PG Rating for all narnia Movies. Thoughts, concerns?

[tirian_son_of_erlian]

Here's a quote from the narniaweb.com (a reliable website) frequently asked questions:

Walden Media and the C. S. Lewis Estate signed an agreement that all of the movies would receive a PG rating.

 

[Josh]

Here's a quote from the narniaweb.com (a reliable website) frequently asked questions:

Walden Media and the C. S. Lewis Estate signed an agreement that all of the movies would receive a PG rating.

This is bad news. While I agree that the movies should be acessable to everyone, there is NO WAY they can do the Last Battle justice with a PG rating. They would seriously have to water down the dark and deep themes, and the battles to get the rating. And honestly, they shouldnt. Its suppossed to be dark. And by the time it comes out, most of the narniafans will be old enough to watch it anyway.

Okay so does any of this sound like PG material to you?: Tash eats Shift (and Tash is scary looking also). Eustace dies. Jill gets dragged by her hair into the stable. Narnia is destroyed by evil beings and dragons only to be completly obliterated by Aslan. The Pevensies all die in a train wreck and unless things start improving...Susan's going to hell.

Not to mention all of the controversy that would be caused with the Calormen culture and the Christian themes.

 

[tirian_son_of_erlian]

Well, I won't be surprised either way. I mean, with Star Wars, each movie was PG up until the very last one. Although there is already am agreement, I don't see why it absolutely could NOT be ammended if both Walden Media and the Lewis Estate agree to. I agree there are some dark themes, and I personally would love a faithful adaptation regardless of who is "offended" by C.S. Lewis' amazingly prophetic story.

 

[MissReepicheep]

I agree. I am extremely nervous about the adaptation of LB, because I fear what changes they will make to the story which would detract from the Biblical value and even possibly make Lewis look like a clueless heretic. I can't wait for them to make the other books in the series into movies, but when it comes to LB, I'm filled with foreboding.

 

[Arvan]

I would be extremely pissed if they filmed Magician's Nephew next. The Silver Chair is my favorite book in the series and logically its the best follow up to VotDT (and keep in mind that Will is aging).

The Magician's Nephew shouldnt even come before HaHB because HaHB was released first. Even though I like the Magician's Nephew more, they need to stick to the order of the series. Can't they just be patient?



This is bad news. While I agree that the movies should be acessable to everyone, there is NO WAY they can do the Last Battle justice with a PG rating. They would seriously have to water down the dark and deep themes, and the battles to get the rating. And honestly, they shouldnt. Its suppossed to be dark. And by the time it comes out, most of the narniafans will be old enough to watch it anyway.

Okay so does any of this sound like PG material to you?: Tash eats Shift (and Tash is scary looking also). Eustace dies. Jill gets dragged by her hair into the stable. Narnia is destroyed by evil beings and dragons only to be completly obliterated by Aslan. The Pevensies all die in a train wreck and unless things start improving...Susan's going to hell.

Not to mention all of the controversy that would be caused with the Calormen culture and the Christian themes.

I agree with everything you said! Thank you! I can understand making the films PG, as it makes more money and is more kid-friendly. But I'm trying to imagine the Last Battle with a PG rating. It doesn't work for me. If they made any of the others PG-13, I would be really mad. But the Last Battle is different for me.

 

[Charn_Tim]

I moved this part of the The Silver Chair or The Magician's Nephew: Which Next? thread here, because it warrants a discussion in its own right, and is a little off topic in the other thread.

In my own view, having them all stay PG is completely consistent with CS Lewis' original intention of the books-family friendly and for all audiences. I think that they can still deal with the dark themes in all the books in an indirect and inexplicit way as Lewis does in the books, rather than try to turn the film series into something like a second-coming of LOTR, which is what some filmmakers would want to do.

Also, parts of Prince Caspian are very dark, and they kept that one a PG rating, so I think this is a very good move on the part of Walden Media and the C.S. Lewis Estate.

 

[TheSilverChair]

Here is just a thought, maybe Fox can find a way around that, since they weren't the ones who originally bought the rights.

