As a matter of interest, whilst the Professor would be a good narrator of his own one adventure in Narnia, who do you think would do the narration for HHB?

What if you had Dr. Cornelius telling the story to a young Caspian.

Hmm, after thinking it over, I see a problem with narration period! for any of the movies. The first three films haven't had narration so, correct me if I'm wrong, wouldn't it seem rather awkward to suddenly introduce a narrator of any kind; oughtn't they better stick with the movie structure they've started with?

It would be better, I think, if they would do MN just like all the others. However, that still leaves the problem of how to introduce the story without it being thrown at us in an awkward way or out of the blue without any warning. Whichever way we look at the problem it is hard to solve. One way to solve the problem, like people have been saying, is to have it alluded to in another movie. That could work if it were done cleverly, someone singing it in a ballad or something. A second way which it could be done is simply to have a good advertising campaign and informative trailers. This idea seems much the better one to me. Alluding to MN in another movie would be more of a hassle in my opinion. Trouble arises in this method because they would have to strictly avoid the presentation effects of "oh, by the way", "get ready for the sequal!", and the like. In conclusion, if they simply market the story well and have informative trailers, then they should be able to get away with making MN in the structure of the rest of the films.

I really like that idea.
I'm sure a lot of book fans won't like it, because it's not exactly accurate. But there are probably more moviegoers who are non-book fans than those who are (considering how many people don't read and just "wait for the movie"). And a lot of people I know, who have never read the books, are already not too keen on seeing VDT just because Peter and Susan aren't in it. As annoying as it might be to see old characters in new stories where they don't belong, those little cameos of past characters seem to matter a lot to a large part of the audience.

But even if it weren't for that, I would love to see it happen that way anyway. I would love to see what would happen if Eustace and Digory met here on earth, and how they would get along.

And I think it would actually play out a lot better than if the movie just suddenly, randomly went back in time to see what hapenned in the beginning. Movies are different from books; in the movie, you won't have C.S. Lewis narrating it, saying that the story takes place earlier than the other stories do. Moviegoers who are unfamiliar with the books might not realize it's supposed to be the past, and it could confuse them.

A second way which it could be done is simply to have a good advertising campaign and informative trailers.

I'm not sure that's the right way to go either. I really hope the material in the movie will make itself clear enough, and can stand on its own, without the trailer or ads explaining it. After all, future generations will be watching these movies too, and they won't see the trailers and ads.

No matter what happens, it will have to be made clear somehow that the story takes place in time long before LWW.

~Riella

I like the idea of a late 40s get together at Polly's home, with her beginning the re-telling. It should identify the Professor and as many Pevensies as possible (hopefully Jill and Eustace too, as perhaps they have never heard this tale). Then Polly should start the narration over the film, with Digory coming in a few times ("I wasn't really crying you know...") before the story runs without their comments. By this time book Polly and Digory are in their early 60s, but as it's 9 years since LWW he will be looking quite an old man in the movie version!

Eustace+Jill, MN WOULD be a stand alone film. I didn't mean that the story wouldn't be clear unless the trailers were watched, but rather that the trailers and advertising would be what introduced the general populace to what is going on in the movie. There would be no initial shock then when they go to see it in theaters, already aware that the film takes place back in time and already aware that that it is when Narnia begins. Is what I'm saying clear now?

Each of the movies are going to be stand-alones anyway, not just MN. So far that has been the biggest weakness of the series, that the Narnia chronicles are not as closely related to each other as the movies in either HP or LOTR. The Narnia chronicles have been filmed in the order they have been mainly so they can use the same actors and actresses for the Pevensies, in some sort of sequential and logical way. That Tilda Swinson/White Witch cameo in PC is a reminder of her story arc which looms large in MN. VDT's Dark Island gives a little scope for the same sort of continuity, much as Lucy's experience with the Magician's book keeps Susan in the picture, allowing a connection with both HHB and LB.

Assuming the filmmakers get that far, it will be well-established that MN is part of the Narnia series of stand-alone movies already. Silver Chair, which is expected to be the next movie, features Eustace and Caspian, but also introduces Jill as his companion, and why they have this particular adventure when they go straight from school to Aslan's country. SC also has minimal involvement of the Pevensies or any explanation of what they have been doing, plus a completely new witch. So if they start MN after SC, which seems more likely, there will be a whole two Pevensie-free movies before their sudden reintroduction as adults in HHB and LB.

Once the MN trailers and advertising are released, people will then be wondering why MN wasn't made first. After all, MN is the start of Narnia, itself, not LWW, where the Professor was first introduced. It is extremely important to Magician's Nephew that we know that Digory Kirke, the Magician's nephew, later becomes Professor Kirke of LWW, and that he and also Polly were Friends of Narnia all along. Don't forget also that MN explains a lot of the magic and mystery of Narnia that made LWW so popular. And before LB, MN also introduces Polly, the seventh friend of Narnia.

