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39: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Part Two
43 Plays12 days ago
Do not cite the deep magic to us, we were there in 2005 when The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was adapted. Based on C. S. Lewis’ classic novella, your BookWatch warriors of Narnia go line by line through this epic, whimsy-filled fantasy story and the Christian allegories heavily present throughout. Enter Cair Paravel with us as we dissect every change made in the film.
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to Book Watch.
Introduction to Book Watch and Episode Focus
00:00:01
Speaker
In part two of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we're diving into the heart of the story. From the moment the Pavensi children step through the wardrobe into the frozen world of Narnia to the rise of Aslan and the epic battle against the White Witch, we're breaking down how the adventure unfolds across the page and the 2005 film adaptation. Join us as we compare how the story builds, shifts, and comes to life on screen in this unforgettable fantasy journey. I'm Sarah Day. I'm Jordan.
00:00:29
Speaker
And I'm Chris. And we will get started right after these messages.
00:00:41
Speaker
Welcome to Book Watch, the podcast where pages meet screens. Each week we dive into the world of adaptations, comparing beloved books with their cinematic counterparts. From faithful retellings to bold reimaginings, we'll break down what worked, what didn't, and what made each adaptation unforgettable. Whether you are a bookworm, a movie buff, or both, grab your bookmark, grab your popcorn, and let's watch some books.
Film's Historical Context and Action Scenes
00:01:06
Speaker
All right, guys, let's dive right into it with the introduction to the Pavensi siblings with an added scene to the film, which is the um air raids and the evacuation. And that's, you know, in the book, we kind of are on our way to the mansion. but we get this little backstory in the film.
00:01:28
Speaker
I thought it was really valuable to add it. um The book kind of explains really quickly, like in a one-off sentence or paragraph, why the kids are moving from London to the countryside. And so if you're not like well-versed historically in the London air raids in World War II and what was happening when the Nazis were dropping bombs like on civilians, it kind of is like, what the heck? Like, why why is this happening? Like, it doesn't,
00:01:55
Speaker
really click doesn't make a lot of sense. So to show like the danger that they were in and like how, you know every day their lives are at risk. And so the smart thing for a parent to do is to send them to live with a stranger very far away from like places that the Nazis would want to attack, like was very helpful. And like we mentioned last week with the characters, it gives us the opportunity right off the bat to see who is Peter Pevensey, who is Edmund Pevensey, like what is their dynamic as brothers? um
00:02:27
Speaker
And so I think it's, you know, it's a valuable scene and for a visual media, it gives you some action. It gives you some like stakes. It gets your heart rate up a little bit. um So I definitely think that was a good addition to the film.
00:02:40
Speaker
Yeah, in the 1950s when it came out, probably not necessary, but for something coming out in the 2000s, you know, almost over 50 years later, it definitely made sense to show people that what is happening in this time frame and not just ah assume people understand.
00:02:56
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. And it really opens the movie with some drama and kind of throws us right into the story. Then we arrive at, you know, this other town um and they see a car drive by They think it's for them. It's not. They're a little confused. And then the horse and carriage comes up and they're still very confused about what's happening.
00:03:19
Speaker
and then we arrive at the house And we get kind of a montage of them adjusting, living life at this new place. um And then, you know, playing the baseball and knocking over the armor. And that is what sends them into hiding. um Well, first, I'm sorry, I'm getting way, way ahead of myself, aren't I?
Lucy's Discovery and the Introduction to Narnia
00:03:44
Speaker
First, Lucy discovers the wardrobe on her own. and meets Mr. Tumnus. And that's when we get our first look at James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus and the snowy tundra of Narnia.
00:03:59
Speaker
Yeah, kids are playing hide and seek and Lucy finds this empty room where there's just this wardrobe and she hides in it and she's like backing I love the visual of this scene of her backing up, like trying to find the back of the wardrobe to like know when to stop. And it just keeps going and keeps going until she like falls back and it's snow and trees.
00:04:19
Speaker
And she's like, well, and it's just the soundtrack too. It's just so magical and whimsical. And it's like, this is like, it's a beautiful fantasy world. And it's so...
00:04:33
Speaker
wonderful the way that that whole scene is set up of her discovering Narnia for the first time and then yeah her interactions with Mr. Tumnus like James McAvoy we talked about it last week but he really really sells the like stress of trying to figure out if he should do the quote unquote right thing and turn her in or if he should you know help her and let her go up home and be safe um which again like a very telling parallel when we're talking about World War II and the atrocities committed against Jewish people. And like, you know, the story of Anne Frank obviously like comes to mind where, you know,
00:05:14
Speaker
the people who hid her family could have chosen to throw her out to the streets to the Nazis and they chose instead to save her and her family and keep her safe as much as they could. um So it's all, it it all like flows together and makes sense with the opening scene. We know we're in World War ii but it still is the, you know, the magical fantasy version of of it all.
