I have no real concrete memory of watching Ghostbusters, but even I groaned at the tired cliche. It was terribly done and badly set up. We never had any real fear of sea serpents established other than a few throwaway references. And why did the serpent manifest physically when Jadis and Rhince's wife and Caspian's father did not? No explanation. So to then have Edmund be responsible for the one dangerous manifestation was frankly insulting to me as a viewer and a fan, that the moviemakers thought they had to use the cliche "don't think about something bad" to entertain me instead of finding a creative way to introduce the sea serpent.

I don't know if it was an intentional reference to Ghostbusters or just the old "don't think about a pink elephant" cliche, but I find it hard to believe that the writers and directors would not be aware that the connection (to Ghostbusters) would be made by many.
It also wasn't the only thing that was taken from other popular entertainment. From the Lost-like smoke monster to the glowing blue sword from Lord of the Rings to what one reviewer called "Edmund's Jack Sparrow moment" in which he taunts the sea serpent. I'm pretty sure there are more.

I heard Mr. Apted say that the story as written had "no life" and "no purpose". I heard him say that this story needed "to be more like Harry Potter and Star Wars". I also know that they deliberately inserted things (the White Witch, the magic snow) to make people think of LWW. Knowing all of this, I was left with the impression that the production (much like the Lucy they created) spent its time wishing it was someone else.

Kind of a "people like them, so if we look kinda like them, maybe people will like us also" mentality. Was this actually the thought process behind these additions? No way of knowing. But its the impression I left the theater with. One of my thoughts after seeing the movie was "Is it a good thing if you leave a movie thinking about every movie except the one you just saw?"

From the beginning, Narnia fans have been trying to convince the media that the Narnia stories are not cheap Lord of the Rings rip-offs. This is not helping.

While we're on the subject of references, am I the only one who thought of the scene in The Return of the King when Gandalf knocks out Denethor with his staff? They did something very similar visually when they had either Caspian or Drinian knock out Lord Rhoop. I mean, the RotK scene was the FIRST thing that popped into my head.

Gee. When Hollywood self-references so much it gets...so tiresome.

I didnt realize that this movie had a scene that was similar to the Ghostbusters movie - but in all honestly this isnt a big deal. Unless you are a movie buff, a great majority of younger viewers have not seen Ghostbusters. It goes without saying that younger viewers drive the box office (as referenced by blockbusters being scheduled for summer and winter break releases). And even for those who have seen it, not all would remember every scene from it. Take it from me, I am 30 years old and even I consider this movie before my time. I was 3 years old when it came out... and no, I haven't seen the movie.
So I guess my answer is.. no, this reference was not intentional.

While we're on the subject of references, am I the only one who thought of the scene in The Return of the King when Gandalf knocks out Denethor with his staff? They did something very similar visually when they had either Caspian or Drinian knock out Lord Rhoop. I mean, the RotK scene was the FIRST thing that popped into my head.

Gee. When Hollywood self-references so much it gets...so tiresome.

How about the green glowing people? I just re-watching ROTK the other day and the visuals of the Army of the Dead are, er, eerily similar to the green glowing mist in VODT.

Hmm, that one I think is a bit of a stretch. Green glowing stuff wasn't invented by Peter Jackson.

I Didn't think it was either.

Peter Jackson borrowed the look of the Army of the Dead from his own movie, The Frighteners (but he didn't create the original look even).

I cant get my sig on my post!

It was more the point. Why did Narnia have to have green glowing stuff? And blue glowing swords? It's been done to death in films, and done better in movies like LOTR. Why can't we have a nice yellow glow once and awhile?

Is it possible this was intentional? ...I don't think it was intentional...but at the very least, the filmmakers must have known the scene was very similar.

First of all, thank you for bringing this up. It has been so long since I had seen the movie, that I did not make the connection. I would like to present a mini-thesis of what I think is the answer to your question. Also, this is not a confrontation on anyone on this forum, but rather an attempt to light a candle.

"The stars never lie, but men and beasts do." Roonwit in "The Last Battle".

I propose that this can also apply to numbers. To me, the numbers reveal that the real author behind VDT - the movie, is none other than the real Aslan. My witnesses will be the standard gematria practice used by the Hebrews and the Greeks.

"Stay Puft" - 2 words, 8 letters. The ordinal value = 128 (S= 19th letter + t= 20th letter, etc.) 128 = 2 to the seventh power. Witness #1

"Stay Puft" - The standard value = 1577 (S=100, t=200, a=1, etc.)

There are 4 words (little stones) and 4 verses (big stones) in Aslan's book (and yes, I mean the Bible) that = 1577. The 6th (6 is # of man, the 6th letter in "stay puft" is "u") stone is the 2nd verse. Witness #2. That verse is Proverbs 6:12. Since this is the general forum, I will not quote it or the next 7 verses that make up a group of 8. In those 8 verses you will see the seven swords listed. I kid you not. Read them at your convenience. Witness #3

"Stay Puft" - combine the ordinal and standard values and you get 1705. There are 6 words (little stones) and 5 verses (big stones) that = 1705. The 10th stone, which is where "Rhindon" comes in, is Proverbs 6:13. This is mathematically incredible because it comes exactly after Proverbs 6:12 = 1577.

