film more interesting/exciting, then I say more power to them.
I know what you all are trying to say; that the directors and script-writers have decided the book is not enough to make a movie out of. And I can understand how you feel. It’s a fantastic book, one that I’ve grown up on since I was a kid, and still love to pieces. But you’ve got to face facts; it’s a BOOK, not a SCRIPT for a movie. You can’t expect the movie to follow the book page by page, line for line. You have to admit, it would turn out awkward, kinky, maybe a little odd… I’m sure that Andrew Adamson thought long and hard about these changes to the original plot, but if he decided that they were necessary, we need to all stop complaining, please, and trust the studio and the directors to make the right decisions. After all, they know a lot more about movie-making and the material it needs than you or I do, I’m sure.
The crew, the actors – they’ve all been working hard on this for a looong time, and they have a looong time yet till it’s finished, and what they need to hear is encouragement, not begrudging and indignant grumbles over a few changes. In any case, you know you’re going to love the movie no matter what, in the end! I mean, it’s got Ben Barnes in it! How can you *not* love it? But anyway, that’s just my opinion on the matter we all seem to be discussing. Let me know if what I’m trying to say sounds totally stupid.
Haha, my apologies. Andrew Adamson isn’t direction this one, is he? It’s Michael Apted now. Actually, that’s one of the few things I’m actually disapointed about (that and the fact that Anna Popplwell won’t be in this one!). I thought Andrew Adamson did a fantastic job with the last two. But I’m willing to give Apted a chance first.
Here, here! I heartily agree with you, Caspian’s Girl. If changes need to be made – why are we grumbling before we’ve even seen the movie?? It’s a fantastic book, but maybe not quite all of it is exactly movie material, you know? Good points you have there. But yeah, it’s Michael Apted directing this one. I’m sad about Andrew, too. And Anna! 🙂
Shes cute, but I do agree with everyone else. She shouldn’t be there. Gael is a made up characetr so the story is going to change. That is what makes me upset. I love the voyage of the Dawn treader I know it by heart (Not kidding) They shouldn’t mess with the books.
I TOTALLY agree. I was a little dinapointed in Prince Caspian ’cause it didn’t follow the book very well. I would like to see a exciting movie but there is no need to change Lewis’ work. I hope this one has more realistic characters than Prince Caspian too.
I read all the books when I was thirteen – the voyage of the dawn treader and the magicians nephew my favourites – and then about fifteen years later I heard the lion the witch and the wardrobe being read on cassette – my son listened to all the cassettes, and then played them all over again – and again!
I took him to see the movie that year, and he loved it. If he noticed the addiction he certainly did not say anything – he was in awe! I was watching closely to make sure of any changes. I was impressed that they did follow so closely; still not too sure about the addition they did make – dunno that it was necessary…
they have been careful to follow the books pretty closely – so far – and that is impressive. I am impressed with what they have done so far, and I can’t wait to see how well they do this one – and the magicians nephew. I have the first ‘making of’ book and they said they intended to make as true as possible, and they are working with CS Lewis family as well from what I recall…
@ Steve Martin, I think “Terri” is talking about the original story.
Heh! Steve Martin! 🙂 He’s hilarious.
Oh, you mean that she was talking about the book’s story. Different art forms require different stories from time to time. 🙂
yes..very cute
I am so far agreeing to this, but I just want to say that id the mess and change the book too much, they will have a lot of naria-book fans upset at them. Then the movie won’t make enough money, like prince caspian. Remember the caspian and susan slobber kiss? Well i can tell you that book fans were not happy with that. Neither were people with their heads on straight about what good romance is. That was not romantic. Tt was insulting, cheesy, and TOTALLY STUPID!
Sure, some new things and new secenes that aren’t in the book might be good, fun, and make it better. But mess with C.S Lewis’ narnia too much, and you are headed for a reward of embarrasing failure and about a billion narnia fans waiting to push you off the nearest ledge.
Hey movie makers, take my advice, I’m here to help you.
Jane, I totally agree with you, why did they have Caspian and Susan fall in love if Susan goes back to England and soon after Caspian marries someone else. It doesnt makes sense at all.
(But they are a cute couple:)
lame. Why to film directors always feel the need to recreate the first movie in every sequel they make instead of letting the story move forward? Yes, Lucy was adorable in the first movie, but now its time for her to grow up and the movies with her. If we wanted to watch the same movie over and over again –well we all have the Lion the Which and the Wardrobe dvd don’t we? I have no problem with the screenplay writers and directors making changes to the books –though I do think they stand perfectly as they are –so long as those changes are artistically sound, but there is no part in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for another cute little girl. This story is not about a child who discovers the wonder of a magical land. It is about an obnoxious boy who learns to accept magic and become less obnoxious, a brother and sister who come into their maturity and a king who in reconstructing his kingdom learns to put the needs of his country before himself –oh yes, and a mouse who goes into the great unknown to the ends of the earth. True it is a bit of a serial adventure and much of the pacing will need to be changed for a screen adaptation –because I agree a movie is a completely different art form that needs a different style of storytelling –but there is not only no need whatsoever for a new Lucy-when-she-was-little-wanna-be there is no ROOM. With islands full of scheming nobles, nightmares that come true, invisible one footed men, dragon treasure, fallen stars, enchanted sleeps, pirates, slave auctions, sea serpents, wizards and streams that turn everything into gold, who has TIME for the development of a completely new character? This is not following a ‘different art style’. It is a desperate ploy to recreate a block buster that ALREADY been made instead of having the courage to follow through with this new story for what it is –part, I believe, of why Prince Caspian did not make the money Disney expected it to –with the ‘epic battle’ portions that were far too much like lotr, the Peter-making-the-wrong-block-headed-choices drama that had already been covered in the first movie and the over emphasized relationship between Trumkin and Lucy –trying and failing to mirror the Tumnus-Lucy relationship. Do better Fox. Show Disney they made a big mistake by not making the same ones yourself.