 

[Josh]

I don't think its a good move. And I don't think the general public does either. I constantly keep hearing people complain about how unrealistic the Narnia movies are for their lack of blood on the swords. While I can handle that for the majority of the films, I don't think it should be like that in the Last Battle.

Besides, by the time the Last Battle is released, all of the original fans would be old enough to see the movie. Say you were 4 years old when LWW came out (and thats really young). The Last Battle movie could not come out until around 2018 (since it takes at least two years to film each movie). And by that point the 4 year old would be 17, already watching R rated movies. A PG-13 movie wouldnt prevent that fan from seeing the movie.

In fact, most kids watch PG-13 movies anyways. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Spider-man, Iron Man, Transformers, and Pirates of the Carribean are watched by tons of little kids. And as I said earlier, anyone who is a fan of the movies now would at least be 13 (but probably older) by the time the Last Battle comes out.

And besides, shouldnt the movies mature a bit as their audience does? Why do you think the Harry potter films have done so well? Because they have been able to maintain their original audience while the newer audience enjoys the more kid oriented novels.

Now I'm not saying each Narnia movie should get darker, but I do think the Last Battle is the execption. In a way its the "Revenge of the Sith" of the franchise. And we all know they would remove A LOT if they wanted it to be PG.

Maybe the C.S. Lewis estate could arrange an exception for just this movie. Or they can make it so that just Fox makes the movie and Walden doesnt (after all, Fox never signed the contract).

 

[sqjj]

Also, parts of Prince Caspian are very dark, and they kept that one a PG rating, so I think this is a very good move on the part of Walden Media and the C.S. Lewis Estate.

Yeah Prince Caspian did have dark moments, but it got away with a PG rating because all of the dark moments were constantly merged with cheesy Disney/Walden humor. There was so much attempts at comic relief in Prince Caspian that the dark themes were sort of overlooked.

There cannot be a large amount of comic relief in the Last Battle. The audience is not suppossed to be laughing as Narnia slowly awaits its doom.

And please, show some blood! Its so fake whenever they pull a sword out of someone and it comes out clean. They even ruined the part where Aslan tells Peter to "clean your sword" because there was no blood on the sword in the first place!

 

[MissReepicheep]

I agree with Josh! Lots of little kids watch PG-13 movies. I don't think it's right, but that's another debate. And he's right that the HP franchise has done well by growing with its fans.

 

[Aravis Kenobi]

Without reading the other posts, I will say this: Beowulf had R-level violence, yet received a PG-13 rating because it was "animated."

Besides, we don't actually see Eustace get killed, or Shift eaten by Tash. It's sort of "off-screen"....really, I think you're getting upset for absolutely no reason. If they want to make all of the films PG, I'm for it because families latch onto them more quickly.

And the old argument about the Calormen elements....look, the Telmarines in PC were cast as Spaniards, and I didn't hear anybody yelling "How dare they treat Spanish people as villains!". As long as they remove the reference to "darkies", the Calormenes should get no more outrage than the Telmarines.

I think you're just borrowing trouble to be perfectly honest.

EDIT: And, if so many people complain about the lack of "realism" in the Narnia films...why did LWW make over $700 million+ worldwide during its release, and more than that during its dvd release?

 

[MissReepicheep]

I think you're kind of overreacting, because we're not really overreacting. We're just commenting on these things, not panicking and throwing fits. Now look at me. I'm overreacting at your overreacting over us overreacting.

 

[Josh]

Because they were expecting LWW to be a bit darker and less kiddie like.

Notice how Prince Caspian grossed much less then LWW? Because the audience that watched LWW as kids/middleschoolers grew up and would rather watch PG-13 rated Iron Man and Indiana Jones then the PG rated Narnia.

 

[Charn_Tim]

Notice how Prince Caspian grossed much less then LWW? Because the audience that watched LWW as kids/middleschoolers grew up and would rather watch PG-13 rated Iron Man and Indiana Jones then the PG rated Narnia.

