*Needs to reread SC because she honestly does not remember anything that says Eustace tormented Jill*

I think it's cool...a nice little nod to book fans

So what do they say exactly?

All it says is that Eustace was a suck-up to the bullies and that he was a tick

I kind of already knew about the reference beforehand, but i have to admit it didn't quite fit in as neatly as i thought it would - it just seemed a little odd to stick it in there like that.

I was also somewhat confused as to why they decided to stick it in there, since the people who aren't familiar with the books won't get the reference anyway, and the people who are familiar with the books will be left puzzled as to why on earth Jill Pole would possibly be coming round to visit someone like Eustace Scrubb.

That said, i don't think it's impossible to reconcile the reference with the events of The Silver Chair when it comes to making a movie. For example, as Josh and Gymfan suggested they could have them being forced into a social situation either by school requirements or by their parents - both of which could lead in nicely to an opening scene for The Silver Chair movie in which they are in said forced social situation, as it would be a good chance to show the potentially long running antagonism that exists between the two.

Part of me also wonders whether or not the situation was deliberately engineered to ensure a scenario in which Edmund and Lucy could both be featured at the start of The Silver Chair. Even taking into account the potentially longer time gap between PC and VDT compared to the book (given Eustace's 200+ days comment at the start of the movie, lets say its been 2 years), the year can still only be 1943 or so (a close-up shot of a prop Tax Disc on one of the period vehicles we saw on set during production also suggested the year was 1943). However, Eustace stated at the end of the movie that Edmund and Lucy stayed with them until after the war was over (i.e. mid 1945), so unless they are going to stretch the time gap between VDT and Silver Chair to another couple of years, it might seem logical that they are going to have the events of Silver Chair set during the stated period during which Edmund and Lucy were staying with Eustace (~1943 to May 1945).

Perhaps they never put that much thought into it, but it would be an interesting prospect of allowing them to show not only Eustace and Jill interacting outside of school (but still in a state of mutual animosity) but also to feature Edmund/Lucy cameos in the movie.

I think it would be a little strange if there was no time gap between Eustace returning from Narnia and then going back with Jill. They could just have them reference that Jill thought he was much changed at that moment. Or they could just leave it.

I agree about the parents making them interact in a social situation. That could easily be possible.

I know I probably (for my own sanity) should not be here, since I have not seen the movie, but my Spoiled Rotten self couldn't resist.

okay, this sounds awesome!

wolf: I don't remember it saying Jill was tormented by Eustace either.
in SC Jill says to Eustace that he was so awful last term. so she might have already, in the present school term, seen him being different, so I don't think that will mess up the SC movie.....IMO

I think it would be a little strange if there was no time gap between Eustace returning from Narnia and then going back with Jill. They could just have them reference that Jill thought he was much changed at that moment. Or they could just leave it.

I wasn't implying they pick up the Silver Chair movie at the exact same moment as VDT concludes, just that they continue it with the same general ongoing situation - i.e Lucy and Edmund continuing to be there until after the war is over, and Jill Pole making periodic visits for whatever reason.

Incidentally, the VDT movie didn't really explain what Lucy and Edmund did by way of going to school during any of this time. In Prince Caspian it is very much apparent that they attend a boarding school (as they did in the book), but in the VDT movie it implies they have been living with Eustace for 200-odd days prior to visiting Narnia and continued to live with him for 2 years or so after it. If they weren't attending their regular boarding school during that period then they may well end up having to show the two going to Experiment House with Eustace in Silver Chair, which would be all sorts of wrong but there you go. Unless of course its implied that they are no longer at school anymore by then - the school leaving age was pretty low during the war (it didnt go up to 15 years old untill 1944 in the UK) - but it still wouldn't explain where they were at school for the rest of the time.

in SC Jill says to Eustace that he was so awful last term. so she might have already, in the present school term, seen him being different, so I don't think that will mess up the SC movie.....IMO

Not quite sure what you mean but i don't think that would quite work, as in the books the events of The Silver Chair occur near the start of the new school year, with the events of VDT (and thus Eustace's transformation) having occured over the course of the summer holidays. However, even if you were to assume the VDT movie is occuring within the same school year as SC, the book reference you quoted still doesn't (if you take the reference in the VDT movie at face value and assume they are already friends) make sense as it would then imply that Jill noticed a change in Eustace' behaviour before he even visited Narnia.

wolf: I don't remember it saying Jill was tormented by Eustace either.
in SC Jill says to Eustace that he was so awful last term. so she might have already, in the present school term, seen him being different, so I don't think that will mess up the SC movie.....IMO

SC basically says that Scrubb was a suck-up to the bullies (last term). It does not say he was a bully himself. It also says that he has changed (this term) and people have noticed the change, including Pole and the bullies. In fact, he may now be a target of the bullies.

