mr fox
New member
Was anything like that ever mentioned in the book? i dont remember it been in the book....but then again the movie is more about getting people to see it rather then the story...
Why does everyone hate this movie merged with worst change
- Thread starter Different_Name
- Start date
Was anything like that ever mentioned in the book? i dont remember it been in the book....but then again the movie is more about getting people to see it rather then the story...
No, there was never anything like that in the book, which is the heart of the complaint that CF (and many of the rest of us) have. In the book, Peter made no bones about his role. He said to Caspian, "I'm not here to take your throne, but to put you in it."
You make a very good point that the goal of the movie was to get more people to see it, not to accurately convey the story as originally written. Unfortunately, I think the changes had the opposite effect. I saw Lion five times in the theatre and bought the DVD as soon as it came out, at full price. I saw Caspian twice (the second time was to give it the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want to condemn it on only one viewing, so I saw it again - and then condemned it) and didn't buy the DVD even from the discount table. If they continue the trend with Dawn Treader, I'll only see it once and urge a boycott.
You make a very good point that the goal of the movie was to get more people to see it, not to accurately convey the story as originally written. Unfortunately, I think the changes had the opposite effect. I saw Lion five times in the theatre and bought the DVD as soon as it came out, at full price. I saw Caspian twice (the second time was to give it the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want to condemn it on only one viewing, so I saw it again - and then condemned it) and didn't buy the DVD even from the discount table. If they continue the trend with Dawn Treader, I'll only see it once and urge a boycott.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Thank you, Prince. I can _always_ use your backup, if you know what I mean. I also saw "Prince NON-Caspian" a second time to be fair; and it still stank the second time. I will never watch it again. Before the "Dawn Treader" movie opens, I will re-watch the BBC version of "Prince Caspian," so I will have _that_ fresh in my mind and consider it as the prelude to the new film. And if the new film is decent, I will give it my support.
Animus Wyrmis
New member
I think there are two marketing strategies here. The first is to take a book and try to generate an audience of book lovers, mostly by sticking to the book and using trailer footage to say, essentially, "Wasn't that moment in the book great?! Come see it!" The assumption then is that you're not spoiling anyone, all your audience knows what's up. Harry Potter is probably the best example.
The other strategy is to try and get a wider audience and use the trailer to pull people in who maybe saw the first couple movies or like the genre. I think that's what's going on here...to put it another way, Deathly Hallows trailers go "Remember the climax of the book, the battle between Harry and Voldemort, and Harry on the ground? Remember that? WELL IT IS IN OUR MOVIE, COME SEE IT"--they're working off the assumption that their audience is going to go for the book, and Harry Potter is so popular it's a safe bet. (That is, they aren't planning the trailer or the movie for people who saw movies 1-6 and don't know what's happening next.)
Narnia, on the other hand, doesn't have as big a fan base as Harry Potter to start with, so it looks like the trailer is saying "Hey! Remember that Prince Caspian movie? The kids are back again, with some new friends, a lot of generic fantasy epic quest narrative, and stunning visuals--you who like those things, come watch!" We'll have to see to what extent the trailer is true to the movie--a lot of times trailers are deliberately misleading or use footage that ends up being cut to pull people in. (Anyone remember Bridge to Terebithia?)
Unfortunately, I think the movie people have decided--rightly or wrongly, I don't know--that they have a better chance of selling this movie if they can convince people who didn't read the books or don't remember them to watch it than if they stick to book fans. I don't know how much of that is the size of the fan base or the response to PC instead of LWW (remember there were a lot of people who read LWW but never got any further, who would have seen the first one and not the rest). So we'll see how this goes. Personally, the Magician's house looks PERFECT to me, so I am seeing it on visuals alone!
The other strategy is to try and get a wider audience and use the trailer to pull people in who maybe saw the first couple movies or like the genre. I think that's what's going on here...to put it another way, Deathly Hallows trailers go "Remember the climax of the book, the battle between Harry and Voldemort, and Harry on the ground? Remember that? WELL IT IS IN OUR MOVIE, COME SEE IT"--they're working off the assumption that their audience is going to go for the book, and Harry Potter is so popular it's a safe bet. (That is, they aren't planning the trailer or the movie for people who saw movies 1-6 and don't know what's happening next.)
Narnia, on the other hand, doesn't have as big a fan base as Harry Potter to start with, so it looks like the trailer is saying "Hey! Remember that Prince Caspian movie? The kids are back again, with some new friends, a lot of generic fantasy epic quest narrative, and stunning visuals--you who like those things, come watch!" We'll have to see to what extent the trailer is true to the movie--a lot of times trailers are deliberately misleading or use footage that ends up being cut to pull people in. (Anyone remember Bridge to Terebithia?)
