@col-klink The sets look pretty fantastic. Lots of interesting detailing on the props/posters/cars etc. 

And kudos to them for doing any large-scale period filming in London. Most productions tend to avoid it completely, due to the hassle/relative lack of period details. 

I haven't seen any real sets, just street locations with some alterations. It's fine - parts of London I've been in.

But I would rather see it set in 1900. 

From the photos currently up here in NarniaWeb and elsewhere, I would say I like the London street set, design etc... it would appear they've done pretty well at getting it to look like its in the time period - I also did a bit of google searching to see if the dates on some of the signs/posters/ads in the background lined up with 1955 - and confirmed they did!

I actually voted that I was indifferent about the sets. Frankly, I think this comes from not understanding anything about location filming that they do nowadays. Someone mentioned somewhere that the set was quite large? I am not sure what this means because I have nothing to compare it to. Are we saying that the set is quite large because they usually only location set filming on one street or in front of one building. What is the usual thing that we are comparing this set to?  I would assume that One Piece Live Action location sets are very large as well. Is this set bigger than those? I know it is rare to do location setting anymore but, that is just because most of the movies nowadays are CGI cash grabs. I know they built a set for Barbie, but I assume they also had location filming how large was their set or sets? 

So I think that one of the things that tempers my feelings towards the time period shift somewhat is that the 1950s still feel Narnian enough. Sure it's not 100% Magicians Nephew 1900 vibes, but it's definitely strong Narnia vibes as a whole.

Partly that's because the 1950s are aestheticaly very similar to the 1940s, but also because Lewis himself largely forgets about the WW2 setting outside a couple of lines. The books are very much products of the 1950s (even MN with its 1900 setting) therefore these sets do still conjure up a certain Narnian magic.

And yeah, although there isn't a lot of physical set construction here (it's mostly the real buildings with some adornments), the overall set-up is incredibly impressive. The number of cars and extras being synchronised. The sheer length of the road they cordoned off... And not a single green screen in sight.

I think it shows they are really committed to a high-end visual aesthetic on this film, which when coupled with shooting on VistaVision and releasing in IMAX, likely means in won't disappoint in that department at least. 

Apart from my confusion and misgivings about the time change, the sets themselves look fantastic. I’m a sucker for any kind of period setting and I do really like the details in all of the posters and such.

What I've seen looks good for the most part, but I hope we don't see too much of that construction wall.  It may be authentic, but it doesn't strike me as very aesthetically pleasing as a background image.

So I think the most accurate way to describe my opinion is that I'm intrigued. And I did vote "like them" up above. My favorite picture that I've run across is the puppet theater with the little animal motifs. They reminded me a bit of the Boxen pics (which would have been a fun nod!), but the animals don't match up. There is a maned lion though!

Posted by: @col-klink

If only this movie was adapting a different Narnia book, one that it made somewhat sense to set in the 1950s, then I'd be stoked for it. (Do people still say stoked? Oh well.)

They do where I come from.

I definitely think the sets look intriguing and I also voted "like them" — I love that lion poster especially. But I'm also uncertain as to whether or not an adaptation of MN set in the 1950s could really work and still feel like essentially the same story that Lewis wrote. It's a bold idea and it'll certainly be interesting to see what they do with it, but I still can't see a good reason for it. 

I feel like I didn't articulate why I wanted to start a thread about something about the upcoming movie I like, even though I'm not feeling good about the movie, very well. So here's my second attempt.

I worry that when it comes to movies anyway, the internet is losing the category of mediocre as opposed to abominable. Even when people do call a movie mediocre, they get just as snippy as if it were terrible. I'm finding it kind of tiresome. In that spirit, while I dislike most of the decisions this new Narnia movie seems to be making (changing how Digory and Polly meet, changing the time period to the 1950s, that goofy costume of Jadis's), I don't think it's going to be the worst movie ever or anything. (Worst adaptation of The Magician's Nephew maybe but it's not like it has a lot of competition. ) 

I'm thrilled with the production design and set dressing so far, and love that they're filming outside the studio lot! I really think this will help open the film up and avoid it feeling claustrophobic.

I'm imagining these are scenes early on in the movie and I think we're really going to be able to tell the film's lavish budget & production values right away, especially compared to VDT's opening.