Comparing locations to the book...

Lone Islands: In the book, you get the sense that the place it more developed. In the movie, they made it feel like the few citizens remaining were struggling to get by. That's the way I took it at least.

Magician's Island: Definitely a different route from the book. I think it's really funny how in the book, the thing that is so surprising about this island is how...normal it looks haha. In the movie, it looks like a Tim Burton movie.

DragonEustace: I think he looked way too friendly in the movie. Eustace becomes a terror to himself and the others. He should look scary.

Ramandu: They did indeed cut him out.

Telmarine saliors: Can't remember much description in the book, but they were pretty lame in the movie.

Undragoning: *sigh* What more can be said that hasn't been said already?

its overall lack of focus.

I think that hits the nail on the head. On the LWW DVD, Andrew Adamson said "I think a lot of movies fail to hit their target because there wasn't a single vision." I think that's exactly what happened with VDT.

Excellent points, glumpuddle!

As for the Lone Islands, I always imagined the city and architecture almost “Viking” in appearance and tone. A good example would be Jackson’s interpretation of Rohan….but I would imagine the Lone Islands a bit dirtier, rougher, wilder, and grittier. Almost like the slums of Rohan haha

I totally agree with you about how it was surprising just how “normal” Magician’s Island was in the book. For me, I would have loved to see an island that is neat and tidy, well kept, and quite clean. Like a grandmother’s garden. That’s what made it so mysterious and intriguing to the reader! The place seemed uninhabited, but why was it so well kept? That helped make the reveal of the Dufflepuds much more amusing.

Oh, my…..what can be said about Coriakin’s scene that hasn’t been said before? I cringe every time I hear the way he delivers the line “It can steal the light from this world”. That actor had no idea what he was doing, because the character was so underwritten. It’s really not his fault, it’s the writers’ choice to just rush through the character’s scene without developing him or establishing who he is. My choice for Coriakin has always been Morgan Freeman! In many of his performances, Freeman has this great way of pulling off this mysterious, wise, and otherworldly presence that Coriakin needs to be given. Coriakin is mysterious and memorable. He should be someone who everybody immediately pays attention to when he comes onscreen.

As for Dragon Eustace, I always felt that the dragon form of the character was a reflection of his own heart. Before his redemption, he is greedy, selfish, vain, wretched and a horrible person. He is like a dragon! I have always believed Lewis meant it as a reflection of Eustace’s soul. Each time I read the book, I always imagine the dragon appearing very terrifying, wretched, and pitiful. Much like Eustace’s soul! I’m not saying he should look like the dragons the Nazgul ride, but he should at least be given a not only recognizable and original design, but one wretched and terrifying design. It would not only freak the audience out, but help them have an amount of sympathy for the character.

Oh where to begin on the Telmarine saliors. First of all, what I really loved about Adamson’s Narnia was how he didn’t try to make a fantasy world. He made a LIVING, BREATHING world. His Narnia felt as if it had existed for thousands of years! It really felt as if hundreds of unique cultures existed in that world….the most memorable aspect of this was how the race of Telmarines in PC felt as if they had existed for thousands of years, eventually working their way up to royalty. The Telmarine accents and different Narnian accents helped them all blend into the unique and exotic world. The Pevensies really stood out, fully illustrating they had come from another world. Sadly, with VDT, we don’t get that feeling. EVERYONE is british, which makes the Pevensies seem as though they are STILL in London….except with cheaper effects.

Again, great points glumpuddle! Love your stuff btw!

The Telmarine accents and different Narnian accents helped them all blend into the unique and exotic world...Sadly, with VDT, we don’t get that feeling. EVERYONE is british, which makes the Pevensies seem as though they are STILL in London….except with cheaper effects.

Please don't get me started on 'accents', especially as we have another thread
for that sort of discussion. As an Australian, I found the 'Telmarine' accents in PC about as understandable as your average non-native English speaker, quite a few of whom I saw every day for years as they struggled with ESOL courses. Mostly, the PC 'Telmarine' accent was to accommodate European actors who, try as they might, would understandably find it hard to disguise their Non English-speaking origins. Fortunately, given the piratical origins of 'Telmarines' as outlined by Aslan, this accommodation had some support in PC. And so, since there were a few of them, it made good sense to use that particular accent, even by actors like Ben Barnes, who were English-born and who, therefore, had to fake it as part of the job.