Unfortunately, I think the movie people have decided--rightly or wrongly, I don't know--that they have a better chance of selling this movie if they can convince people who didn't read the books or don't remember them to watch it than if they stick to book fans. I don't know how much of that is the size of the fan base or the response to PC instead of LWW (remember there were a lot of people who read LWW but never got any further, who would have seen the first one and not the rest). So we'll see how this goes. Personally, the Magician's house looks PERFECT to me, so I am seeing it on visuals alone!
mr fox
New member
that,copperfox is a very smart idea...
Aravis Kenobi
New member
I don't know if anbody has played the Prince Caspian for Wii video game, but at the beginning of the first level, there is a short scene between Cornelius and Caspian. I'm pretty certain that this was real (as it looked different from the CG in the game), and in it they discussed the Lost Lords...I don't know why it wasn't included in the dvd if it was an actual scene, but it was cool...
Didn't know where to post that, but I felt jipped at not having seen it on the dvd.
*And for the record, I'm still of the opinion that those who urge boycotts for others based on their own opinion are selfish.*
Didn't know where to post that, but I felt jipped at not having seen it on the dvd.
*And for the record, I'm still of the opinion that those who urge boycotts for others based on their own opinion are selfish.*
Last edited:
mr fox
New member
Why would you boycott the movie? i mean the whole concept of fans is that if they dont like it AFTER theve seen it they make conclusion from that NOT from a trailer....
I, for one am going to see it....
Aravis Kenobi
New member
I'm not boycotting it, mr. fox. I was referring to others. 
And correction, on the clip I mentioned, it's actually the discussion of Old Narnia. And it WAS real, so why it's only on the game, I have no earthly idea. Should have been in the movie!
And correction, on the clip I mentioned, it's actually the discussion of Old Narnia. And it WAS real, so why it's only on the game, I have no earthly idea. Should have been in the movie!
Boycotting a film tends to have the opposite effect and people see it out of sheer curiosity. As per the topic of the thread, Prince Caspian was my least favorite book in the series, so I was happy they made a film that entertaining from it. I quite enjoyed Hamlet (it's my favorite Shakespeare play) so having a shorter version of it with fantasy creatures is right up my alley. Also, I believe that Peter was more true to life than his novel counterpart (but that's just how I remember it from when I read it). I thought that novel-Peter was quite wooden and sterile as a character, and I felt betrayed by him when he didn't believe that Lucy had seen Aslan. (Did he learn nothing from the Professor?) I understand what Lewis was trying to do, but I don't agree with it creatively.
As for the Wii scene, it was shot specifically for the video game while they were filming the movie. Not sure how many scenes were shot for the game, but it would have been great if they were included somewhere on the DVD release.
As for the Wii scene, it was shot specifically for the video game while they were filming the movie. Not sure how many scenes were shot for the game, but it would have been great if they were included somewhere on the DVD release.
mr fox
New member
that is quite true (just look at the PC version MW2 for example, people were planning/did boycot the game release becuase it didnt have a certian feature they wanted (it that case mods and dedi servers) and guess what? it becuase the highest selling video game of all time! so boycott/making a stance on a feature Can but not also is usefull.Also Aravis Kenobi, i wasnt refeering just to you i was relating the concept of boycotting can have certain effects upon movies,be it good or bad...
There is a church out there that is planning a boycott of Narnia, and they did so with LWW but for some reason, I couldn't find anything on a boycott of Caspian (but didn't look too hard, I could barely stand looking at their website). I won't go into too many details, nor link to them... but they boycott Narnia because they believe that it leads to witchcraft and other such things.
Aravis Kenobi
New member
Much as I love Narnia, I can see their point. But I think they need to read Lewis' background on Narnia before making that kind of judgment call...
they weren't Baptist were they?
MrBob
Well-known member
"I thought that novel-Peter was quite wooden and sterile as a character, and I felt betrayed by him when he didn't believe that Lucy had seen Aslan."
Wooden, Specter? I have never read a character I thought was wooden. Maybe boring or not well rounded, but never have I ever described a book character as wooden. And as for believing Lucy at the gorge, he never disbelieved her. Peter took Trumpkin to task for speaking badly about Aslan and chose to go against the way Lucy wanted to go despite the fact that he felt she might be right.
As for churches who dislike Narnia. as I have metnioned, there is a website that states Lewis is evil and was Satanic when writing Narnia. The website would be funny if I knew it was meant as a joke.
