Official "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" thread

[Norm In Norman]

So, anyone seen it yet? I haven't read the books, but it looks cool so I thought I might go see it this weekend. If too many people think it suxors, I might wait and see King Kong instead.

Or I might go to both. I'm crazy like that.

[yermom]

ooh, King Kong

i have to wait on the Narnia movie, no one else wants to see it until Sunday

EDIT: crap, King Kong isn't out until next weekend

i guess there is always Aeon Flux

[Okieflyer]

I've read the books when I was a kid. When I saw the trailers for it I started having the kids read it to me and each other. It is really a good series of books. I don't know about the movie, but it sure looks good. King kong looks good too!

[yermom]

or Bareback Mountain

[yermom]

I've read the books when I was a kid. When I saw the trailers for it I started having the kids read it to me and each other. It is really a good series of books. I don't know about the movie, but it sure looks good. King kong looks good too!

i read all of them as a kid, i remeber liking them, but i don't remember all that much about them

they look more like Harry Potter than LotR, but are probably less mature than either

[jk the sooner fan]

isnt this story based on religious principles or stories? we should warn those who are offended by such things so they can make the decision whether to see this movie or not

[Norm In Norman]

i guess there is always Aeon Flux
It doesn't have that good of a rating on Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aeon_flux/). i think I'll wait until it comes out on Network TV to watch it. And that's only if there's nothing else on. There's usually a good infomercial on though.

[Okieflyer]

they look more like Harry Potter than LotR, but are probably less mature than either

I would put it between the two in maturety.

[Okieflyer]

isnt this story based on religious principles or stories? we should warn those who are offended by such things so they can make the decision whether to see this movie or not

Your right, it does have Christian overtones in it. Good thinking jk, and by the way Merry Christmas! ;)

[mdklatt]

isnt this story based on religious principles or stories?

It has elements of Christianity, but it also has a witch and magic. That should make at least a few Jesus enthusiasts' heads explode.

[fadada1]

a lion and a witch (as long as she's hot) sound very cool. a wardrobe... sounds a bit ghey if you ask me.

a might give it a shot.

[Okieflyer]

It has elements of Christianity, but it also has a witch and magic. That should make at least a few Jesus enthusiasts' heads explode.

"Jesus enthusiasts", is that what you call Christians now?

[fadada1]

It has elements of Christianity, but it also has a witch and magic. That should make at least a few Jesus enthusiasts' heads explode.
islam has elements of christianity... you don't see any heads exploding there now, do ya????

no wait, you can get a good look at your butcher's ***... not wait, it has to be your bull.... i got nuthin'

[mdklatt]

"Jesus enthusiasts", is that what you call Christians now?

That's what Family Guy calls them.

[yermom]

a lion and a witch (as long as she's hot) sound very cool. a wardrobe... sounds a bit ghey if you ask me.

a might give it a shot.


no, it's a wardrobe, as in closet

i guess that isn't helping much

[Veritas]

I'm going tonight at 7:00. :D :D

[Okieflyer]

That's what Family Guy calls them.

Ah, got ya! :)

[fadada1]

I'm going tonight at 7:00. :D :D
to buy a wardrobe??? or possibly a lion???

[mdklatt]

islam has elements of christianity... you don't see any heads exploding there now, do ya????


Many of the same people who picket Harry Potter movies and think Wicca is synonomous with devil worship will be enthusiastically taking their kids to a movie that has magic and witches in it. Ironic, no?

[1stTimeCaller]

Many of the same people who picket Harry Potter movies and think Wicca is synonomous with devil worship will be enthusiastically taking their kids to a movie that has magic and witches in it. Ironic, no?

you dent get the memo? That is now officially the American Way.

[fadada1]

Many of the same people who picket Harry Potter movies and think Wicca is synonomous with devil worship
well, it IS isn't it?????

:texan:

[Fugue]

I read these as a kid and loved them. Then I saw the British movie version.:eddie: :(
This new version could crap itself onto the screen and still be better so I will happily see it.