00:05:38
Speaker
And I think the experience that Lucy has is meant to really parallel the kind of thing you could expect a seven, eight-year-old to come out of a room playing and say, I found a magical world in the wardrobe. you know It's meant to kind of feel like something that is unbelievable enough, but something a kid would come up with. And so um while playing, they can easily dismiss what she thinks, but it's also the sort of thing a kid might believe if they fall into a wardrobe and they just...
00:06:06
Speaker
Whoa, this is all different. So it's a really interesting childlike whimsy that we get to experience there.
Edmund's Temptation and Christian Allegory
00:06:14
Speaker
And then but even still before we get all of them heading into Narnia, we get a second trip into Narnia with Edmund following Lucy. And this time Edmund meets the White Witch and she manipulates him and gives him the Turkish delight, which in the book we're well aware that it is like a, has sort of like a, um it's a magical Turkish delight that is
00:06:42
Speaker
affecting his thoughts and he's craving more of it we don't really get to see that as much in the film um but that's why he is initially on her side and so drawn to her does look pretty good Apparently, that looks so good that it's and the magic and all of that, and real Turkish delight is not that good. So I've heard, but I don't know. i've never tried it I like Turkish delight. Yeah. Yeah. There's some different flavors. like there's
00:07:13
Speaker
A lot of Turkish delight is like a rose flavor, and I do not like that one, but there's like a pistachio, and then there's like other fruit flavors, mango and stuff. Yeah. Chewy gelatinous candy. Yeah. Cover it in powdered sugar. Yeah. And sometimes nuts and stuff inside. Yeah. Yeah. Some have nuts. I don't like the nutty ones. Like my favorite is mango. Lemon sounds pretty good.
00:07:34
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I love a lemon treat. um Anyways, that we talked last week about how like this whole story is like allegory for um Christian stories and like the story of Jesus with Aslan. This story, this section really makes me think of like sin and temptation. And like once you commit a sin, it's so much easier to do it again and again and to want more of it and to crave that fleshly desire more and more and more. instead of you know doing the right thing, whatever the right thing might be in that circumstance. um
00:08:10
Speaker
And it's hard. like you know As a Christian, we talk about like the devil is working to to pull you to sin and to get you to do the wrong thing whenever possible. And so like we see that, again, very clearly. The white witch, bring me your family. like you know, I'd love to meet them. We we all know, you know, that's a dramatic irony. We know that she wants to kill them and destroy them because Mr. Tumnus has warned Lucy previously, um but Edmund has no idea. So he doesn't know the harm that can come of his actions.
00:08:42
Speaker
And so he's getting he wants to keep doing the actions. He wants to keep getting that, you know, that reward of the Turkish delight, the magical Turkish delight and the hot chocolate um without really understanding the consequences that can come from that. And again, he was totally bewitched and like there was magic involved to like make it harder for him to resist. um But he also we've seen throughout the movie.
00:09:05
Speaker
and Not as much in the book because it's a very short little book. I would call it a novella. um But in the movie, we see that he's kind of a turd. Like he's always like starting fights with his
Siblings Unite and Visual Storytelling in Narnia
00:09:16
Speaker
siblings. And he's like he makes fun of Lucy that the first time she comes out of the wardrobe. Like he's just like not a great sibling, I feel. um And so i feel like he would be he was the right one story wise be tempted because he already was not like super gung ho and loyal ah in regards to his siblings.
00:09:43
Speaker
I mean, so just a typical 10 year old boy with siblings. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Idea here. Let's get the gal who played Queen Charlotte to play the queen. She's got that menace. just you know Done.
00:09:56
Speaker
just Sold. But yes, I agree that they do a good job of putting all that that ah allegory in there and that those sections there with Edmund as well. Each character has their arc. It has some allegory to it.
00:10:08
Speaker
So Edmund and Lucy both return and she's so excited that somebody finally has entered Narnia and believes her. um But like you said, Edmund's a turd. So he lies to the older two siblings and says, oh no, i was just playing along with her. She's you know crazy. There's no Narnia. um Now this is when we get the montage of the house and playing outside and the beautiful weather, baseball, suit of armor falls,
00:10:37
Speaker
And they run to hide from the lady of the house. I forget her name. Mrs. McCready. McCready. Whereas in the book, there's like people.
00:10:50
Speaker
It's like a little party and they're trying to hide from just the guests. um It's an old house and they do tours is what they were saying because people want to come see this old fancy house. And so the there's people that come and go all the time and Mrs. McCready likes to go and you know, show off the stuff she gets to protect. And so the kids wanted were told to stay out of her way. And then they happened to be, because of the way the echoey halls work, they were not sure which way she was coming from and had kept running into rooms. And she kept sounding like she was coming. So yeah, it's ah it's a pretty fun little montage of ah them trying to find a safe room to go to.