So, they will have to work that aspect of the plot out in SC (movie), with the name drop from VDT (movie) in mind. Not insurmountable.

By the way, I must have been completely out to lunch, b/c I completely missed the name drop when I saw the movie.

^^ oh, right! good point. hadn't thought of that!
well, I'm sure everything will be fine!
yeah I know I'm totally optimistic and happy over all the changes.....

^Better that than being totally negative!

I'm not sure I like the sound of knowing that Eustace and Jill were friends before he had his redemption, since after all, why would Jill, of all people, hang out with a brat? And that's such a random name drop to place in VDT if we never see SC get made and get to know Jill.

But I DO like the idea that Jill knows Edmund and Lucy, even if very little. For SC, as crazy as I sound, I'd love to see Edmund and Lucy in it (ONLY in our world! ), even if it's just a cameo. They might not do this, but if they did it in the right way, I wouldn't have any objections. In fact, I'd be really thrilled about the change!

I haven't seen the movie though (or SC), so I'll guess we'll learn more about the deal with Eustace and Jill in VDT hopefully soon!

All I can say is that I am very surprised. Now that I have thought it over...very excited too! Can't wait to see Voyage.

Lucy of Narnia

I thought it was unnecessary. It will go right over the head of people who haven't read the books. It was a cute nod to the book fans, but it also felt completely out of place. Jill isn't supposed to be friends with Eustace the brat.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Alberta Scrubb in announcing she was at the door sounded completely stuffy and pompous. As if she didn't quite approve. And yes, Jill did know Eustace for at least a term at Experiment House, prior to his Narnian adventure.

I think mentioning Jill depends on how they do it. I don't want it to look or sound as if Eustace and Jill are friends already.

I was also somewhat confused as to why they decided to stick it in there, since the people who aren't familiar with the books won't get the reference anyway, and the people who are familiar with the books will be left puzzled as to why on earth Jill Pole would possibly be coming round to visit someone like Eustace Scrubb.

One word and only one word would suggest why Jill Pole would want to visit Eustace Scrubb, unreformed or not. The word is a dirty one indeed, a doubly four-letter word .....homework! Probably lots of it she has forgotten to do.

Without another word being said, this sets us up quite well for Jill Pole's character in the next movie. Don't you get the feeling, even from the books, that whilst Edmund might be beset with feelings of playing second fiddle to Peter, and haunted by the temptation of power as represented by the White Witch, Jill Pole's problem is one of the opposite kind? In SC, she is somewhat forgetful and unable to concentrate. But is her poor academic performance a contribution to her being bullied? Or is it a result of it?

I can't imagine that Lucy and Edmund are let off school, especially if their school fees were paid in advance as one would expect. I don't remember 200 days being mentioned in VDT, though if they had to go there for weekends, or to attend their boarding schools, as day pupils (cheaper school fees), I can quite see how 200 days would apply. Even if I did hear it, I might have dismissed it as exaggeration, given how annoyed Edmund was with Eustace, and given the already inordinately long summer school holidays you tend to have in the Northern Hemisphere. Basically the only full month of the year we get off is January plus Christmas/New Year. Sometimes not even that.

You also have to realise how much schooling was disrupted during WW2 in UK. When they are returning to Eustace's home neither Lucy nor Edmund look like they were having a holiday, even if they weren't in school uniform. I don't necessarily think that Edmund and Lucy would be attending the same school as Eustace, though I agree that would be a good reason for a cameo appearance for them.

I don't remember 200 days being mentioned in VDT

It was in the scene where we first meet Eustace writing in his diary. His voiceover says its been 243 days (or some similar number in the mid 200's) since Edmund and Lucy came to stay with them.

Again at the end it's in Eustace's narration that he mentions they continued to stay with him until after the war is over (another two years assuming as i believe the movie has changed the year VDT is set from 1942 to 1943)