El labirinto del Fauno was a good film, only spanish-speaking movie i ever saw.
Really liked the Capitain, he acted great.
But definitely prefer Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. Better sfx, sets, action, epic tale. I also prefered Georgie over the other girl from Labirinto.

^ In my opinion, comparing the LWW movie to Pan's Labyrinth is a bit like comparing a pretty coloring book to the Mona Lisa. I also think PL has some of the most breathtaking art direction I've ever seen in a film.

After thinking some more... I think one thing PL has that the LWW film did not was a genuine sense of loss and sadness at the beginning. When Lucy first enters Narnia in the book, it's a sad dark place. 100 years before, it was a place of music and joy. Now it is a place of eternal winter (but never Christmas). There was a sense of loss, and a desire to see the old days return. I think the LWW film was too wrapped up in "whoooa cool it's a magical wonderland!!1" for the sense of loss to be conveyed powerfully.

I thought PC did a decent job of conveying a sense of loss early on, but a poor job at conveying joy when the old days did return.

Pan's Labyrinth IS Guillermo Del Toros own take on Narnia after he didn't do LWW itself

Reepi, you seem to be misinformed.
GDT never did Narnia, never did LWW, and was never considered for directing them.
The nearest was that he was interested in doing LWW.

If you watch Pan's Labyrinth you can see his idea of what it ought to be like - I am told it is missing a number of crucial elements in Lewis's world view.
(I have not watched it myself)

coracle, we actually did a story on GDT turning down Narnia. It's here...
http://www.narniaweb.com/2006/12/guille ... %E2%80%99/
Sadly the Yahoo story it references has been taken down.

Now, having said that, I doubt GDT was ever offered to direct, rather I think he was offered to apply to direct and turned that down.

gP, when you say that Pan's Labyrinth was almost a better adaptation than Adamson's LWW, I assume you mean in the sense of artistic direction, imagination, and magical world outside of ours right? Cause if that's the case, in some ways I would agree. I don't think the Labyrinth felt terribly Narnian aside from it having a faun but the curiosity of a parallel fantasy world to our own earth was right on. But as a whole, it was too dark for me to really see it as a comparison to Narnia.

I love Pan's Labyrinth! I don't see much of a resemblance between it and LWW though, to be honest

Pan's Labyrinth is a dark and sometimes disturbing movie but it's also one of my absolute favourites. I love everything about it and the ending is even quite redemptive (Coracle, Del Toro's version of LWW sounded very anti-Christian but this movie is much more grounded than his LWW would have ever been). It features honest storytelling about the joys and struggles of being a child in an adult world. It's simply beautiful and the Spanish language just adds to it. I think Pan's Labyrinth is a far better movie than LWW and almost an older brother to the movie. Is it more Narnian than the movie? In a way, yes, as glumPuddle already mentioned. Not a movie for children or young teens but excellent all the same. I highly recommend older teens and up watch it.

I have seen Pan's Labryinth, but I wouldn't think to compare the story to that of LWW. The only thing that they really have in common is being a fantasy based film with a journey to another world (you can call me dense on that one if you like, but that's all I can see). While each film works in its own right, I don't think there's much to compare between the two.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy seeing Pan's Labryinth. The cinematography and color scheme are amazing throughout, but I doubt the darker aspects would work for an-all-around audience for LWW (just look at ccertain viewers feelings on PC).

There are some surface level similarities. Both are firmly set in a certain time period during a certain event (Blitzkrieg in LWW, Spanish Cival War in PL), and have a pre-pubucent girl as the main character (not uncommon in fairy tales). But what I'm really getting as is the emotional beats.

Both LWW and PL begin by establishing the sadness of what was lost... and a faint hope that it might return. This was one of the key things missing from Adamson's LWW.

The overall feel of PL reminds me more of the LWW book than the LWW movie did. I really think LWW is darker then most people realize. Most people start reading Narnia with a preconception that its just a kids story, and as a result they miss a lot of what Lewis was really doing.

I loved Pan's Labyrinth and am dissapointed it didnt win the Oscar for best Foreign Language film. I think the acting, the designs of the creatures, the cinematography, the music, and overall atmosphere are top notch.

That being said, I never felt that it was similar to Narnia (even though they both have a faun, the one in Pan's Labyrinth is nothing like Mr. Tumnus). And personally

And personally

Spoiler

I always got the impression that the fantasy elements with the Faun and the Pale Man were all in Ofelia's head and her entire quest was a delusion made to try to find hope in her rather dark situation.

Interesting. What gave you that impression? Is there anything in the film to support that? That would completely change the film from being hopeful to hopeless.