[crawfish]

Many of the same people who picket Harry Potter movies and think Wicca is synonomous with devil worship will be enthusiastically taking their kids to a movie that has magic and witches in it. Ironic, no?

pssst...the witch is bad in this one. :)

[fadada1]

pssst...the witch is bad in this one. :)
well now i'm not going!!!!!

[yermom]

pssst...the witch is bad in this one. :)


i hope Norm isn't reading this :norm:

[Okieflyer]

I don't know if Norm would get much out of this post.

[OklahomaTuba]

isnt this story based on religious principles or stories? we should warn those who are offended by such things so they can make the decision whether to see this movie or not

C.S. Lewis.


For much of his early life, he was a devoted atheist. He was once reported to have said that he resented God for not existing. He also wrote a letter to a friend in which was said "all religions, no, mythologies to give them their proper name, have no proof whatsoever!" However, influenced by his Christian friend J. R. R. Tolkien (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien), he was slowly swayed to Christianity. In 1929 he came to believe in the existence of God, later writing "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed", describing himself later as "the most reluctant convert of all time." In 1931, after a lengthy discussion with Tolkien and another close friend, he became a Christian and a member of the Church of England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England). He noted that "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming." He was later to write an account of his journey of faith under the title Surprised by Joy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprised_by_Joy).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

[Okieflyer]

Now he would, thanks Tuba! :D

[Ike]

C.S. Lewis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

CS Lewis was unabashedly christian, but I have never heard anyone claim that his works of fiction were based upon his religon.

From what I recall, one could say he borrowed principles/stories/etc from any number of religons in the Chronicles of Narnia...

[Okieflyer]

CS Lewis was unabashedly christian, but I have never heard anyone claim that his works of fiction were based upon his religon.

From what I recall, one could say he borrowed principles/stories/etc from any number of religons in the Chronicles of Narnia...


He did (Lewis). Aslan was a "Christ like figure". But it was mostly just a story about Good vs. Evil and books that children could read and enjoy.

[Ike]

He did (Lewis). Aslan was a "Christ like figure".


OK...but thats not an uncommon thing in fiction....

[Okieflyer]

OK...but thats not an uncommon thing in fiction....
Absolutly right! He wasn't trying to convert anyone by his stories. Just write good yarns.

[mdklatt]

An interesting take on the subject: http://www.slate.com/id/2131908/


In the end, Narnia is not a stand-in or merely an "allegory" for our world. It is, quite explicitly, an alternative to it, complete with its own pleasures and typologies. Interestingly enough, among the testimonials to The Chronicles on a Christian Web site, there are plenty from kids who praise the books' "adventuresome" qualities, while the few who talk about the book's Christian themes note that it was their mom or church leader who alerted them to the connection—at which point they "saw" it. That would probably have pleased Lewis, who once wrote of his distaste for critics who allegorize texts, and whose curious allegiance to both "deep magic" and Christianity would presumably have caused him to balk at the reductive debate unfolding among sensible adults today.

[Veritas]

Just got back from the movie.

It's excellent and they did a great job of sticking to the plotline of the book.

Tilda Swinton is awesome as the witch. Fauns, satyrs, nyads, dryads, all brought to life.

One thing...I don't remember gryphons in any of the books, but they make an appearance...but it's been prolly 10 years since I read them.

[Frozen Sooner]

Good deal, thanks Veritas. I'll be sure to see it.

And Lewis' stepson (who is a devout evangelical Christian) has stated for the record that CS Lewis was not attempting to write religious allegory and that one of Lewis' favorite sayings was that we need "more Christians writing good stories, not more good writers writing Christian stories." Or something to that effect.

[mrowl]

Great Movie! the effects were VERY cool. Seems like they took the LOTR engine and improved even more.

[David Earl]

Saw the movie last night, you people.

Excellent.

I intend to see it again. The effects were great. The animation on the mythical characters, the lion, etc, were so lifelike. Unbelievable.

[Veritas]

Saw the movie last night, you people.

Excellent.