00:11:26
Speaker
And they entered the room with the wardrobe. And so finally, all four of them have entered Narnia together. And now they all believe Lucy. And this is when they go to find Mr. Tumnus. But they um he's missing and they meet the beavers.
00:11:43
Speaker
Kind of a weird room to just have a wardrobe into. I don't know why they don't have more stuff in that you know room, even just as a prop setup. but yeah Well, I feel like he knows that it's a magical wardrobe. And so he's it's just kind of like the safekeeping room for this particular artifact.
00:12:00
Speaker
And it is a giant house, I guess. So if you just need to fill a room with something, I guess putting your your all your Narnia artifacts in there makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I believe the professor's unmarried. He has no children of his own. So it's not like he needs the space. He doesn't like he has guests like to do tours, but I don't think they're like spending the night or anything where he needs a ton of guest bedrooms. And then, yeah, like we said last week there, um he he knows the wardrobe comes from Narnia. Like he is diggory. He went to Narnia. He knows that there's something something witchy about the wardrobe. So yeah, it probably was just like, I'm going to keep this here and see if any if it ever like poke it with a stick every now and then, see if it does anything.
00:12:47
Speaker
But they all make it to Narnia and they get to go um grab the coats, which is important to the end of the story. They take each take coats out of the out of the wardrobe and go into Narnia.
Gifts from Father Christmas and the Escape
00:12:58
Speaker
and uh meet yeah put the beavers and uh get brought further in further in which is a pretty big term throughout the whole series of going further into Narnia yeah and the going into Mr. Tumnus's house and like seeing the door broken open and like Lucy freaks out and the siblings are like Susan you know being the logical one she's like we got to get out of here like this is obviously not safe. Like we got to go. and
00:13:30
Speaker
you know, Lucy, I think Lucy's like underrated as like her smarts, her intelligence. Cause she's the one who puts together, like, ah you know, they read the letter from Mawgrim, the wolf, like head of the secret police. um And he's like, you know, he explains in the letter why Mr. Tumnus was taken. Cause he was fraternizing with a human and he failed to turn her into the witch.
00:13:54
Speaker
And the kids are like, you know, he got in trouble for being with a human. Lucy's like, you guys, I'm the human. Like, duh. I'm the human that he was with. We need to save him. And like that that heart and that, you know, moral obligation of like, we need to do the right thing here. He's in trouble because of me. It's now my responsibility to help him. um And again, like, you know,
00:14:19
Speaker
miss susan the logical one didn't put together that lucy was the human in question that was being fraternized with but lucy did know what was going on um and then yeah i love the scene of like They changed it a little bit and like shortened it, which was whatever, um of like the red robin like that like guiding them through the woods to Mr. Beaver. um They just made it so that they came outside and Mr. Beaver was right there, which who cares? It's fine.
00:14:50
Speaker
Well, they did have like ah a little bit of a – they're hearing the noises and they're scared and then it turns out it's just to be Mr. Beaver. I love the Beavers and they're the scene of them together, like Mrs. Beavers, so like mothering and nurturing and like, taking like oh, you poor dears. like It felt very Mrs. Weasley to me. and then Mr. Beavers is just like, both of them together like being so courageous to, like again, put their lives on the knowingly put their lives on the line. They just witnessed Mr. Thomas get taken for helping these humans and they're willing to do it again. to put their lives on the line it's just that it's just really speaks to their courageous characters and the faith that they have in aslan because that's part of the conversation that happens with the beavers as they talk about how like aslan's on the move he's returned he's here like he's gonna help us fight the white witch with you guys um and so that just like that true deep faith that they have in aslan that he is who he says he is um it's really cool
00:15:52
Speaker
Well, and you have the apparently prophecy that all everybody here in Narnia knows that when the four seats at Careperavel are filled by the four kings and queens of man, then the White Witch's reign will be over. So they all know that there's something going on here that's definitely moving in the right direction for worth being courageous for.
00:16:14
Speaker
So after we meet the beavers and go to their home, they're understanding that the wolves are on their way to get them. And they all start their journey to the encampment where Aslan will be. And in the film, we get this dramatic frozen river is melting scene, which is fun. And then we arrive at the camp. But what did you think about all of that? We talked a little bit about the beavers.
00:16:41
Speaker
It was dramatic and the CGI was good for the river, I suppose. And like some of that stuff was pretty good, a little bit unnecessary, but you know it was fine. I think that, you know, losing Lucy for a moment during that scene was definitely it gave you a moment to be,
00:16:56
Speaker
That's what I was about to say. Like that was yeah very unnecessary with the whole, what have you done? And it's just hurt yeah a little more, uh, you know, tension between the siblings at this point to be like, wait, wait, we, we need to work together and now you've lost Lucy and, uh, you know, Susan being mad at him for that. And then she's back and I'm so cold. Does anybody see my coat?
