judyfromkansas
New member
I've just rented and rewatched LWW...and there was one thing about the film that galled me when I first saw it and galls me still: the portrayal of Father Christmas.
In Lewis' book, he was "Huge and glad and real"...but in the film he was a shabby-looking ragpicker in a dirty rickety sleigh. Bleah.
I mean really, what is it with Hollywood and Santa Claus? During Hollywood's Golden Age we got Santas with a bit of real magic and awe - witness Kris Kringle from "Miracle on 34th Street". But today, Santa is either a "realistic" raggedy old peddler or a bumbling idiot ("Fred Claus", "The Santa Claus", "Elf").
In fact, why do *all* fantasy creatures in films nowadays look and act so scruffy overall? Has anyone here seen the ads for the "Spiderwick Chronicles"? Do the creatures in them look awfully (and sadly) familiar?
I call it the "Brian Froud" disease: an illness which infects movie producers and makes them think that all movie fantasy creatures must look as gross, slimy and unappealing as possible - to make them more "real".
The name of the illness is derived from British illustrator Brian Froud (the guy who designed the bargain-basement Jim Henson flicks Dark Crystal and Labyrinth). His fantasy illustrations of fairies, dwarves et al are all painted in greasy transparent greens and faded grays. Ugh. He appears to be popular with the Hollywood crowd, given how his art has apparently inspired so many character designs in recent fantasy films. As a result, film producers apparently think that modern film fantasy creatures have to look as un-Land-Of-Oz as possible or audiences won't believe in them.
Bosh! Look at the flop movie "Water Horse", starring a nasty thing that looked like a cross between a leech and a turtle. The ads TRIED to make it seem cute but its design was just too repulsive, and the movie was a failure. What was the point in making the critter so repugnant? How did that make it more "real"? Hey, aren't dolphins, whales and clownfish colorful and cute? Then why not a mythical sea monster? And speaking of monsters, why do nearly all dragons in recent movies look like lumpy dinosaurs with wings?
But I digress (sort of). Getting back to the subject, if Hollywood makes any more Chritmas movies, I would like to see at least ONE in which Santa/Father Christmas/Kris Kringle regains some of his mystic wonder. I hoped for that in LWW because that's how Lewis portrayed him in the book. I was sadly disappointed...
In Lewis' book, he was "Huge and glad and real"...but in the film he was a shabby-looking ragpicker in a dirty rickety sleigh. Bleah.
I mean really, what is it with Hollywood and Santa Claus? During Hollywood's Golden Age we got Santas with a bit of real magic and awe - witness Kris Kringle from "Miracle on 34th Street". But today, Santa is either a "realistic" raggedy old peddler or a bumbling idiot ("Fred Claus", "The Santa Claus", "Elf").
In fact, why do *all* fantasy creatures in films nowadays look and act so scruffy overall? Has anyone here seen the ads for the "Spiderwick Chronicles"? Do the creatures in them look awfully (and sadly) familiar?
I call it the "Brian Froud" disease: an illness which infects movie producers and makes them think that all movie fantasy creatures must look as gross, slimy and unappealing as possible - to make them more "real".
The name of the illness is derived from British illustrator Brian Froud (the guy who designed the bargain-basement Jim Henson flicks Dark Crystal and Labyrinth). His fantasy illustrations of fairies, dwarves et al are all painted in greasy transparent greens and faded grays. Ugh. He appears to be popular with the Hollywood crowd, given how his art has apparently inspired so many character designs in recent fantasy films. As a result, film producers apparently think that modern film fantasy creatures have to look as un-Land-Of-Oz as possible or audiences won't believe in them.Bosh! Look at the flop movie "Water Horse", starring a nasty thing that looked like a cross between a leech and a turtle. The ads TRIED to make it seem cute but its design was just too repulsive, and the movie was a failure. What was the point in making the critter so repugnant? How did that make it more "real"? Hey, aren't dolphins, whales and clownfish colorful and cute? Then why not a mythical sea monster? And speaking of monsters, why do nearly all dragons in recent movies look like lumpy dinosaurs with wings?
But I digress (sort of). Getting back to the subject, if Hollywood makes any more Chritmas movies, I would like to see at least ONE in which Santa/Father Christmas/Kris Kringle regains some of his mystic wonder. I hoped for that in LWW because that's how Lewis portrayed him in the book. I was sadly disappointed...