I intend to see it again. The effects were great. The animation on the mythical characters, the lion, etc, were so lifelike. Unbelievable.
Yeah, I'll be going to see it again. My BILs failed to get there early enough and we had to sit in like the 4th row. :(

And it might have allegorical qualities, but it's not an allegory. If one reads enough CS Lewis to sorta get to know the guys mind, the concept of a straight-up allegory rings false. Plus it's out of context with the rest of the books.

Not that that'll stop youth group leaders from drawing grand parallels between TLTWATW and the story of Christ

[Norm In Norman]

OK, I'm a gonna see it tomorrow if at all possible.

[Stitch Face]

Saw a semi-interesting video on one of the main news sites about how Southern Baptist churches (the church of my upbringing, for the sake of full disclosure) are falling all over themselves to bring this to their congregations a la The Passion of the Christ. So, yeah...apparently Harry Potter, which features wizards/witches, magic and various monsters from Greek and European myth (and students that get out of school for Christmas and Easter break) is from the Debil...while Narnia, which features wizards/witches, magic and various monsters from Greek and European myth (and a talking lion modeled after Christ) is a spiritual boon for the nation's faithful. I guess you take what you can get when you're as oppressed and powerless as are the Baptists.

[mrssoonerhubler]

Anyone here read the Screw Tape Letters?

Back on topic. Should I read the book before the movie? Any advice?

[David Earl]

I haven't read the books yet, but enjoyed the movie. FWIW

[crawfish]

Just got back - I was very impressed with the movie! It stayed a lot closer to the storyline than most book adaptations. The kid actors were fantastic, not a hint of being annoying...the effects were great as well (only a few scenes actually *looked* fake). Highly recommended!

(p.s. it's not Christian allegory, although the Christian themes are very evident. If you have problems with this you'll have problems with a lot of movies...)

[David Earl]

If you go looking for an allegory to Christian teaching, you will certainly see various comparisons. But like others have said, you just as readily see pagan mythology/magic.

LOTR has components that can compare to Christian teaching as well, though not as obvious as CON. You can enjoy CON on a level of a fantasy story, or you can enjoy it on the level of whatever moral/religious allegories you choose to focus on.

[Norm In Norman]

This movie kicked ***. My wife loved it, my son loved it, I loved it. We should probably marry it.

I think I'm gonna go buy the books to read to my son.

[afs]

Anyone here read the Screw Tape Letters?

Back on topic. Should I read the book before the movie? Any advice?

Yes I've read it, i own most of CS Lewis' writings.

If you've never read any of the Chronicles of Naria or CS Lewis, I'd say go ahead and watch the movie first. I reread the series every 2-3 years and am amazed at how close the movie was, there isn't anything lacking from the big screen adaption. There's a few moments of cheese but that's expected when adapting a children's book / series.

absolutly outstanding in my opinion.

[Okla-homey]

In the book, the lion, who certainly doesn't have to die, willingly sacrifices himself to save the others. That's pretty solid Christian allegory. I don't know if it makes it into the flick because I haven't seen it yet.

Anyhoo, our pastor today endorsed the movie from the pulpit. He just cautioned kids under about 7 prolly shouldn't see it because, to use his words, "the battle scenes are gruesome. Very cool, but gruesome.":D

There was a whole church from around here somewhere who went as a congregation for a special viewing of it this morning at the big omniplex thingy just across 101st from my neighborhood.

[picasso]

On a side note, Ann Rice has also come over to the good side.

[OUstudent4life]

Everyone should read the articles on Slate.com about this movie (the one that is posted on page 2 of this thread)...they're excellent (tho some of you--you know who you are :D--may not like the other articles on Slate...it's pretty liberal).

For those that saw the movie...I heard the girl that plays the youngest kid almost steals the movie. I think Slate's film reviewer called her the best child actor of the century or something...true?

Oh, here's the quote, from http://www.slate.com/id/2131913/


Georgie Henley is the most endearing and expressive child actor of the millennium.

[David Earl]

For those that saw the movie...I heard the girl that plays the youngest kid almost steals the movie. I think Slate's film reviewer called her the best child actor of the century or something...true?