Two words: Over Reaction.
I have to tell you, arn: This is all based on assumptions about a role that you have no real information about. Saying that there is no room in a movie for a new character of any kind is very short sighted. When it comes to time to develop a new character, it only takes about 4 or 5 minutes of screentime to fully develop a character. Need evidence? Watch the opening scene in the new Star Trek, and tell me you don’t see a completely developed Captain Kirk. Tell me you aren’t moved with the emotion of the scene that opens the movie.
Let’s just say this: it’s too late to get the creative team to change anything. Filming is complete. And it’s too early to make any judgements. You haven’t seen it, and won’t, until December 10.
Everyone has very interesting points. Personally I always was against changing the books, but when you need to make a change, hey–you need to make it. So adding a little girl called Gael if fine with me unless they ruin it like they did with Susan and Caspian. I don’t think they’d go far enough to make us that mad again, due to budget causes.
But we’re all going to watch it anyway, right? –because we’re dying to know why they felt the need to put her in. Besides, little girls Arabella’s age need more chances to be in the big shows.
So I say give the producers a chance before getting all worked up!
edmund lvr your rite and tis means everytin will probly be different (she is cute) but ten try 2 imagne te premire it will be so different now
If her presence will help deepen a from-the-book character and if it doesn’t mess up the story, I’m for it.
She is cute indeed! and i’m sure she’ll be great! I also think taht they shouldn’t change the book but i agree with Ariah, i’m for it if it doesn’t mess up the story =)
and anyway films always tend to change things to make it mor interesting don’t they ?
Look, none of us know who she is, so judging at this point is silly. For all we know, she could be the mer-child that Lucy is drawn to, or she could be a slave girl being returned to her family, or she could be a flashback of Lucy as a younger child from the storybook in the magician’s house. We’ll find out soon enough. The point most of us seem to agree on is that they should stick to the spirit of the story.
However, I disagree with Paul. They didn’t stick to the spirit of the story in ‘Prince Caspian’, and reducing the plot to 4 or 5 sentences to try to prove that they did is pretty far fetched! They drastically changed the moral integrity of several of the main characters and added plot lines that were just silly. I really hope they do better this time around. I understand that the transition from book to screen play is not linear, but I really hope they don’t try to change major characters or try to rewrite a classic. Yes, Lewis may have acknowledged that there were some minor things he might have improved…but he was the author. To have other people go back and ‘improve’ the basic plot would be like asking Celine Dion to improve Beethoven’s Fifth symphony. She might be a good singer, but she’s a little outclassed for this undertaking!
You can reduce the plot to practically any movie to about 4 or 5 sentences. They call those “log lines” in the film business. It’s a basic overview of the entire plot of a movie, that an executive hears, to decide whether or not to make the movie in full.
I am a staunch Narnia books fan, and was initially disappointed that the filmmakers added a new character, but I am curious to see what they’re going to do with this. I’m going into it with an open mind, and as many people pointed out, Arabella is darling. Plus, the poster looks fantastic!
Hey y’all.
I was reading your interesting comments, and I have a few things to say.
1. True, there is no Gael in VDT, but hey, Arabella could be a great addition.
2. Whether you like it or not, you have no way to change the cast, nor any right to slander Arabella. Imagine if she saw your comments.
3. If you were a director, you could alter that, but you aren’t and you can’t.
4. YOU ARE BEING SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RUDE!!! UGH! I LOVE ARABELLA! SHE IS ADORABLE!
5. I totally agree with Paul, you are soooo majorly overeacting. come on.
So that’s what I have to say. As for Arabella, you are awesome! As for you people, stop!
Sarah
Dear Sarah – and fellow responders
Sarah you are totally on the money. I know Arabella and her family personally and yes, Arabella is adorable.
Believe me, no one in the Morton family is/are prima donnas…
Arabella is the most polite, courteous and loving young girl thta I have met in a long time. I can honestly admit that I have not read the book/s or seen any of the movies, (I have two boys, so not entirely in tune with the girls…)
The Morton family are totally down to earth. I am not a Narnia book and/or film expert (as I have not read and/or seen any of the movies), but honestly people it is only a movie (not real life). It is not Arabella’s fault that the directors/script writers introduced a new character to the latest movie. Someone has to play the character, why not Arabella???
Honestly, if people take the introduction of Gael to the movie too seriously, YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE. It is only a movie peeoooppple…..
Sorry to rain on your parade, people. It is not sufficient for a little girl to be ‘soooo cute’ in order to portray a believable character in a fantasy movie. She must also be a good enough actor to help us all go along with the flow of the story without drawing attention to herself as a person rather than the character she plays. This, sadly, Arabella signally failed to do. Her acting is so poor – wooden even – e.g. her gazing into the distance is completely unfocussed on anything; her cries of “Look, what’s that?!” reminiscent of a school nativity play. She’s that bad, people.
The question remains – how did she get the gig? How was an extra part written for this dim-but-cute amateur? Methinks the whiff of nepotism lurks, like a green mist, around this little girl’s inclusion in this otherwise well acted epic.
Well acted, apart that is, from Tamati Rangi, lurking under the least convincing beast-suit since Chewbacca, and lip-sinc-ing really badly coupled with dire body language. Poor, just poor.
All in all though, a great improvement on Prince Caspian, despite a few creaky special effects.