Same with VDT, since the actors for Drinian (Gary Sweet) and Lords Berne and Rhoop (Bruce Gyngell), not to mention the extras employed for the occasion, were well-recognised and competent Australian-born actors, who might also might find it a little hard to disguise their Australianness, to cater for the rest of the English-speaking world, which also happens to include USA. The so-called 'West Country' British accent, which, like PC, was adopted in VDT, to suggest a 'maritime' background for the sailors, was just another disguise to accommodate such variations in English usage. You might not realise it, but there is a Received Pronunciation form of English, which even USA-born actors and actresses may, on occasion, need to acquire for a successful International career. By the way, the average Australian accent may sound like a London accent to you, but not necessarily to Londoners, or other 'British' or English-speaking people, as I have good reason to testify.

I totally agree with you about how it was surprising just how “normal” Magician’s Island was in the book. For me, I would have loved to see an island that is neat and tidy, well kept, and quite clean. Like a grandmother’s garden. That’s what made it so mysterious and intriguing to the reader! The place seemed uninhabited, but why was it so well kept? That helped make the reveal of the Dufflepuds much more amusing.

I do realise that glumPuddle never liked VDT, and that many share this dislike because of the script and many other factors, especially the noxious green mist. But, otherwise, the art direction, FX etc for different scenes seemed fine to me, especially Coriakin's island where the garden conformed well to the VDT description of it, as far as I could see.

Down Under, where much of VDT was filmed, including the Magician's Island scenes, we don't have the same sort of vegetation that you do, and the nicely sculptured English-looking shrubs and trees certainly looked both well-kept and mysterious to me, and quite apt for VDT. Especially as the last bit of local topiary I ever saw in real-life was due to an amateurish end of 12th year high-school prank, done on one of Samuel Marsden's signal poplars, planted shortly after 1788. In other words, the Magician's Island scenery certainly did look like a rather spooky sort of (ex-British?) grandmother's garden if that is what you wanted. I am unclear if that particular comment of yours that I quoted was meant to be a criticism of VDT or not.

As for the Lone Islands, I always imagined the city and architecture almost “Viking” in appearance and tone. A good example would be Jackson’s interpretation of Rohan….but I would imagine the Lone Islands a bit dirtier, rougher, wilder, and grittier. Almost like the slums of Rohan haha

Actually, VDT filmed the Lone Islands scenes in Malta, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, which really and definitely does have a history of "Viking" invasions, among many others. I could tell you about the history of Malta, but there is nothing like looking up info for yourself on Internet. Unlike Australia, which had the British invasion of 26th January 1788 to contend with, but which, as a convict settlement, was otherwise just as dirty, rough, wild and gritty as you could ever wish for Lone Island scenery. Especially in olden Sydney Town, or worse, Brisbane, where VDT did much other filming.

I do agree that at least one of our local reviewers panned VDT because he didn't want to watch a film about English Toffs or hear Lion-delivered sermons. But I also strongly suspect there are local political reasons for this anti-British attitude, hence my vociferous defence of the film, which, noxious green mist aside, in my view, was no more disappointingly mediocre than Troy, The Eagle or Heidi, among other film versions of books I have encountered.

Oh dear, haha I didn't mean that comment about "accents" quite the way it sounded. I meant with all characters in VDT sounding somewhat similar, regardless of being British or Australian, I just feel like it no longer made the Pevensies stand out or even felt like a world inhabited by hundreds of cultures that had existed for thousands of years. Caspian no longer felt like a Telmarine, with a Telmarine backround and origin. He seemed much more like Peter's college buddy or something. But that's just my opinion. I would have preferred to see much more variety in Apted's world. I have nothing against the british haha. My mother's side of the family is English.

My problem with Magician's Island was how fake it looked. The green screen in that whole sequence was pitiful and the landscape just seemed less Narnia and more "James and the Giant Peach".

I realize the Lone Islands were filmed in Malta, but the set design was so cheap and unimaginative, that it looked more like a ride at Disneyland(I love Disneyland, don't misunderstand), and less like an old and dirty and corrupt city full of beggers, scoundrels, and slave traders. We really didn't even get to take in the set design and architecture. Everything was so rushed and over so fast, we didn't even have time to take in the set design! In LWW, the film would slow down and allow the viewer to fully take in the immensely detailed architecture. A good example would be the Witch's courtyard, throne room, dungeons, etc. Even more so in PC, with the ruins of Cair Paravel, the council room, and the castle of Miraz. The pacing in VDT is so fast that it doesn't take time to fully develop the locations. It ends up taking me out of the movie, and I don't care about what's going on. There is no development.