Kid actors that are spun as extra cutsie usually get on my nerves. I actually wind up hating their characters. :eek: But that little girl stole my heart! She was just darling. YUK! I can't believe I just said that. I HATE overly cutsie stuff in movies. There's just something about the way she portrays that character that really draws you in. Powerful acting. I'm sure Hollywood will ruin her. :mad:

[GDC]

Saw it this weekend, not my choice. It was okay but I wanted to see King Kong or Syriana.

[Widescreen]

Saw Narnia the other night. Really good flick. I downloaded the audiobook and I'm listening to it now. There actually are a lot of omissions and deviations in both action and dialogue but I suppose that's to be expected in nearly any movie adaptation. I think the thing that bothered me the most is that the visit at the Beavers' house was very truncated so there was a lot of dialogue that was cut which would have been useful later in the film.

[Okla-homey]

I really dug the gryphons tactical bombing of the evile hordes. The phoenix was cool too. Too bad the snow beyotch iced through the wall of flame it laid down.

[achiro]

I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the books as a kid, probably my favorite. I recommend it highly.

[lil'duck]

I read the book some 20 years ago and I didn't cry when I read the book, so I was surprised to find myself tearing up at the Aslan scene (edited for possible spoiling). (I'm a softie, though). It was a well-made movie, it followed the book, and if nothing else, go see it for the performance of the woman who played the witch. She was really quite scary and she made the story convincing.

[OUTromBoNado]

I saw the movie. Loved it. Going to start reading the CON books as well. Now here's a question. What order do you read the books? The published order...or chronological order of the storyline? There's actually quite a bit of debate on this because read in story order they actually assume you know things that you haven't read yet.

I read somewhere that someone recommended reading them in published order, then re-reading them in chronological order? Opinions, anyone? Or has no one ever thought about it?

[GottaHavePride]

I just read them in published order. Seemed to make perfect sense that way. It's like Asimov's nine or ten-book Foundation, Robots, and Empire series that all tie together eventually. The order they were written is the order they were thouht up, so each consecutive one written builds on the ones written previously. If you try to go out-of-order and read them in storyline order, you'll miss a lot of stuff that's either foreshadowing a book that was written first that you haven't got to yet, or you'll see something that when originally written was just a vague hint but winds up being a major plot point when it's finally revealed that you already know about, thus spoiling the suspense.

[Scott D]

I saw the movie. Loved it. Going to start reading the CON books as well. Now here's a question. What order do you read the books? The published order...or chronological order of the storyline? There's actually quite a bit of debate on this because read in story order they actually assume you know things that you haven't read yet.

I read somewhere that someone recommended reading them in published order, then re-reading them in chronological order? Opinions, anyone? Or has no one ever thought about it?

published order.

[Scott D]

I just read them in published order. Seemed to make perfect sense that way. It's like Asimov's nine or ten-book Foundation, Robots, and Empire series that all tie together eventually. The order they were written is the order they were thouht up, so each consecutive one written builds on the ones written previously. If you try to go out-of-order and read them in storyline order, you'll miss a lot of stuff that's either foreshadowing a book that was written first that you haven't got to yet, or you'll see something that when originally written was just a vague hint but winds up being a major plot point when it's finally revealed that you already know about, thus spoiling the suspense.

I think that collection of series' ended up being 17, not including the trilogy by Bear, Brin, and the other B guy authorized by Mrs. Asimov.

[pb4ou]

Good flick, I liked it. The Family watched it this past weekend.

[Vaevictis]

Good flick, I liked it. The Family watched it this past weekend.

Heh, talk about thread necromancy.

Anyhow, outstanding film that keeps very close to the book. I hope that they at least make Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. I can do without A Horse and His Boy and The Silver Chair, as they are the ones that do not have the Four Kings and Queens (ie, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy).

One of the things I like about the series is the interweaving of destinies that leads up to The Last Battle; ie, the Professor knows all about Narnia, and it's because of him that the Wardrobe is a gateway in the first place, etc, how the White Witch got introduced to Narnia, how Reepicheep's (Caspian's right hand, a swashbuckling mouse) people came to speak, etc. Good stuff.

[Tailwind]

I loved it. I have watched it three times and will watch it again.