I remember seeing the Walden Media Narnia movies on the big screen. It was a great experience. Even my least favorite of them was probably more fun to see for the first time that way.

Of course, it's hard to say if the Netflix Narnia movies would look better on the big screen or the small screen since they haven't even been cast yet. 

I think just looking at the books though, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle would definitely make more sense for the big screen because of big, spectacle-filled scenes like Charn, the creation and destruction of Narnia and the characters running across the Real Narnia. A big screen would also probably be better for The Silver Chair and The Horse and his Boy to show off the scale of the giants and the vastness of the desert. But Netflix probably isn't going to do those movies. Not right off the bat anyway. For practical reasons, they're likely going to lead with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. You could argue those are smaller scaled, more intimate Narnia stories. Maybe better for the small screen?  

Of course, it's worth mentioning that given how big they make TV sets nowadays, even the small screen be pretty big.

The cinema is undoubtedly the best place to watch any film, regardless of genre or type. Not only can you not replicate the screen size, image resolution, and sound quality at home, but there is also something unique about the way the cinema experience demands your full attention - no phones, no distractions, no pausing the film halfway through to go do some chores - it demands your full attention and the experience of watching the film is all the better for it.

Id like to think though that being on the big screen ought not to affect the artistic storytelling of the film at all, but I would acknowledge that there is a traditional perception that "blockbuster" films need to justify their presence on the big screen by having big cinematic action scenes, but I'd like to think that modern audiences are smarter than that. That said it's probably a moot point given that Netflix are producing this film and they are decidedly in favour of the home viewing experience (see recent quotes from Ted Sarandos).

I would also challenge the notion that being on the small screen means a lower budget. If anything, as we've discussed previously on this forum, Netflix movies often end up having disproportionately massive budgets because they have to pay their actors bigger salaries up front (whereas a cinema released film will typically pay them a lower up-front pay cheque in return for a percentage of the box office later down the line). 

Case in point, the budget for Oppenheimer (which was visually beautiful) was only $100m, whereas the budget for Marvel's "Secret Invasion" on Disney Plus was a massive $212m (and it was completely terrible)

Though if you just mean "low budget looking", then yeah, I get your point.

Posted by: @icarus

The cinema is undoubtedly the best place to watch any film, regardless of genre or type. Not only can you not replicate the screen size, image resolution, and sound quality at home, but there is also something unique about the way the cinema experience demands your full attention - no phones, no distractions, no pausing the film halfway through to go do some chores - it demands your full attention and the experience of watching the film is all the better for it.

Id like to think though that being on the big screen ought not to affect the artistic storytelling of the film at all, but I would acknowledge that there is a traditional perception that "blockbuster" films need to justify their presence on the big screen by having big cinematic action scenes, but I'd like to think that modern audiences are smarter than that.

Ah, now there was one of the (many) "beefs" I had with the Walden film of LWW, which I did in fact watch at the cinema when it was released in 2005. There were too many scenes that were too obviously designed to be spectacular and dramatic on the big screen, in ways that went totally against the gentle, understated tone of the original story. For example, the edge-of-your-seat chase scene with the Witch pursuing our fleeing heroes across the ice... when in reality — er, that is, in the book — the children and the Beavers have a very quiet journey, deliberately keeping among the trees along the frozen river bank, down where the Witch couldn't possibly take her sledge, so they never encounter her at all, not even hearing or glimpsing her in the distance. And then of course, later in the film, all those sweeping epic shots of Peter and Edmund's ridiculously huge army, on a scale that is nothing like anything described or even implied in the book, as if the Battle of Beruna's just been amped up to the level of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

All of which simply screams: This Book is Just Not Exciting Enough for Our Hotshot Production Team, So Let's Turn It into a Mega Mindblowing Cinematic Experience. Which — at least for someone who's been in love with the original book since before she started primary school — just grates. Hard.