00:17:18
Speaker
It was cute for her. So I can give them that just for that moment of, you know, her being sweet and cute again. I want to backtrack a little because the only reason they're running and the wolves are coming is because Edmund dipped out and went and snitched to the White Witch.
00:17:33
Speaker
Again, Right. yeah bra Being a turd, like falling for the temptation of the promise of Turkish delight at, you know, if he does what he's been told.
00:17:43
Speaker
So, yeah. i If you get some candy, I have candy in my van. If you come and see me is, you know, basically how she tempted him away. So literally. Yeah. So Edmund goes and like, you know, she, she,
00:17:55
Speaker
is very harsh to him she's pissed because like i told you to bring them to me here why did you not why did you how dare you come back without them and he's like they're at the beavers now like again putting the beavers in danger like telling her that just like he did with mr tumnus like telling her that people in narnia creatures in narnia are helping his siblings um and going against her will and her law So she sends the wolves out and then yeah, they run. And we also skip the scene with ah Father Christmas. Father Christmas comes and there's like ah another little action sequence where there's a sleigh with reindeer, which the White Witch ah has a sleigh with reindeer chasing them across this like open tundra.
00:18:41
Speaker
And theyre they're hiding and Mr. Beaver goes and you know has a sweet like goodbye moment with his wife um because he thinks they think it's the witch so he's going to go and check and see if it's the witch and then surprise it's father christmas and he's got gifts for the three of them for peter susan and lucy and they you know peter gets his sword and shield uh susan gets her bow and arrows and her horn um that she can use to call for help um no matter where she is. you know Help will always come to those at Hogwarts. A little Harry Potter for you. And then Lucy gets a healing potion that she and a little dagger that she can use to defend herself.
00:19:23
Speaker
um And then, yeah, they are they continue on and they come across the river and then Peter gets to use his sword attached to the ice flow. It's unnecessary. Didn't happen in the book.
00:19:36
Speaker
But, you know, fun. You get that epic action scene of like the water coming over them and Like we said, the cute little moment of Lucy like, has anyone seen my coat? And it's it's it doesn't take anything away from the story to add it. And again, like we talked about with the air raid scene in the beginning, like a visual media you need to keep people engaged. um And so if you're going to insert action scenes for no reason, like this is as good as anything else.
00:20:04
Speaker
The witch and some of that, her tension that with her the people who that are ah loyal to her versus not kind of reminds me of a Wizard of Oz or Wicked Stories a little bit of like the way that the Ozian world was set up with the wizard as this menace that, you know is good for some, but is oppressing others. And the way that though that world was kind of set up to kind of it's was published around the same time, too. So that's kind of.
00:20:31
Speaker
An interesting or at least I think it was well some of the stuff was um so I think that's kind of interesting parallel to yeah, they get Aslan's camp and it's just like bring back color in movies because for the love of God, like oh seeing this like crawling expanse of like this beautiful green grassy area with these bright red and gold tents and like the flags of the lion on them everywhere. Like it's just so visual. This whole movie is just so visually stunning. Like the snow is white. It's not like gray and like dark, like it's white. And like the camp is red and green and gold and bright and in your face. And it just like is so glorious to see visually. And then this is where we get our first look at
Aslan's Sacrifice and Emotional Allegory
00:21:19
Speaker
Aslan. He comes out of the tent and he's just like, oh, my God, he's there. He's real. It's so exciting. Like for the beavers, they haven't seen him yet. And they're like... our king is here. He's here. Like Lord Aslan, he's here. And then the kids get to be like, oh my God, he's a lion. Like nobody ever said he's a lion, but they still, you know, and then they explained to him like our brother, like, you know, we we were worried for him and we're like we want to get him back.
00:21:44
Speaker
And he's like, and it's Liam Neeson. He's just like, don't worry about it. I've got it It's going to be okay. And you're just like, yeah, dude, whatever you say, I believe you. I trust you. Like, it's all good. So ah just ah another, going to keep saying the word beautiful over and over, but it really is just a beautiful scene. And like showing again, right off the bat, who is Aslan? He just fills you with this sense of like peace and like, he's got it. It's going to be okay. Like he's here. Everything is going to work out since, because he's here.
00:22:14
Speaker
You know it almost feels a little bit like the Oz sort way that they did the filming of that one where they went from the black and white of the snow in there this case story, but from black and white to color. And in this case, it's when Aslan shows up, the world starts to brighten up and you see that a story change to a brighter world after Aslan arrives.
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, we see like the snow starting to melt and like the grass popping up and the trees start to bloom again like he is healing the land and yeah like it's a it's a slower transition instead of just like dorothy opening the door and like wow it's color um but but yes the parallel definitely is there of like things being you know a certain not as i not as also not ideal way and then visually showing how like we're in a better more fantastical place now so yeah good call
00:23:07
Speaker
This movie had the um song from Reliant K wrote a song for the movie that was on their Christmas album that was called In Like a Lion. It was about it being always winter and never Christmas, which I used to listen to that album all the time. So it's among my normal Christmas listens.