But that's just how I personally felt I hope you enjoyed the movie much more than I did. If you did, please tell me why. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Boy, it's been so long since I've seen VDT that I only vaguely remember the design work.

Things that I loved/liked...
~I loved the Dawn Treader herself. When we were watching the ship being built pre-production, a lot of people, including myself, thought the dragon head was a bit carnival ride, but when the whole thing came together, I thought it was beautiful. Some of my favorite shots in the movie was the Dawn Treader sailing through the ocean.
~From a design only standpoint, I did like the Lone Islands (or should I say island because I think they only featured one). I thought they were pretty good.
~Something that was rarely mentioned for VDT was the costuming. Isis outdid herself again imho. I loved the costumes in all three movies.
~The wall of water at the end of the world. Loved it.
~The sea serpent I'm somewhere between 'like' and 'ok'. I think I liked it before it burst open into super creepiness. After that I think it might have been a bit too scary for Lewis's world. But thumbs up on being original. I certainly wasn't expecting it.

Things I thought were ok...
~Dragon Eustace. He wasn't quite what I'd imagined, but they did succeed in making the dragon version look like the human version, so I can live with that.
~The Magician's Island was a bit weird to me. I wasn't totally into the Tim Burton look, but it definitely gave the island its own flavor of whimsy and oddity.
~Ramandu's Island was fine but nothing special. Ditto on Dragon/Goldwater Island (though this one I think I was mostly annoyed by the combination of islands, I think the design overall was pretty good).
~I know lots of people disagree (but not everyone!), I liked Aslan's animation better in LWW than in PC and VDT. But I did like that he grew throughout all three movies.

Dislikes...
~The minotaur drove me nuts. They looked so awesome in LWW and PC, but he was CGI in VDT and didn't look nearly as good.
~The green mist... I mean there really isn't much more to say here. It looked dumb, it was dumb... yeah.
~Reepicheep is a carry-over from PC, but I never cared for his design. In fact, he ranks at the bottom for me. While other talking animals look like animals, Reep was a caricature of a mouse influenced by Puss in Boots from Shrek.
~Eustace's undragoning... what undragoning? I felt like I was watching the finale of Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin.

I can't really comment on the design of things that didn't exist (like Ramandu)

I loved the Dawn Treader herself.

The Dawn Treader looked great. There are a few really awesome wide shots that made my heart soar.

Actually, VDT filmed the Lone Islands scenes in Malta, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, which really and definitely does have a history of "Viking" invasions, among many others.

Wait, what? I don't remember this at all. Malta was a location they considered filming at, along with Iceland and New Zealand, but I don't remember it being used. As for the Lone Islands, we followed the primary set location at the Spit in Australia. (Image Gallery Here)

I also checked ceppault's google map, he followed the filming very, very closely, and has no listing for Malta either.

According to its IMDb record, you are right, fantasia kitty. I'd have to watch VDT again, myself, especially the credits and any extra material. But, according to this Wikipedia article, Malta was definitely going to be a location for filming, though it was done later in Queensland, mostly.

Somehow, I gained the impression and a strong recollection that either some of the early filming was started in Malta, perhaps before the Walden/Disney split, or else that the design of the sets for Lone Islands was still based on the Maltese sets in Valetta originally to be used. It wouldn't surprise me unduly, since Doug Gresham actually lives in Malta.

I did actually see the Dawn Treader, itself, at Warner's Movieworld at Oxenford in Queensland, and it was simply beautiful. It was in a shed at the time. We went aboard, and were able to walk around on deck. We weren't allowed to go through any doors or to stand anywhere near the fretwork near the ship's bell. This bell, supported between two fauns, was moulded with images of all seven of the Seven missing lords around it.

The craftsmanship that went into it was really something, and the photography of its sailing was also fairly spectacular. I've posted pictures of it on this site somewhere or other. I liked the Mount Tamborine setting for Aslan's table and the way the three sleeping lords were done up as if they had been vegetating all the while.

Much as I liked the Magician's Island sets, with the very English-looking topiary (I saw something similar on a calendar of English gardens), I wonder if the ordinary Englishness, suggested in the book, would have been reinforced if the Magician's house had been that black-and-white Tudor style? Though, it was great to see how it materialised once the Invisible spell lifted.

Malta was floated as an idea fairly early on, but it got replaced with the filming in Australia if I remember correctly.

That's cool that you got to go see it! The craftsmanship definitely shows up on screen, but I do remember seeing some of the pieces from LotR in the traveling exhibit several years ago and there was just so much more detail available in person over what you saw on screen.