Of course, that doesn't mean LWW and the other Chronicles aren't suited to the big screen at all — the Walden film was generally very well done cinematically, and it could have been brilliant if it had been made by people who really understood and captured the spirit of the story that Lewis actually wrote. And there are other scenes in the Chronicles, especially the creation of Narnia in MN, that would definitely need to be seen at the cinema to give them the fullest possible effect. But I'm just hoping that Greta Gerwig, and any other directors that may be commissioned after her, will really get the unique "feel" of Narnia and put that first, rather than thinking in terms of what looks most exciting and epic on the screen. Considering that Netflix productions are most likely to be watched on home TV / computer screens — I don't know what the likelihood is of them being released in cinemas at all — that may have an influence on how these new Narnia films look and feel. But we really don't know yet.

@courtenay 

Greta Gerwig won’t have to compete with The Lord of the Rings now that over twenty years have passed since the making of Peter Jackson’s films. She can make her own movies look the way her own style of filmmaking is and not what was popular twenty years ago. The Walden movies were made in a different time when there was competition with the expensive budget films. Let’s hope that her way is more like C. S. Lewis’ vision whether the films are made to be watched in a theater or on a small screen. At least there is some hope for that since apparently she has some respect for the author of the original books.

Posted by: @courtenay

And then of course, later in the film, all those sweeping epic shots of Peter and Edmund's ridiculously huge army, on a scale that is nothing like anything described or even implied in the book, as if the Battle of Beruna's just been amped up to the level of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

That's not a favorite scene of my mine but may I play devil's advocate for a moment? While the book doesn't say Aslan had a huge army or anything, there's nothing that specifies it was a small army either. Here's the description of the battle from the book. 

Then they came out of the narrow valley and at once she saw the reason. There stood Peter and Edmund and all the rest of Aslan’s army fighting desperately against the crowd of horrible creatures whom she had seen last night; only now, in the daylight, they looked even stranger and more evil and more deformed. There also seemed to be far more of them. Peter’s army — which had their backs to her looked terribly few. And there were statues dotted all over the battle field, so apparently the Witch had been using her wand. But she did not seem to be using it now. She was fighting with her stone knife. It was Peter she was fighting — both of them going at it so hard that Lucy could hardly make out what was happening; she only saw the stone knife and Peter’s sword flashing so quickly that they looked like three knives and three swords. That pair were in the centre. On each side the line stretched out. Horrible things were happening wherever she looked.
“Off my back, children,” shouted Aslan. And they both tumbled off. Then with a roar that shook all Narnia from the western lamp-post to the shores of the eastern sea the great beast flung himself upon the White Witch. Lucy saw her face lifted towards him for one second with an expression of terror and amazement. Then Lion and Witch had rolled over together but with the Witch underneath; and at the same moment all war-like creatures whom Aslan had led from the Witch’s house rushed madly on the enemy lines, dwarfs with their battle-axes, dogs with teeth, the Giant with his club (and his feet also crushed dozens of the foe), unicorns with their horns, centaurs with swords and hoofs. And Peter’s tired army cheered, and the newcomers roared, and the enemy squealed and gibbered till the wood re-echoed with the din of that onset

I personally wouldn't describe that scene as epic, but I wouldn't describe it as small or intimate either (and certainly not gentle.) I can't help but think that readers like Courtenay are doing the same thing of which they accuse the filmmakers doing: projecting their own preferences and biased memories onto the text. 

Posted by: @col-klink

I personally wouldn't describe that scene as epic, but I wouldn't describe it as small or intimate either (and certainly not gentle.) I can't help but think that readers like Courtenay are doing the same thing of which they accuse the filmmakers doing: projecting their own preferences and biased memories onto the text. 

Well, yes, exactly — and there's not a human being on Earth who's able to escape their own personal preferences and biases completely, whether one's imagining a scene from a book, creating a movie, interpreting scriptural texts, writing (or rewriting) history...   It would probably be accurate to say for every Narnia fan here, when any of us makes comments like "I hope Greta Gerwig does this / doesn't do that...", we're all really, at least partly, saying "I hope Greta Gerwig's idea of Narnia is a lot like how I see it in my head!!"

And yes, it's true that Lewis doesn't specify the size of Aslan's army, but I certainly wouldn't describe that scene as small or gentle or intimate either (and wasn't meaning to imply I would). However, as you've quoted, we're at least told the Witch seems to have "far more" creatures in her army — it's not quite clear whether Lewis means "far more" than the girls saw the night before (she's had time to gather reinforcements), or "far more" than the numbers in Peter's army, or both — whereas Peter's army "looked terribly few" by comparison to the Witch's. So while it probably isn't meant to be a mere skirmish between a dozen or so good guys and two or three dozen evil creatures, it doesn't sound like Lewis was thinking of as vast and epic a battle scene as that particular film makes it out to be.