00:23:27
Speaker
So we've met Aslan and now we're going to rescue Edmund. And then because of that, the queen comes to the camp and Aslan and the queen make a deal.
00:23:41
Speaker
um So what did you guys think about these few scenes of getting Edmund back to camp and then the queen's arrival? Pretty close to the book. It definitely followed the same basic structure. I mean... they, uh, he, one of the wolves start coming and they, they kill one of them. Peter kills us, does his first kill and of one of the wolves. And they tell everybody else to go chase the other one. And he'll lead you back to the witch and the boy. And at that point, Aslan nights, uh, Peter as, uh,
00:24:10
Speaker
Peter Wolfbane because he killed the wolf. And then they go back and they retrieve Edmund. And the in the book, the witch hide, which and her underling hide as like rocks and trees. They ah disguise themselves. And I don't think that was ah visually here, but ah it was pretty close to the story in the book.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah. And then we get the frequently memed scene of her coming to the camp and like, you know citing the deep magic you know of like you know any traitor or anybody who betrays their friends belongs to me um and they his blood is my right. And the the meme line of do not cite the deep magic to me, which I was there when it was written. And it's if we read The Magician's Nephew first, the way C.S. Lewis wanted us to, even though he wrote it after, um
00:25:02
Speaker
they were both there when it was written. like They were both there at the beginning of Narnia. She was there as he breathed life into this world and like you know helped create this world and gave the animals the ability to talk and all that. It confused me a little bit with that line and everything, knowing the magician's nephew, because I feel like that stuff wasn't visually in or like told in the story the magician's nephew, like the actual magical laws and all that. I almost wish there would have been a little more technical like well we need to go to court and work out all these laws for the kind for the new world I just created sort of thing with the you know but I think the idea was that these two beings were powerful beings that were a part of setting up the laws of this world um in that early time where they were there they knew enough about magic to understand the way the laws were written and all that yeah um but yeah I think that would almost have made sense to have some sort of
00:25:55
Speaker
ah explanation of that in Magician's Nephew since he wrote it long enough after that he could have explained it. Yeah, I agree. But even that that iconic line is different in the book.
00:26:08
Speaker
I don't know if I can pull it up quickly enough, but it's I remember thinking like reading it and being like, oh, that's not exactly the same as the movie, because that line always sticks in your head. And then again, it's been like mean to death and back. But and then when I read it, I was like, that's not what it says.
00:26:27
Speaker
Yeah. um She says, you have a traitor there, Aslan, which is accurate. His offense was not against you, said Aslan. Have you forgotten the deep magic? asked the witch. Let us say I have forgotten it, answered Aslan gravely. Tell us of this deep magic. "'Tell you,' said the witch, her voice growing suddenly shriller. "'Tell you what is written on that very table of stone which stands beside us. "'Tell you what is written in letters deep as a spear, "'is long on the fire stones on the secret hill. "'Tell you what is engraved on the scepter of the emperor beyond the sea. "'You at least know the magic which the emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. "'You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey, "'and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill.'" So there's a little bit where Beaver interjects and then she resumes the human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property.
00:27:21
Speaker
And then do you really think you can rob me of my rights, which is again, movie accurate.
00:27:30
Speaker
So it's just a little more expansive is like, you know, Aslan's kind of letting her do the exposition of what that means, which if you go with the allegory, I would say that that reminds me of the temptation of Jesus in the desert would be what I would compare that to the idea that um that even the evil in this world understands the laws of this world.
00:27:52
Speaker
Well, and the the Emperor Beyond the Sea is the... like if Aslan is the Jesus character in the allegory. The Emperor Beyond the Sea is God. um And so like that's what she says. like God, you know the Emperor, set down these laws. And so even you, Aslan, must obey them. You must also adhere to the laws. And so the little interjection from Beaver... Aziz is he says like, oh, so you were there because you were the emperor's hangman. And then Aslan like snaps his head and he's like, you don't question the emperor. Like you don't, none of us have the power to argue with whatever the emperor says. So if he put down these laws, we must abide. And that again, like they talk and we find out very short shortly after that from Aslan, that the way that it works out is,
00:28:47
Speaker
you know somebody else can be sacrificed in Edmund's stead. And so Aslan offers himself to the witch that I will sacrifice in Edmund's stead. And so again, with the allegory, you know Jesus sacrificing for all of our sins for in all of our stead,
00:29:06
Speaker
after Judas Edmund betrays him and puts him in that position where he has to. And Jesus was told by God that you're going to sacrifice yourself for humanity, for these people. And so again, we don't know for sure if the emperor told Aslan for sure that he was going to die. But it is the emperor's laws that set it up to where somebody has to sacrifice themselves in order to save Edmund. The deeper being that an innocent person could, if they sacrifice themselves, would be able to basically turn things back. We find out little later.