MrBob
Wooden, Specter? I have never read a character I thought was wooden. Maybe boring or not well rounded, but never have I ever described a book character as wooden. And as for believing Lucy at the gorge, he never disbelieved her. Peter took Trumpkin to task for speaking badly about Aslan and chose to go against the way Lucy wanted to go despite the fact that he felt she might be right.
As for churches who dislike Narnia. as I have metnioned, there is a website that states Lewis is evil and was Satanic when writing Narnia. The website would be funny if I knew it was meant as a joke.
MrBob
Hmmm....where does one begin.
(1) Peter's ego about being a king of Narnia and bullying others.
(2) The age of Caspian
(3) The character of Caspian - in the book, he never once challenged Peter's authority, but was in total awe of the kings and queens of Narnia.
(4) The attack on Miraz's castle.
(5) The late introduction of Aslan to the story. Especially since the story is about Aslan.
(6) The romance between Caspian and Susan
(7) Susan's archery reminisent of Legolas in the LOTRs. Not saying that in her years as a queen of Narnia, she might not have become an expert archer, but in the book, she didn't fight.
(8) The aggressive testosterone battle between Peter and Caspian.
Another Extreme Makeover, Hollywood Edition!!!
(1) Peter's ego about being a king of Narnia and bullying others.
(2) The age of Caspian
(3) The character of Caspian - in the book, he never once challenged Peter's authority, but was in total awe of the kings and queens of Narnia.
(4) The attack on Miraz's castle.
(5) The late introduction of Aslan to the story. Especially since the story is about Aslan.
(6) The romance between Caspian and Susan
(7) Susan's archery reminisent of Legolas in the LOTRs. Not saying that in her years as a queen of Narnia, she might not have become an expert archer, but in the book, she didn't fight.
(8) The aggressive testosterone battle between Peter and Caspian.
Another Extreme Makeover, Hollywood Edition!!!
mr fox
New member
yep and this is why you dont whine about if the movies are bad....becuase you know that there will be changes and people may not like them...
The question was asked and so we respond. No whining, but the fact is the only thing we knew for sure prior to the film's release was that (1) Caspian would be older, and (2) the rumor of a kiss between Caspin and Susan. Then we go and find that not only was most of the film changed around from the book, but the characters, with perhaps the exception of Lucy, personalities had changed from the intent of Mr. Lewis. The film did nothing to honor the story and the author of it, and epecially didn't bring honor to God. IMHO of course.
We have to be careful not to treat C.S. Lewis's books as if they are Holy Writ. They are not. They are fictional adventure stories with Christian themes. Changes will be made when any movie is turned into a book. Some changes in PC were certainly ill-advisable, but changing a character from a Christian author's children's novel is not the same as dishonoring God.
Frankly, I recall no Christian even mentioning the ways in which The Prince of Egypt changed Moses's inspired narrative in Exodus (and adhered to the liberal dating of the Exodus), but many are willing to rake another set of filmmakers over the coals for changes to a non-inspired, fictional children's story. Please, let's keep things in perspective. We all love the Narnia series, but it is not the Bible and should not be treated as such.
Frankly, I recall no Christian even mentioning the ways in which The Prince of Egypt changed Moses's inspired narrative in Exodus (and adhered to the liberal dating of the Exodus), but many are willing to rake another set of filmmakers over the coals for changes to a non-inspired, fictional children's story. Please, let's keep things in perspective. We all love the Narnia series, but it is not the Bible and should not be treated as such.
Last edited:
Aravis Kenobi
New member
Thank you, and as I've said countless times before, I hath pressed the imaginary 'like' button.
Don't forget about Joseph: King of Dreams. That was another inaccurate rendering of a Bible story...
Well, I, for one, never said whether I liked or disliked the two animated films mentioned.
Changing the character of the person within a story is a totally wrong. I'm sorry, but I am a purist when it comes to Narnia, and other books made into films as well. You just can't and shouldn't try to change what is already considered the best.
And yes, when you change the character of Aslan and reduce Aslan's role in a film or make him not quite Who He is in the books, you do dishonor God since Aslan is supposed to be Jesus in Narnia, who IS God. You take something away from Who Aslan is, and you take away who Jesus is, even if it is fiction. Stick to the original, the original needs no change whatsoever.
Changing the character of the person within a story is a totally wrong. I'm sorry, but I am a purist when it comes to Narnia, and other books made into films as well. You just can't and shouldn't try to change what is already considered the best.
And yes, when you change the character of Aslan and reduce Aslan's role in a film or make him not quite Who He is in the books, you do dishonor God since Aslan is supposed to be Jesus in Narnia, who IS God. You take something away from Who Aslan is, and you take away who Jesus is, even if it is fiction. Stick to the original, the original needs no change whatsoever.