It is late now, and I need to go to bed. For further explanation on how Rhindon ties in with all of this and why it must be blue and no other color will work, join me in the "other" sub-forum.

Thank you for your time.

Why did Narnia have to have green glowing stuff? And blue glowing swords? It's been done to death in films, and done better in movies like LOTR. Why can't we have a nice yellow glow once and awhile?

Because on another thread in this forum, as sharp-eyed DamselJillPole pointed out, it was Lilliandil who was responsible for the blue glow, once the swords were assembled on Aslan's table, being a blue star, herself. Glowing blue wasn't an innate property of the swords, unlike Glamdring or Sting in LOTR.

Why blue? Well in case anyone missed it, C.S.Lewis depicted Ramandu's daughter as wearing a 'sleeveless garment of clear blue' on page 152 of my edition of VDT. Even the BBC version of VDT had Ramandu, himself, as well as Lilliandil decked out in some sort of sparkly blue costumes. Another colour, however more useful, would simply not do, if the movie is really trying to adhere to the book. It is a pity C.S.Lewis didn't refer to purple, instead, though he thought Ramandu's island had a 'purplish smell'. I suppose that if VDT made Lilliandil the purple star there would be even more complaints about VDT not sticking to the book.

By the way, Tolkien and LOTR didn't have the dibs on magical swords whether they glowed blue, red, vermilion or not. Sigurd and his mates in Norse tales had magical swords. In some legends, swords talked back at their owners or would-be owners. King Arthur had Excalibur and yes, that particular legend about the Sword in the Stone has been done to death, I do agree. Despite the Merlin TV spin-offs.

Yellow, orange or gold are not useful colours for a Narnian star, let alone energising swords on Aslan's table, unless you are referring to our very own Sun, around which we orbit every 12 months as denizens of this planet Earth. Or at least the highly similar Narnian Sun. Red would not do either since Harry Potter's Gryffindor Sword has the market on red and rubies. In any case, heaven forbid that VDT should borrow from HP, or Warner, especially as HP was ultimately inspired by VDT, itself. That leaves green and purple. And green is already taken by LOTGK and green misty SC hints.

Why swords? Well of course as military leaders in days gone by, lords often wore swords. They would be basic identification, sort of like your library or identification card, wouldn't they be? Only heavier, deadlier and more bling-bling. And there was even one such sword mentioned in the book, Restimar's sword, found on Deathwater Island on page 96 in my edition.

While we're on the subject of references, am I the only one who thought of the scene in The Return of the King when Gandalf knocks out Denethor with his staff? They did something very similar visually when they had either Caspian or Drinian knock out Lord Rhoop. I mean, the RotK scene was the FIRST thing that popped into my head.

Since when has that traditional instrument sailors used to knock out troublemakers and opponents, ie a belaying pin, been a magical Gandalf staff? I thought it was ye olde belaying pin, and I am even sure of it, having seen one in the er wood, rather than the flesh. I think I even have a picture of said belaying pins on a thread in this forum made by StBrian of Minneapolis who wanted to reconstruct a model of the Dawn Treader.

I'd like to say that knocking out troublemakers and opponents is also traditional to being human, and more so for sailors who feature in many a film. It is common in movies, not only sailing movies or fantasy ones. If it didn't look too much like one of those Flying High line-ups, we could have Drinian with his belaying pin, followed by a line-up of Gandalf with his staff, Dumbledore with the Elder Wand held aloft, Voldemort tagging along so as not to be outdone, a HP troll with a club, The Great White Shark (ie Greg Norman) with a golf-club, Ralph Nader with a tennis racquet etc, all lining up to take a swipe to knock out poor Lord Rhoop. (where's that devil icon when I want it?) But then we'd have yet another breach against book purity.

It also wasn't the only thing that was taken from other popular entertainment. From the Lost-like smoke monster to the glowing blue sword from Lord of the Rings

I don't know much about Lost which I gather was a TV program filmed in America rather than a movie in its own right. I did see an academic article somewhere in the last year or so which opined that Lost was a Narnia-like rip-off along with other post 1963 derivative fantasies. So living in a foggy river valley anyway, I can't see any problem with VDT adopting any sort of mist it wants, especially from a source that is itself derived ultimately from Narnia.

And now back to the Puft Marshmallow man, the subject of this thread, not to be confused with fireheart209's 'Lost-like smoke monster', but who had better be eaten up in the next week before Ash Wednesday.

I'd like to say that knocking out troublemakers and opponents is also traditional to being human, and more so for sailors who feature in many a film.

That's true. There's nothing new under the sun. I think if you worked at it, you could pick apart every line and every prop from every modern movie and argue that it's a rip off of something already existing in film and literature.

Although, I wouldn't say that Lost is in any way a rip off of Narnia.

Lost is definitely not a Narnia rip-off but some small elements have been influenced by the books. The writers have even acknowledged such a thing (they're generally very open about their influences). Lost was filmed almost entirely on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It borrows from classic fiction and more modern fiction - namely Stephen King and The Bible, but really the series borrows from pretty much everything.