00:29:45
Speaker
Yeah, so speaking of his sacrifice and innocence, we wake up in the middle of the night, Lucy and her sister Susan wake up and see that Aslan is walking through the camp and they follow him.
00:29:59
Speaker
And he says that they can walk with him and he allows them to you know place their hands on him. And then at a certain point, he says, okay, this is as far as you can go. and then they watch him enter into the queen's domain and they cut his mane off and they cut his hair and tie him up.
00:30:22
Speaker
throw him on the table and take his life. And then they leave to go attack the camp. and Susan and Lucy go to his body and they are mourning him and they see the mice come up and start chewing at the ropes.
00:30:39
Speaker
And then that's when they help untie him hear stone break and then realize that Aslan has returned and they didn't even have to wait three days you know um yeah that whole scene like when I re-watched the movie I was very much sobbing and crying because it's so sad and like the CGI again we talked about like the CGI like how good it is in these early 2000s films like this and like Pirates of the Caribbean like it's just incredible and like he looks so scared and like it's like zooms in on his eyes and he's breathing heavy he's panting he's he's terrified right before you know she kills him stabs him in the heart and it's just like you know you see the girls like these are little girls like even susan is probably what 13 14 maybe but lucy's like nine and so like these little girls watching person who is already beloved to them, even though they just met him, like watching him be murdered right in front of their eyes, like they're like their little reactions and like it's so heartbreaking and so sad.
00:31:50
Speaker
then 12 for the girls. 8 and 12. Oh, they're so babies. And yeah, it's just really, ah the whole scene is just really heartbreaking. And it, again, allegory is very, very strong, like with people jeering at him and the humiliation before he even is killed, being tied up and like, not resisting like we know that aslan is incredibly powerful like we're told in the in the movie and in the book like he you know is breaking the spell already of the white witch and like allowing the seasons to change we've seen father christmas like we know that he can do all these things and just like you know jesus can perform all these miracles and they both
00:32:33
Speaker
as the innoc innocents sacrificing themselves for other people, they so just let it happen. They could fight back. They could you know resist and like struggle, and they just do it willingly out of the love that they have for the people that they're sacrificing themselves for. um And so as heartbreaking and terribly sad as it all is, it's really...
00:32:56
Speaker
If you believe in Jesus, it's really beautiful to see um a representation of of what he did for you on screen in that way.
00:33:08
Speaker
And even if you don't, that it's still a powerful allegory for self-sacrifice for others and taking care of others. And um the deep magic can be applied to just the love in general too. And so there's definitely other ways to take this book too that you can apply to other associations with it too. um I think that ah the, yeah, the CGI was great.
00:33:35
Speaker
The girl's reactions really help with bringing that that story forward. i saw i had a little moment of thinking, hmm, there might be some built-in racism into this thing with the whole the fact that there's all these evil creatures that are all just automatically you know shunned from society, but in just you know that they aren't Narnia has this ah this wonderful, beautiful world, and then there's just all these dark creatures that exist that are automatically evil because they exist.
00:34:02
Speaker
which I was like, I wonder if that's something we're getting from the 50s here of like, you know, we just there's evil creatures in this world that are creatures that aren't with the rest of the country. tree But that was just a little passing thought I had. I'm like, oh, that might be built into the book a little bit. But Uh, yeah, I think the scene was great and the, the recovery and him coming back, the stone table breaking it all just kind of, uh, is really powerful as you get into that, like crescendo of, Oh, he's back. We're, we're we're okay. He, the, the mice that, uh, um, cut the bindings, uh, they come back into the story a little later in ah
00:34:36
Speaker
um prince caspian believe uh one of the mice is a character from that that we that the reason they become talking mice is because because they help him here so it's a pretty powerful uh continuation too of the story here so yeah and then another addition in the movie that we didn't get in the book is um either lucy or susan or Yeah, I think the girls, they use the trees and the ah dryads to send a message back to camp to tell them that Aslan is dead, which doesn't happen in the book. And then a little bit different, too, is Aslan in the book has pulled Peter aside a couple of times and is like, hey, I might not be there in the battle. You're going to have you have to be prepared to lead them. And to fight and to do this on your own, I might not be there. Like he's laying the groundwork with Peter that Peter's going to have to fight on his own um versus in the movie. We don't get that part of it.
