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allanaYesterday Dave and I finally saw The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. (Admittedly, we were shooting for a 0930 showing, and made it there for 1615. Still, an improvement on previous attempts.)
My reaction is mixed.
I loved Tilda Swinton's Jadis to bits. Wonderful look, and so perfectly understated when we first saw her. It was a shock to not hear her screeching every third line--the very camp White Witch in the BBC version does linger in the mind--but by the time she was sitting upon her throne I thoroughly adored her.
Oh! It's dawned on me very belatedly, that she was wearing a ruff made of Aslan's mane when she drove into battle! Now that's a nice touch! Also. Polar bears!!!
The Pensevie children were as they should be. Lucy, hellishly irritating at the beginning but bearably sweet by the end; Susan, far too sensible and motherly but still likeable; Peter, well... bossy and magnificent; and Edmund.... I'm not going to apologise for adoring Edmund in any version of LWW that I've ever encountered. He's a bad, bad boy whose miraculous redemption was never quite convincing. My favourite sort of boy. :D Mercifully, older!Edmund was hot, too, so I can transfer my affections to him safely.
The cinematography was incredible and I loved the very rich colour palette that the film makers used. Everything looked as I've imagined Narnia would. Well, almost everything....
What did I really dislike about this film? Mr. Tumnus. In the books, and indeed the BBC adaptation, Mr. Tumnus was never creepy or sarcastic. I found myself feeling very disturbed by his interactions with Lucy. I also took a dim view of the addition of a dungeon scene between Edmund and Tumnus. It really wasn't necessary to hit the "Edmund is a rotten traitor, and how could he have done this to poor, poor Mr. Tumnus" message home to the viewers so much. But yes... Mr Tumnus was creepy. Plus, his ears were all wrong. Oh! And he was too young-looking.
The focus on the battle at the end--loved the Witch's fighting style, especially the stab to Edmund--detracted from the joy of Aslan's resurrection, in my opinion. I think that was what was missing from the film--the joy. Still, I can understand the decision to have a big long fight scene; they've spent a fortune on these animal costumes, so it'd be a shame not to have a big battle and get their moneys worth, and so forth.
And finally, a very petty thought. Why, oh why, did the film makers put the end-credits in lower-case only? That's just setting a bad example for the target audience.
Mixed reactions aside, I'll be re-watching this with Vicky once she gets over her second cold of the year and I shake off the last vestiges of mine.
I completely forgot. The lamp post hissed. You could hear the hiss of gas. And it had roots. I bounced. :D
On the plus side, seeing the new LWW finally shook free a not-quite-drabble that I started a couple of weeks ago--all![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
glammetalkitten's fault. Frozen is a gen drabble that arose from my ponderings on what long-term effects the Witch's magic would have. Um, spoilers, I suppose? *looks at flist* I'd be shocked amazed if any of you lot hadn't read the book at least once.
My reaction is mixed.
I loved Tilda Swinton's Jadis to bits. Wonderful look, and so perfectly understated when we first saw her. It was a shock to not hear her screeching every third line--the very camp White Witch in the BBC version does linger in the mind--but by the time she was sitting upon her throne I thoroughly adored her.
Oh! It's dawned on me very belatedly, that she was wearing a ruff made of Aslan's mane when she drove into battle! Now that's a nice touch! Also. Polar bears!!!
The Pensevie children were as they should be. Lucy, hellishly irritating at the beginning but bearably sweet by the end; Susan, far too sensible and motherly but still likeable; Peter, well... bossy and magnificent; and Edmund.... I'm not going to apologise for adoring Edmund in any version of LWW that I've ever encountered. He's a bad, bad boy whose miraculous redemption was never quite convincing. My favourite sort of boy. :D Mercifully, older!Edmund was hot, too, so I can transfer my affections to him safely.
The cinematography was incredible and I loved the very rich colour palette that the film makers used. Everything looked as I've imagined Narnia would. Well, almost everything....
What did I really dislike about this film? Mr. Tumnus. In the books, and indeed the BBC adaptation, Mr. Tumnus was never creepy or sarcastic. I found myself feeling very disturbed by his interactions with Lucy. I also took a dim view of the addition of a dungeon scene between Edmund and Tumnus. It really wasn't necessary to hit the "Edmund is a rotten traitor, and how could he have done this to poor, poor Mr. Tumnus" message home to the viewers so much. But yes... Mr Tumnus was creepy. Plus, his ears were all wrong. Oh! And he was too young-looking.
The focus on the battle at the end--loved the Witch's fighting style, especially the stab to Edmund--detracted from the joy of Aslan's resurrection, in my opinion. I think that was what was missing from the film--the joy. Still, I can understand the decision to have a big long fight scene; they've spent a fortune on these animal costumes, so it'd be a shame not to have a big battle and get their moneys worth, and so forth.
And finally, a very petty thought. Why, oh why, did the film makers put the end-credits in lower-case only? That's just setting a bad example for the target audience.
Mixed reactions aside, I'll be re-watching this with Vicky once she gets over her second cold of the year and I shake off the last vestiges of mine.
I completely forgot. The lamp post hissed. You could hear the hiss of gas. And it had roots. I bounced. :D
On the plus side, seeing the new LWW finally shook free a not-quite-drabble that I started a couple of weeks ago--all
glammetalkitten's fault. Frozen is a gen drabble that arose from my ponderings on what long-term effects the Witch's magic would have. Um, spoilers, I suppose? *looks at flist* I'd be 
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Date: 2005-12-19 11:13 pm (UTC)Only now that you mention it, I realize that she had Aslan's mane as a collar around her neck in the battle. Neat! And I adored her (and her fighting style!) a lot.
I will have to read the books very soon. :D
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Date: 2005-12-19 11:30 pm (UTC)I actually liked her make-up in the beginning; it was as though frost had bloomed on her skin. Very evocative. She wasn't just as pale as snow, she almost was snow. As if the snow had burst forth from her skin, maybe, and the frost was preventing its return. Oh drat! I wasn't planning to write more than one drabble!
When I first read the books, my sympathies lay absolutely with Aslan and the children. Now that I'm much older, I find a certain quiet sympathy within me for Jadis. I must buy The Magician's Nephew very soon and reacquaint myself with her history.
The movie is quite close to the book; some things have been rearranged to provide a better flow, others have been altered to make more sympathetic characters, and some things are added to make it more of an action movie (e.g. their dip in the river and near loss of Lucy). I hope the books will be as magical for you as they are for me.
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Date: 2005-12-19 11:42 pm (UTC)Oh, no no! Don't worry, Ang! I didn't read your review until after I'd watched the movie on purpose. No, I'll certainly enjoy the books anyway. :)
I figured as much. My friend did read LWW and said they'd obviously tried to sex it up a bit in order to attract a more fantasy oriented audience.
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Date: 2005-12-20 03:52 pm (UTC)And you're absolutely right about grown-up Edmund being hot. ^_^ Him and Peter.
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Date: 2005-12-20 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-20 03:59 pm (UTC)Tilda Swinton rocks.
She was the reason I watched the movie because [I'm very sorry] I'm not a fan of the books.
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Date: 2005-12-20 10:30 pm (UTC)