I don't agree that the nice things Reepicheep does are done out of a sense of duty rather than charity. Look at the way he comforts Eustace when the latter had been turned into a dragon. Reep had no "duty" to help him; instead he went out of his way to offer him kindness and encouragement. He took a risk given that he and Eustace had been at loggerheads ever since the children had appeared on the Dawn Treader, and now Eustace was a dragon he could have swallowed Reepicheep in one gulp.

What a great topic!

I agree that Reepicheep comforting Eustace was an act of charity, but I think I get where Col Klink is coming from. Eustace is almost at the point of despair after he becomes a dragon and I think Reepicheep recognizes that and changes his attitude towards him. Does that make him a "kind" character? I guess it depends what you mean by "kind". If your definition of "kindness" includes "patience" or "indulgence", then I don't think that's a good description for him. He holds himself and others to a high standard and isn't afraid to let people know if he thinks they are behaving dishonourably. Before Eustace reaches his low point and is acting disrespectfully or like a bully, Reepicheep has nothing but harsh words for him.

It brings to mind King Lune's words to Cor in HHB: "Never taunt a man save when he is stronger than you: then, as you please." Reepicheep will resist an enemy that is stronger than him (and, in his case, that's almost everyone ), but he recognizes that it is shameful to kick a man when he is down.

This is in contrast to Lucy, who I would definitely think of as a kind character. She tries to be nice to Eustace pretty much throughout the book regardless of how nasty he is being to everyone around him.

I think the VDT movie made Reepicheep too mellow. I think that, in the book, once Eustace is turned into a dragon and his behaviour is improved, Reepicheep genuinely cares about him. But, he was also genuinely upset and offended by Eusatce's lack of respect earlier in the book. The antagonism was real. The movie made it more playful, so it didn't really feel like the real Reepicheep to me.

As for Reepicheep saying "shut up" to Pattertwig... I can definitely see Reepicheep getting frustrated with such a silly statement as "we could collect nuts" during a council of war (again, going back to the idea that Reepicheep holds high standards for others), but I agree he wouldn't use the words "shut up". Maybe something more like, "Spare us your frivolities, Pattertwig!"

The Walden Prince Caspian started out on the right note, having Reepicheep chivalrously state that he will not fight an unarmed man. Overall in Caspian and Dawn Treader he was used for comic relief which is understandable to give kids who haven’t read the books something to laugh about but doesn’t capture the extent to which he is a martial mouse.

As for the BBC version, Warwick Davis played Reepicheep and he is an actor with the skills to pull off both the violent and harsh tendencies and the noble chivalric ideals of the character. I agree that the short tempered angry side was played up to a greater extent which may have been how he was directed to play it. Similar to how the White Witch’s complexities were downplayed in favor of a lot of overacting and yelling in the first one.

Wow, this is my kind of topic (obviously)! 😀

I agree with what everyone has said, to varying degrees:

• I do think the "shut up" was a bit out of character; maybe "hold you tongue, Pattertwig!" or something like that.  But as others have said, comic relief.  The Walden PC didn't have much, so I get why they did that.
• I agree that Reepicheep is chivalrous, fierce, and at times, even bloodthirsty.  He doesn't mess around.  Honor and dignity are very important to him, and the fact that he's a mouse is definitely a sore point for him.  He's a knight of Narnia, and expects to be treated as such.
• Having said that though, I didn't mind the mouse jokes.  As someone pointed out in the book (I think it was King Peter), some people are afraid of mice; so to not lighten that up a bit might make him scarier than he was meant to be.  He's a swashbuckling butt-kicking hero, not a villain.  And I think his responses to "you are a mouse" capture his frustration with that fact without making him a joker himself.  I've often found that some people (myself included, according to my close friends and family 😀 ) tend to say things that are very funny (after the fact) when they're angry or annoyed.
• But he definitely has a softer side too (though he would probably challenge me to a duel if he heard me say that 😀 ).  He does eventually befriend Eustace, and he finally does let Lucy give him a hug.  He has a deep longing to see Aslan's Country, and I love in the end when he throws his sword in the water.  Oh he's a ferocious fighter, and no one in their right mind would cross him, but Reep's more than just a one-dimensional warrior.

I guess for me the bottom line is, yes, he's a tough character to recreate in a movie.  I thought Walden did well, but I agree there's definitely room for improvement.

On the topic of the "shut up" comment to Pattertwig... I really do think a Look would have been more in character:

"That is why I have been at some pains to make it known that no-one who does not wish to feel this sword as near his heart as I can reach shall talk in my presence about Traps or Toasted Cheese or Candles: no, Sir—not the tallest fool in Narnia!" Here he glared very fiercely up at Wimbleweather, but the Giant, who was always a stage behind everyone else, had not yet discovered what was being talked about down at his feet, and so missed the point.

"Am I to understand," said Reepicheep to Lucy after a long stare at Eustace, "that this singularly discourteous person is under your Majesty's protection? Because, if not——"

"To the convenience of a lady," said Reepicheep, "even a question of honour must give way—at least for the moment——" and here he looked very hard at Eustace.