Some people have a similar interpretation of Narnia, but I have never agreed.

I love this film. I actually hoped GDT would direct a Harry Potter film but now that you mention it, he probably would have done wonders for Narnia. He seems to really "get" fantasy. I don't think any of the Narnia directors did.

I really think LWW is darker then most people realize. Most people start reading Narnia with a preconception that its just a kids story, and as a result they miss a lot of what Lewis was really doing.

This is where you and I are probably going to disagree. You prefer darker movies (Pan's Labyrinth, Dark Knight, Watchmen, etc) and I think because those movies were so well done that you want to see LWW made with that same style and tone.

Could LWW be done in a darker tone? Absolutely. Just look at the creatures Lewis lists off when Aslan is killed on the Stone Table. It would be very easy to go down a darker path when making LWW into a film. But should it be darker? I don't think so. I think Lewis purposefully steers around that in LWW. "...and other creatures whom I won't describe because if I did the grown-ups would probably not let you read this book..." "The children did not see the actual moment of the killing. They couldn't bear to look and had covered their eyes."

There were maybe one or two places in LWW that I felt Adamson could have shown more darkness and evil without straying far from the books. The near-killing of Edmund by the White Witch for example. As well as the White Witch turning the breakfast party to stone.

But where you wanted to see Narnia have a darker feel to it, my number two complaint spanning all three films was the lack of joy found in the books. (Number one complaint was the lack of understanding of the character of Aslan for those who were wondering. ) Every scene in the books that's happy and joyful was either changed, shortened, or cut completely. And those moments were what made me go looking in all of my closets when I was little for an entrance into Narnia. The thaw from winter into spring. Aslan going through the witch's castle and turning all of the creatures from stone to life again (Rumblebuffin?), Lucy meeting Aslan in the woods and leading all of her siblings after him, etc etc.

I'm curious though gP, what kind of changes would you make to LWW to make it darker?

I think Lewis purposefully steers around that in LWW. "...and other creatures whom I won't describe because if I did the grown-ups would probably not let you read this book..." "The children did not see the actual moment of the killing. They couldn't bear to look and had covered their eyes."

I personally think describing the characters in detail would not be as scary as simply saying they were too scary to describe. Much like how Jaws is much scarier because you don't see the shark very much. But that's not really what I'm getting at anyway...

I think we should agree to not use the word "dark" in this tread anymore. It gets tossed around so much that I don't think it means anything anymore.

I think what I am getting at is a sense of tragedy that something of real value was lost. I don't think audiences took the LWW movie seriously on that level. There are several reasons for this. One reason is Adamson's approach to discovering Narnia was "wow!! a magical wonderland!!!!!1" Sure, that is an important aspect in the book, but it doesn't end there. The Pevensies soon find that Narnia is a sad sad place with a faint hope.

Another reason was his approach to talking animals. In the book, the Beavers give us a glimpse of what all Narnians are feeling. For so long they lived in innocence and paradise... and then all of it was stamped by the Witch. Always winter, never Christmas. For 100 years they have been oppressed... hoping and longing that the winter will end... hoping and waiting that the prophecy is true and that their suffering will soon end. The power of that sense of longing just wasn't in Adamson's movie. How could it be when the Beavers were mostly just there for comic relief?

This powerful sense of longing and faint hope is what gives Aslan's death such an impact in the book. FINALLY, it appears the prophecy is being fulfilled. FINALLY, after a hundred years of always winter never Christmas, Aslan is here. The sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are here. The snow has melted! Everything is in place.... and then.... all of that is shattered in an instant when Aslan is killed. The first time I read the scene, I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. (Which made his resurrection all the more joyful of course)
...In the movie, it is the kids who are the real heroes, not Aslan. And not much time was spent creating anticipation for meeting Aslan. So when he dies, it was little more than "aww poor lion. that sucks"

Every scene in the books that's happy and joyful was either changed, shortened, or cut completely. .

I agree, but at the same time, I don't think they would have played the same in Adamson's movie....

In the book, I really bought into the sadness of the old days being gone and the longing for their return. So I was overjoyed to finally see them return. Since the genuine sadness and powerful longing was not a big part of Adamson's movie, those scenes might have been kind of fun... but nothing more.

I'm curious though gP, what kind of changes would you make to LWW to make it darker?"

(*sigh* There's that word again) It is not my intention to make a LWW movie that is "darker" than the book.

When I think about the Beavers' dinner table scene in the book, I remember the Beavers' hope that their 100 years of suffering may be nearly over with the long-awaited arrival of this mysterious Aslan.

When I think about the Beavers' dinner table scene in the book, I remember lines like "you cheeky little blighter!" and general silliness.