This is the beauty of PeterCharn's or Josh's ideas, to get the Professor to relate the story at least in the beginning. Coracle has also made a good suggestion to put a get-together in Polly's own place, to include all of the Pevensies able and willing to come, plus Jill and Eustace. Though, I'd place the get-together about 1945, like the parties of that time when soldiers came home on leave, when they were demobbed, or, better still, as part of the very joyous 1945 VE day end-of-war celebrations, which, like the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, did suggest a new beginning in the real world.

Hmm, after thinking it over, I see a problem with narration period! for any of the movies. The first three films haven't had narration so, correct me if I'm wrong, wouldn't it seem rather awkward to suddenly introduce a narrator of any kind; oughtn't they better stick with the movie structure they've started with?

We haven't seen VDT so far, only trailers. I agree that there is little narration from the books in either of the LWW or PC movies, not even for Trumpkin to fill in the details for the Pevensies when they arrive back in Narnia. But when you read the stories they do have some narration in all of them. Judging from the trailers, VDT follows the book, since we need to actually see the newly introduced Eustace's behaviour before his dragoning. Whereas we have already seen Professor Kirke in LWW.

Just because neither PC nor LWW used narration to introduce their movies doesn't mean that all the movies have to be done the same way. It wouldn't hurt to have either the Professor or Polly or both of them relating their tale for one of the movies. And in my opinion, MN is the one with the best fit for that sort of introduction, especially as the Professor - and Polly- were already in their fifties when we first saw LWW.

Yes, thank you for clearing that up, Watziznehm. It makes sense now.

I like the idea of Polly being there. I can just see one of the children asking, "So Professor Kirke, how long have you known Miss Plummer?"
And him replying, "Years and years, since I was a little boy younger than yourself. In fact, if it weren't for her, I might never have found Narnia in the first place."
And then all the children being surprised, and him relating the story.

~Riella

Well, that is a possible scenario. The main difficulty with Josh's idea is that there would need to be a third person having to play the Professor in the story. One as Diggory Kirke as a boy, a second as the Professor of LWW and a third as the Professor as a 30 year old, unless Jim Broadbent can see his way to play both.

Though I like the idea of her being introduced as an adult in this movie, there is also the difficulty of three actresses playing Polly, as a young girl, then as a thirty year old and finally the Polly they will eventually cast for LB.

Actually, casting 30 something year olds to play Digory and Polly would really help The Last Battle.

Because when Digory and Polly go into Aslan's country they are suppossed to look younger. Not like they were when they were children, but during their early adult years. And if we see Digory and Polly as adult's in MN, then the audience would then reconize the old characters we saw on the train are the same as the characters in MN.

Of course this idea COULD work, but I don't know how terribly effective it would be. I certainly don't think it should be added just for the sake of giving the Pevensies more screen time. I've thought about ways that The Magician's Nephew could be tied in to The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, but, the book already does a great job of doing so, and if they stick to the book, this scene won't be necessary.

I think unless they did the storytelling very well it might give the movie a rather cheap feel

No offense Josh, I really don't like that idea. They are children's stories about children. The characters have to be be someone a child can relate to. It would totally ruin the stories to have them about adults.

Anyone ever see the first Balto movie, I was actually thinking that they could set it up like that. In Balto the first and last scene is live action, of an adult Rosie telling her grandaughter about how the dogs saved the town of Nome, but the Narration never appears throughout the animated parts, only the live action shots and the transition in between- Kind of funny that you brought this up, PeterCharn I had a similar idea today, because I thought it might help establish for the non-book reading fans that Digory and Proffessor Kirke are one and the same.

I think unless they did the storytelling very well it might give the movie a rather cheap feel

No offense Josh, I really don't like that idea. They are children's stories about children. The characters have to be be someone a child can relate to. It would totally ruin the stories to have them about adults.

I think that storytelling does risk being cheesy and awkward and cheap. Does anyone remember the opening scene of Eragon? IT was narrated and it felt awkward and odly interjected. A good story shows you whats going on, it does not tell you whats going on.

I think that the MN will be the hardest book to adapt (followed closely by the LB). I think the only reason why the LB will be easier is becuase it will be loaded with familiar faces.

I know something that might work pretty well, they could have Prof. Kirke going through papers and he comes over a picture of a lion or notes about Narnia or something like that. And then he leans back and It changes scenes and say 60 years earlier or something of the sort.

They need to show Digory and Polly in the begginning and end of the movie, narrating the story to whatever audience. And I think they should be married also.

No, Digory and Polly are not supposed to be married, and it is very clear in the book that they weren't. That would be almost as ridiculous as Suspian.