"Loyal as a badger, Ma'am, and valiant as—as a Mouse," said Drinian. He had been going to say "as a lion" but had noticed Reepicheep's eyes fixed on him.

He's not a sassy or snappy or flippant character; he is fierce and self-possessed and often stern, and if he is actually going to insult you, it's going to memorable. The filmmakers seemed to want to turn him into more of a swashbuckling Errol Flynn-type character, but I'm doubtful that Reepicheep ever cracked a joke in either book he appears in. He seems a bit like the Platonic form of the joy and wonder that makes you serious, the happiness that's too good to waste on jokes, that Lewis talks about in The Last Battle. I think it's easy to forget this because there are several times that he makes the reader chuckle, just by virtue of saying and doing the things he does while also being a Mouse.

Interestingly, I've read some people on the Chronicles of Narnia Facebook group say they thought giving the cinematic Reepicheep more of a sense of humor was an improvement on the book character. I guess they felt giving him more of an emotional range made him a more rounded character. I really don't relate to that at all. I actually find him funnier without a sense of humor. ? 

Movie Reepicheep saying "you people have no imagination" to the Telmarine soldier who expresses shock at being killed by a mouse actually could have been salvaged for me. It would have been better if in earlier scenes where the same thing happened he would just glare fiercely. And the climactic line would be the result of frustration building up throughout the movie. It'd still be a change from the literary character but a smaller one. And I feel it would actually be funnier that way. ? 

As people have mentioned, it depends on what route the crew want to go down, whether comedic or more in line with the Lewis' original creation. When it comes to the voice I think this is appropriate too. For example, if they were to go down a comedic route, I could imagine someone like Simon Pegg is an interesting choice for Reepicheep, or if they wanted someone a bit more in line with the original creation, maybe someone like Sean Harris or Paddy Considine.

The only other character similar to Reep is in The Labyrinth; I think he is somewhat based on Reep, but without the same courage, and less logical.  (equally lovable, though)

https://labyrinth.fandom.com/wiki/Sir_Didymus

What I love about Reep is his indomitable spirit, his fierce loyalty, and being prepared to die in the attempt. But he is not stupid, as is seen in VDT (the book!) when he tells everyone to push, not fight.  That, and his sensitivity to 'recovered' Eustace are wisdom and grace, which must be shown for a good characterisation.

Well, I’ll start by giving my thoughts on how he LOOKED in the previous adaptations.

Simply put, the less said about his BBC portrayal appearance, the better.

The Walden version basically got his appearance correct to the books. His fur isn’t dark brown but otherwise he’s right in all the ways BBC’s version isn’t: he doesn’t wear clothes, he’s bigger than an ordinary mouse but not the size of a dwarf, and oh, he looks like a mouse and not some sort of Chuck E. Cheese abomination (okay now I’m doing what I said I wouldn’t and going off on BBC’s depiction). He also had the visual elements that the books give Reepicheep (the “mustache”, the feather thing). The one thing I guess they didn’t really get right is that his ears are described as “ears nearly as long as (though broader than) a rabbit's”.

Personally, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with Reep’s appearance. Obviously there’s the ears thing, which I think would help make him look cuter. While Reepicheep in the films is cute, he’s not as cute as I imagined or would have liked (although I’m sure Reepicheep of the books would be fine with that, the less cute the better). And to be fair he shouldn’t be over-the-top cartoonishly cute. I’m actually not a big fan of the mustache and the feather-hat thing. The original first illustration of RPC from the PC book (which I use as my avatar) portrays him with neither and I think it makes him look great. He also had medium brown fur, which I think is good. (I thought he was white when I first saw the illustration since it was in black and white, but I remember before the PC movie was released there was talk about Reepicheep being white and how off-putting that might look). And of course, he needs to very expressive. As far as his eyes go, I think they should maybe go for more human-like instead of more realistic black eyes he has in the Walden version, but those could still work. 

Now, I’ll give my overview on his voice and personality in the adaptations.

BBC Reepicheep, IIRC, was pretty on par with Reep’s personality of the books, but since I didn’t like the BBC version of him to begin with that doesn’t mean much to me.

As far as Walden goes, I agree that Reepicheep in PC (I didn’t really watch VDT) needed to be portrayed a bit more friendly, I mean the way he’s introduced in the book shows him greeting Caspian in a friendly manner. And of course there’s the sarcasm and jokes, mainly the “shut up” line, which I agree needed to be reworded.

The one thing I’m surprised more people don’t talk about though is Reepicheep’s voice. In the books it’s described as high and shrill, and the radio play definitely got that right. I think the BBC version tried going for that but it didn’t quite hit the mark. And then there’s the two Walden portrayals, where he clearly has a human man’s voice, which shocked me when I first saw the film.

However, I can maybe understand how a shrill voice would eventually become a bit grating to viewers, so I can live with one like the Walden versions in the new one providing they do a good job with both his appearance and characterization.