00:35:36
Speaker
Instead, we just get like, hey, you know, the the pedal, the pink pedal lady. telling them that I have grave news from your sisters that Aslan is dead. And so that's when he finds out like, oh, geez, like I got to do this by myself. I thought Aslan was going to be with me. and Now I got to go by myself. Oh, my gosh. um And so then, yeah, Aslan is resurrected. He comes back and he takes the girls over to the White Witch's castle to revive all of the people that she has turned to stone, Medusa style, and bring, he literally like,
00:36:11
Speaker
in the film he breathes life back into them and revives them from stone back to their original states um and that's basically like the the second battalion coming in for the battle and that's happening simultaneously with like probably one of the most epic fight scenes to ever be put to cinema like maybe this is nostalgia because i only watched lord of the rings within the last year and this i grew up with but like this is up there with lord of the rings i think as far as like battle scenes like It's epic.
Epic Battle and Edmund's Redemption
00:36:41
Speaker
And the soundtrack is awesome. It's like, for Nardia and for Aslan. Like, it's so cool. And it looks so great. And it's so bright and colorful. Again, it's, oh, it's like one of the best battle scenes ever.
00:36:53
Speaker
um There's a scene early on where Edmund walks into the castle and he draws a face on one of the foxes that's been turned to stone. And I think it was a really interesting kind of a little dumb, but kind of interesting of choice for the production ah team that they left the charcoal marks on his face when they get to the end scene here of them in the castle even and everything.
00:37:15
Speaker
at the end he still got his glasses drawn onto his face in charcoal so i was like okay that's a little yeah yeah and the mustache it's like that's a little bit uh a little dumb but also really kind of like a funny thing to to bring through yeah yeah that was a really cool scene to watch him thawing out the stone creatures and bringing in the flanking part of the team and the battle is awesome all those different creatures. The Phoenix is seen as one of my favorites when the Phoenix burns a line through the whole battle. Yeah, I love the Phoenix also. Phoenix is one of my favorite like mystical creatures. So it was really fun to see the Phoenix in the battle.
00:37:55
Speaker
Not in the book, I don't think. there's Not like some of the creature battled. I don't recall. think the battle is pretty yeah um not mentioned much, but it was good for the visual element. and The biggest thing was that in the battle, um Edmund kind of ah stands up to the queen. And as she's fighting, he instead of attacking her directly, he attacks her wand and breaks her wand. And once he does that, the tide kind of starts to turn because she can no longer turn people to stone and doesn't longer have her powers that she was ah playing with throughout the fight and was gaining some ground with. And in that moment, he gets hurt, but he kind of sacrifices himself for his family as well. as She was attacking, I think, Peter when it happened.
00:38:38
Speaker
And then when Lucy gets back, she's able to heal him. Yeah, the growth for Edmund throughout the whole story like of him, again, like being a turd and like purposely picking on Lucy and like lying to make her look bad. And then like being that Judas character and betraying his family to the White Witch. And then now like putting making that you know sacrifice play and like you know putting his life on the line to help Peter, to save Peter. And to help all of Narnia and you know protect them from from her magic. um It's really cool to see to see that growth of him.
00:39:19
Speaker
Definitely. So, you know, after the battle, like you said,
Rulers of Narnia and Return to Reality
00:39:22
Speaker
Lucy's healing. He's bringing life into the statues. And then we get them crowned, um the kings and queens. And then we get a flash forward of them all grown up, still in Narnia, running through the forest on their horses. And they find a lamppost.
00:39:38
Speaker
And they're like, oh, this is very familiar. And they kind of follow the path past the lamppost find themselves back in the real world through the wardrobe as children again.
00:39:52
Speaker
I think the whole um fact that they mispronounced lamppost and wardrobe and or spare oom and like ah all that. And that the the even the kids start doing it towards the end of the story there was kind of funny where they're like, wait, a spare oom, wardrobe. I remember something about this and how they've forgotten even where they come from until they fall back through this story.
00:40:16
Speaker
the wardrobe back into Diggory's house. Just like, I think that's pretty funny, but it was cool seeing them grown up and the fact that they basically live a life here in their mat in, in what, you know, anybody else would think is just their imagination, but they grew up as, and became Kings and Queens of this fantasy world and had adventures and had whole lives here is, it's just kind of boggles the mind to think about living your, you know, preteens to early twenties twice, you know?
00:40:44
Speaker
Yeah, dude, puberty twice is kind of tough. um That's fair, yeah. It's kind of rough. But, like, I think that's so magical that, like, they, you know, because a lot of, i think, what teenagers struggle with is, like, not knowing what's going on. And so, like, now in the real world, they're like, I've already been through this before. Like, it's fine. Like, I know i know that I can – and even beyond, like, puberty, just, like, in general, like,
00:41:11
Speaker
I know that I can overcome stuff. We literally fought a battle against the white witch and we won and we were rulers. We were kings and queens of an entire land and like had to hold court and negotiate and like do all of these different things. Like, yeah, i can pass the third grade. I think I'm going to be okay.
