My father knows I love the Narnia Chronicles, so he asked me if I was going to go see the Prince Caspian movie.
No way. They got the first movie all wrong.
I went to see it with a friend, Eva, who’d never read the books. We have really similar tastes and reactions to things-just read her comments here. I think she’s my long lost twin. Anyway, I was excited for her to meet Aslan.
When I met Aslan I was about 10, reading all curled up in our comfy 70s green easy chair. When I got to the part where Aslan died, I cried and cried and cried. Then I was shocked to read "…if you’ve been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you…". How did C.S. Lewis know how I felt about Aslan?
I fell in love with Aslan reading those books. I think it was the first step in me falling in love with Jesus a few years later. (Don’t worry, I won’t break into a Jesus is my boyfriend song…right now.)
After the movie, I asked Eva what she thought of Aslan. She said that the movie was really about the kids, that he felt like an afterthought.
My point exactly. Take the scene when Father Christmas finally is able to return to Narnia. In the book: "I’ve come at last,” said he. “She has kept me out for a long time, but I
have got in at last. Aslan is on the
move. The witch’s power is weakening.” The children don’t know who Aslan is yet, but they feel a strange thrill at the mention of his name.
In the movie, it was something like: "I have been able to come because of the hope you children have brought to Narnia." No mention of Aslan at all.
Honestly, to me that’s bordering on blasphemy.
hi, twin!
I wasn’t raised with the Narnia books, so I didn’t have any expectations going into the movie, but I did walk away feeling a little nonplussed by the whole thing. I’ve got a friend who adores both the books and the movie, but I can definitely understand your reaction. As a newcomer to the whole thing, I felt that it played as a self-esteem lesson for kids, to help them feel empowered that they can change things for the better even though their kids. Not a bad little message for a nice fantasy film, but surely a disappointment when it could have been so much more!
Well, I won’t let Kaitlyn read your post. She LOVES the Narnia movies. You’d get an eye-full!
I read all of the books last year and have watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe too many times to count. Based on your comments, I think you might enjoy Prince Caspian more. I can’t say Aslan has a lot of screen time, but it’s his absence that makes the impact in the movie. It’s worth seeing. I’d be interested in your thoughts on it.