@jasmine_tarkheena   I do kind of agree with most about Peter’s character change in PC. In the book, Peter actually said to Caspian, “I didn’t come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it,” which I thought was a nice moment—but in the movie, they kind of put a rivalry between them that wasn’t there. The same could be said with Susan’s character- they turned her into a warrior-queen which is contrary to what Lewis wrote. It wasn’t fitting for her character, given her title was “Susan the Gentle.”

Thank you for pointing that out. I do agree that the book would be hard to film accurately, anyway. Almost a third of the book is Trumpkin relating Prince Caspian's story to the Pevensies up to the moment when Susan's arrow shot rescued him from his two Telmarine captors. The Pevensies have been reunited with their LWW Christmas presents - except for Susan's horn. And since it was Susan's horn that dragged them into Narnia, shouldn't much more have been made of this object in the film? I'll really have to watch both BBC & Walden versions again, when I don't even remember the moment in both films when it was blown. 

I do remember the bit where Lucy, holding her dagger (purely for self-defence) appears with Aslan at the conclusion of the battle of Beruna. But it should have been both Susan & Lucy who turned up right at that moment, accompanied not only by Aslan, but also by a whole crowd of people, as well as the trees. They had been liberating not only Narnia, but also the Telmarines, from themselves, it would seem, in that glorious romp, ending in a party. That would be too difficult for the filmmakers, I suppose, especially due to the cost of CGI that would have been involved. In 2008, the LOTR films had been & gone, & by the time VDT was produced there was a push for 3D effects as well. 

Instead, the Walden's film gets on with returning some of the Telmarines back to the real world, sort of like the world remembering there were places like Pitcairn Island, St Helena & Tristan da Cunha, or the Falklands, where people live mostly isolated from the rest of the world for decades, without anyone noticing their existence. Whilst the Pevensies are returned to the railway station, with Edmund remembering he left his torch in Narnia. 

I suppose Peter had to be shown to be a seasoned warrior, fully deserving of the title of High King. But when Caspian had been bitten by the werewolf, & therefore on the injured list, he had a good reason for yielding to Peter's advocacy, anyway. In the movie script, did William Moseley as Peter actually say “I didn’t come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it”? Maybe the filmmakers would have had to put some rivalry tension into the scene when they met, to justify Peter's making that comment at all. Judging by the as-yet unfilmed HHB book, Lucy might well have played a warrior-queen, riding with King Edmund & Prince Corin to the rescue of King Lune at Anvard, if it was truly necessary. In PC, the book, it was Lucy showing leadership, with Susan hanging back, seeing this camping trip to meet Caspian as an irksome chore, barely able to shoot an arrow to provide dinner, until they finally were all able to see Aslan. 

@narnian78 but the Narnia stories have gentleness and forgiveness as well as warrior kings and queens.  Susan certainly deserved her title Susan the Gentle because that was her outstanding quality.

Yes, you are right. In PC Walden had Susan at the battle that broke out after the single combat at Aslan's Howe, whereas in the book, neither Susan nor Lucy were present at that battle, remaining with Aslan. Even in VDT, was it really necessary to have Lucy being involved in any armed struggle, to get away from the slavers at the Lone Island? 

I think they kind of forgot at least some of the time that medieval chivalry also means gentleness in making the Walden films. The movies do bring some of that out, but in Prince Caspian it seems like it was forgotten at least part of the time.  There were brave knights and ladies in the Narnia books, but the gentle quality could have been made more prominent in all of the three Walden movies.  They might have been more concerned about selling tickets and avoiding making a boring movie, but the Narnia stories have gentleness and forgiveness as well as warrior kings and queens.  Susan certainly deserved her title Susan the Gentle because that was her outstanding quality.

I do kind of agree with most about Peter’s character change in PC. In the book, Peter actually said to Caspian, “I didn’t come to take your place, you know, but to put you into it,” which I thought was a nice moment—but in the movie, they kind of put a rivalry between them that wasn’t there. The same could be said with Susan’s character- they turned her into a warrior-queen which is contrary to what Lewis wrote. It wasn’t fitting for her character, given her title was “Susan the Gentle.”

I actually like the medieval setting of Narnia, though I think the films could have done more with the textures—the rust on chainmail, the way torchlight flickered off wet cobblestones. The books always made Cair Paravel feel lived-in, like you could smell the salt air clinging to the tapestries. Some of that got lost in translation when everything became too polished, too CGI-smooth.

One more thing (for now on this topic) - with the Peter vs Caspian rivalry, it just doesn't make sense to me in the context of - he's heard and loved the stories of them in the past and he's needing help to establish his kingdom so Aslan sends them when he blows the horn - why does he feel so competitive about them when they actually turn up.  And Peter too - has he forgotten, he's laid his legacy as king during his time, he's not brought back for another stint at being king, but to assist in the establishment of Caspian's kingdom.  For me, the whole competition thing feels a bit soap opera-ish. {ym}:giggle:

Honestly, I'm being rather critical of the Walden Media films in this thread, but really I do appreciate them and many things about them. {ym}:smile:

Posted by: @sir-cabbage

Yes, I agree chivalry, honour and so forth were somewhat lacking in the Walden films. It was enough to bother me in particular in Prince Caspian with the immature behaviour between Peter and Caspian. So different from the book depictions!

It was a bit unnecessary to add but it would actually make some sense realistically. Like Peter has ruled his land for 10+ years and is forced to go back to England, then back to Narnia realizing it's on the brink of ruin and then all of a sudden someone is here to take his place. There could be some insecurity in place. Especially between two 13 year olds, more between than two 20 year olds imo. Caspian on the hand has just discovered the Narnians and hopes to take the throne that was brutally stolen from him and as well has one more person to question him. 

Overall I think the movies do not really ruin the books but don't follow entirely in line. Some things didn't need to be added in, some things from the books didn't really ruin the plot of the movie when not added and some things like the green mist as an addition was a good addition in the third movie. The Caspian & Susan relationship nah, not for me but somehow better than Caspian & Ramandu's Daughter which I won't explain here. 

The very particular way of writing an honourable mediaeval knight character (and similar) that we're familiar with in these books, fairytales and others of years gone by don't seem to be such the fashion in filmmaking now. Not to say there aren't genuinely honourable types, but it's just not in the same way. It's hard to explain, but it's really part of a wider discussion of storytelling trends.

I guess I just feel they could have done the reluctant hero in a similar way to what was done in the Lord of the Rings movies - whilst still keeping in the character of the book. 

I didn't suggest that 5 Acts was new. It goes back to Ancient Greece - I learned that in my University studies. I've studied plenty of Shakespeare, and acted in several of his plays. It was the 3 Act structure that I was interested in.

I have heard of The Hero's Journey as one of the main basic storylines, only this century.  I tried to indicate in my post that a lot of terminology and definition of the later 20th century onwards is led by USA, not UK. 

If you thought my post was criticising those two writers, you misread me. I was stating my understanding that this is how things are done in film now, especially American-led ones. I was indicating that I realised my need to catch up in my understanding. (Whether or not I  liked their scripts for these films is not the issue here).