As @narnian78 pointed out too (and as I was intentionally implying with my Pelennor Fields reference), the Walden films of Narnia started production shortly after the release of Peter Jackson's LOTR films, and I think lots of us reckon they were trying to compete a bit there. It will be interesting to see, 20 or so years later, what a new director and her team do with the Chronicles and what different directions they might go in. I also find it encouraging that she's said several complimentary things (and no negative things, so far!) about Lewis as a writer and about the books as part of her own childhood. But we can still only guess what this may mean, until we see the final products... 

I am keen to see Narnia productions both at the cinema on the big screen and on the television.  I think they both have their own advantages.  I would love to see scenes like the creation of Narnia and all the animals and other creatures on a big screen in any future productions of The Magician's Nephew, and other similar scenes like the freeing of Narnia in PC.  Also many scenes from LB I imagine would be really powerful on big screen.  On the other hand, I also love watching the films and productions we already have available on the TV too, because of it is more personal and intimate and you can re-watch scenes you've missed details in much easier.  I look forward to seeing any productions that Netflix ends up releasing in both formats - hopefully. 😀  

I think it has been at least ten years since I have seen a good movie in a theater.  The experience would be great to have again with a Narnia film. There is something about seeing Narnia on a large screen which a television screen cannot replace. Today’s televisions are often much larger than they used to be, but the theater has something more lifelike which the small screens cannot replicate. In fact I wish theaters would show old movies again so I could experience the 2005 film of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again.  The BBC Narnia is probably better on a small screen, but if it somehow could be restored to look presentable on large one (there are some remastered videos on YouTube with the improved special effects) it might be worth a look. It still would be interesting to see.   I doubt if anyone would ever attempt to show something that was made on a small budget in a large theater— especially since theaters have to make large amounts of money to survive, and today there so much demand for sophisticated technology.

This is a tough one. It would be nice to see Narnia on the big screen again, since there hasn’t been any since Walden’s VDT. Then, I don’t know.

It’s still possible that they could be going in the direction of movies and series. Maybe MN, LWW, HHB, and LB will be movies and PC, VDT, AND SC will be TV series. Then again, I don’t know. 

I’m just going to wait and see what happens and what direction they’ll go in. 

If it's intended for smaller screens, it will be different (consider TV movies/plays compared to Cinema ones).

But I assume large-screen films end up being seen on smaller screens anyway.  I've certainly watched movies on my TV or even my laptop screen, than at the cinema in the last 10 years.
And a lot of people have very big home screens (mine is 32 inches, quite small by comparison).

Well, I think most people actually watch movies or a TV series on small screens these days. That was even the case during the pandemic. 

As for being dramatic, it can a good thing if done right. I actually picture in my head that the duel between Peter and Miraz being done in slow motion in PC. Even where Tirian and Rishda are dueling at the Battle of Stable Hill, I picture it being done in slow motion until they’re near the Stable door.

So it can be a good thing to get dramatic, though probably not best to overdo it. 

I am rewatching the Narnia Walden films, and although I wish that they could be closer to the books I find them very enjoyable and beautiful in appearance.  In fact I actually wish I could see all three of them again on a theater screen.  The first one, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was the one that impressed me the most, and it is generally considered by many to be the best of the three. It is mostly a fine adaptation of the book.  I think the fine acting by the cast and the beautiful special effects do make up for some of the loose story adaptation in Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader.  But they certainly would have been better films if the books would have been followed more closely. As they are the movies are worth seeing again (even multiple times) and that is why I chose to own them. It is not very likely that the theaters in my area would show the three films again, but at least we are fortunate to have them for the small screen.

A good Christmas present for someone would be to see Narnia in a theater. Whether it would be watching the Walden films again or a new movie directed by Greta Gerwig it would be something very festive for the holiday season.  I always thought of The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe as a story connected with Christmas, and a film if it is well made and shown in a theater would add some joy and delight to the holiday experience. 🙂