I very much disagree with this. The vast majority of people on here who were unhappy with Prince Caspian as a movie were upset that it deviated grossly from the original spirit and meaning CS Lewis had when he wrote the book, NOT because they were expecting something darker or mature. EVERYONE (from directory Michael Apted, to the actors, to the promotors) agree that the strategy should be to return to the simple family friendly magic and beauty of the LWW, rather than continuing to go down the route of making it LOTR-lite like PC was. Everyone associated with the film thinks that it did poorly because they tried to compete with movies like Iron Man and Indiana Jones, and they realized that what they were doing was trying to stick a square peg in a round hole. Even the release date (Christmas for families, rather than summer appealing more for teens) reflects this.

Furthermore, I disagree with your proposed strategy of trying to appeal to the one growing age group. The books are primarily children's stories, but they appeal to all ages; if they try to make them more "adult" and trample on the original spirit of the how the books were written, the backlash will be severe, (as it was with Prince Caspian). Plus, why shouldn't they appeal to a whole new set of young fans each time for each new film? People who already liked the first couple are not going to easily lose interest in them later on-especially if they remain true to the books, since the books continue to be loved by people of all ages. The CoN transcend any one age group, and I'm glad to see that they seem to be keeping this in mind with VDT, and I hope it continues this way.

 

[Aravis Kenobi]

I very much disagree with this. The vast majority of people on here who were unhappy with Prince Caspian as a movie were upset that it deviated grossly from the original spirit and meaning CS Lewis had when he wrote the book, NOT because they were expecting something darker. EVERYONE (from directory Michael Apted, to the actors, to the promotors) agree that the strategy should be to return to the simple family friendly magic and beauty of the LWW, rather than continuing to go down the route of making it LOTR-lite like PC was. Everyone associated with the film thinks that it did poorly because they tried to compete with movies like Iron Man and Indiana Jones, and they realized that what they were doing was trying to stick a square peg in a round hole. Even the release date (Christmas for families, rather than summer appealing more for teens) reflects this.

Furthermore, I disagree with your proposed strategy of trying to appeal to the one growing age group. The books are primarily children's stories, but they appeal to all ages; if they try to make them more "adult" and trample on the original spirit of the how the books were written, the backlash will be severe, (as it was with Prince Caspian). Plus, why shouldn't they appeal to a whole new set of young fans each time for each new film? People who already liked the first couple are not going to easily lose interest in them later on-especially if they remain true to the books, since the books continue to be loved by people of all ages. The CoN transcend any one age group, and I'm glad to see that they seem to be keeping this in mind with VDT, and I hope it continues this way.

Good grief, where's a 'like' button when I need one?!

And I don't agree with the "they were expecting LWW to be a bit darker and less kiddie-like"...um, that doesn't even make sense! The people who went into the theaters KNEW what they were going to see. They weren't expecting anything more than an entertaining adaptation of a beloved book! I certainly wasn't, and I was pleasantly surprised! I don't want Narnia to be violent or dark, because the books are NOT. Yes, TLB has violence; it has darkness, but I don't believe that it's any more prevalent than in the other 6. They can make TLB faithful to the book and still have a PG rating. There's so much *excuse the language* crap in films nowadays that even a G-rated film is questionable. I mean, I went to Toy Story 3 hoping that it'd be the same kind of film as the first two, but it wasn't; while I still like the movie, it has a lot of sexual innuendo that I found inappropriate for a G-rated film. Just because children see PG-13 or R rated films DOES NOT mean that more movies should continue to be made that carry the same rating. It's making an excuse for Hollywood to create movies that are more violent, more sexually explicit, and just plain crass.

 

[MissReepicheep]

I don't think that the films should ALL get progressively darker. That was not at all what I was trying to imply. I just feel that perhaps LB might need a PG-13 rating. But you're probably right, AK and Charn Tim.

I am strongly against little kids watching PG-13 or R rated movies. There are some G rated movies that I think aren't appropriate. When PC came out, I noticed that it was trying to come across as more adult, and it... failed. If you try to please everyone, you'll end up pleasing no one, which is exactly what happened. Narnia is what it is, and if you try to turn it into something else, it loses its value and distinction.