00:41:31
Speaker
Like they have the, I'm high King of Narnia. I don't need to go to high school. Literally. Yeah, I would have I would love and we don't get it in the book either. But I just I would love a little insert book about their time as the high kings and queens of Narnia. Like what was that like for them to grow up here without their parents? Did they ever think of them and miss them? Did they ever like you know remember the wardrobe? like Obviously, by the time they get back to the lamppost in the wardrobe, they don't... it they Lucy says it's like a dream of a dream.
00:42:05
Speaker
they So like they kind of remember, but it's not it's really fuzzy. It's not really there. So like how long did it take them to... like truly forget where they came from that they weren't always in Narnia um I would love that little insert book because it's referenced you know in Prince Caspian and in Don Shredder like throughout the rest of the books and movies it's referred back to as like this golden age with the with the Pevensies as the rulers so I want to see what that was actually like
00:42:36
Speaker
So the Horses' Boy does give us a little bit of that time. It is based in that time frame while they're like part of the whole story in the Horses' Boy is Queen Susan being courting one of the other country's princes in order to potentially be married.
00:42:52
Speaker
So the, that's a a story plot of them in the horse and his boy. So the next book that hopefully we'll get to in this, ah um this movie sequence here um from Greta Gerwig, but yeah, horse's boy is based in the world when they were Kings and Queens. But yes, I would have loved to have a lot more time in the world. Like I was saying, I want some, I want some Narnia fan fiction that goes through all of that time.
00:43:13
Speaker
The loss C.S. Lewis. Yeah. Okay. So are there any, we talked a lot about it as we were going through, but are there any side stories from the book that were included or cut that you felt was the right decision?
Faithfulness of the Adaptation and Final Thoughts
00:43:28
Speaker
it's a pretty a short and quick book. So, I mean, you, you reading the paperback, you get, you you're, you're at the part where they're at the table already. You're like, you know, as in sacrificing himself, you're like, this book's almost over. So um it definitely, it's streamlined. They do a good job of getting as much as possible in there. I think they added the action scenes. I think that they, they nailed the adaptation really well. But the scenes they chose to leave things they chose to take um were really good.
00:43:56
Speaker
Yeah, I can't think of that much that they left out. Mostly it's like, you know, we talked about the explanation of what the the law and of the deep magic is. Some of those like explanations are left out, but pretty much everything else is like word for word, spot on. The pacing is pretty similar. um And yeah, they did a really, really great job with this adaptation. Like this is probably a Hall of Famer as far as book to screen adaptations go um for accuracy, at least like the quality of the movie as well. But, you know, we're our book watch. We talk about books and their film and TV adaptations. um And so this is it's Hall of Fame in my book for sure.
00:44:47
Speaker
All right. Any final thoughts? Any bookmarked moments? My bookmark moment is probably the first time Lucy comes through the wardrobe. And like like I said, the soundtrack. And then like you get to see her like just having this look of pure wonder and awe on her face that, first of all, I came through a wardrobe and now I'm in a forest and like there's a lamppost here. And like it's just so fantastical and magical. And it gets the story started. so that's my bookmark moment.
00:45:17
Speaker
remember the trailer for this when it came out? Yeah. Yeah. think A good portion of it was kind of that moment of her walking into Narnia and having that music and the, the wonder, the, you know, the early two thousands voiceover, you know, going through come to Narnia. just Yes.
00:45:35
Speaker
Pretty fun. You guys have bookmark moments. I don't think so. The whole thing is wonderful to me. And I, you know, like i said, I've, I've read them so many times, but I don't like i have any favorite moments. The whole thing is it makes me smile reading them.
00:45:50
Speaker
Yeah. It's a pretty solid adaptation. So I'm excited to see what Greta can do with this series. And I'm excited to read the next few and, you know, cover those films with you guys as well. And yeah, we'll see what Greta can do.
00:46:05
Speaker
Don't mess it up, Greta. Yeah. right. Well, um thank you for joining us through the wardrobe and coming to Narnia with us. And we will see you next week. Bye.
00:46:18
Speaker
Bye.
00:46:22
Speaker
That's a wrap for this week's episode of Book Watch. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of page to screen adaptations with us. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a rating and review wherever you listen and share it with a fellow book and movie lover.
00:46:37
Speaker
If you prefer to watch along, you can check out the show on YouTube, youtube.com slash at book, watch podcast. You can follow the show on Instagram at book, watch podcast, and you can follow me Sarah day on Instagram at captain. McD that's M C D E E. And you can follow me Jordan on Instagram at JJ Corrito. That's C A R R I D O. And you can follow me Chris at cyborg night four Oh four. That's night with a K.
00:47:07
Speaker
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00:47:25
Speaker
Have a favorite adaptation you'd like us to cover or a book you think deserves a screen adaptation or just want to let us know of any feedback. Send us an email at book watch podcast at gmail.com.
00:47:38
Speaker
Until next time, keep reading, keep watching, and we'll see you next week.