LotR is wonderful! But Narnia just plain isn't LotR. That kind of violence isn't conducive to its storyline. Narnia is supposed to be different.

I hope that makes sense. I tend to ramble on, and then people read implications that were never supposed to be there at all.

 

[Josh]

PC didnt work because it tried to market the movie both ways. It tried to be a dark Lord of the Rings movie, but that failed because it was cut down to a PG rating and because there were too much cheesy Disney/Walden humor.

On the other hand, it didnt work as a family film because there were moments that were just too dark for the kids.

I don't think the films should get progressivley darker (I just pointed out how that worked for other series), but I do think the Last Battle should be PG-13 if its to be done correctly. That is the exception to the PG rule which I will defend no matter what.

Btw, I am not suggesting that Last Battle should push the limits. It should only get the rating to accuaratly depict the violence and dark themes of the novel. I am not encouraging Hollywood to include more sex and swearing in their films...or even gratuitous violence. Its necessary for the last battle though.

 

[MissReepicheep]

You could have clarified that a little better. It sounds like you're saying that swearing, sex, and gratuitous violence are necessary for The Last Battle.

 

[Charn_Tim]

Good grief, where's a 'like' button when I need one?!

haha, thanks! I've wished for a like button on these posts so often as well! I've even told Paul to try to build it into the forum He said he'll look into it, but it's probably too difficult with the current setup.

And I don't agree with the "they were expecting LWW to be a bit darker and less kiddie-like"...um, that doesn't even make sense! The people who went into the theaters KNEW what they were going to see. They weren't expecting anything more than an entertaining adaptation of a beloved book! I certainly wasn't, and I was pleasantly surprised! I don't want Narnia to be violent or dark, because the books are NOT. Yes, TLB has violence; it has darkness, but I don't believe that it's any more prevalent than in the other 6. They can make TLB faithful to the book and still have a PG rating. There's so much *excuse the language* crap in films nowadays that even a G-rated film is questionable. I mean, I went to Toy Story 3 hoping that it'd be the same kind of film as the first two, but it wasn't; while I still like the movie, it has a lot of sexual innuendo that I found inappropriate for a G-rated film. Just because children see PG-13 or R rated films DOES NOT mean that more movies should continue to be made that carry the same rating. It's making an excuse for Hollywood to create movies that are more violent, more sexually explicit, and just plain crass.

I totally am with you on the de-sensitization of "family-friendly" films. As you say here, what passes for G and PG now-a-days should be MORE than enough to accommodate all the "darker" elements of any of the remaining CoN books. Keep the films family-friendly, and keep them appropriate to the type of audience and taste in which C.S. Lewis wrote!

I hope that makes sense. I tend to ramble on, and then people read implications that were never supposed to be there at all

Yes, of course your post made sense! It was a good post

 

[TerraNarnian]

I agree with that the movies should stay at a PG rating and be liked to all age groups, not just focusing on that one age group through the entire thing like with HP or LotR, it just doesn't work that way. It doesn't matter, compare CoN to HP and LotR and you will see that CoN is to focus on the family, not focusing on that one age group which we know can end in disaster (PC being the excellent example). However, when it comes to do the final CoN movie, Last Battle they have to make it a PG-13 rated movie because in the book, it was a lot darker and more serious compared to the other books in the chronicles. The battles are more brutal than how they were compared to LWW or PC as well since for a good example is the big battle between those who stood by Aslan and those who stood by Tash. When I read through that part, I felt that the battle was more serious than any other battle in the CoN because this was when everything that happened throughout the chronicles was leading up to. But if Hollywood waters down/throws what they feel is best into the Last Battle too much like how they did with PC, a lot of people will complain again but this time that the storyline in LB movie doesn't even match up to the storyline from the book. I guess we will have to wait and see if Hollywood gets it right for once or we will be once again very annoyed that Hollywood has screwed up a very good storyline to focus on that one age group again.