It is funny to think back to when the Movie Storybook came out, and when the Scholastic Classroom plays came out - everyone who read them thought they were just the very generalised, condensed summary versions of the plot... but nope! Pretty much the entire movie was just as quick, brief and condensed as it was presented in the storybook and classroom plays.

In fact, in many ways the Movie Storybook had more detail in it than the movie (certainly aspects of it were better explained in there) and there were even additional moments included such as Aslan appearing to Lucy in Coriakin's Library - whether or not that was something they had just guessed would be there based on the original book, or whether it was a scene that got cut from the final draft, i don't know, but it's still mightily disappointing when you realise the whole thing was just as basic as the kids storybook adaptation.

I would certainly be hopeful for an Extended Edition. If the movie does well enough at the boxoffice to justify Fox spending a little bit of extra money to put one together then they strike me as exactly the sort of studio who would put one out. The one worry however would be that they would add new footage to the places that really don't need it - if they were to waste their effort putting in pointless new material for the final battle scene like they did in LWW i would be very annoyed. However any new material they can rustle up for the first half of the movie, even if they just added in some slightly longer pauses between moments, would be of such incredible benefit to the movie. Yes there are a couple of specific extra scenes they could add in to improve things, but literally anything to make the opening half of the movie less rushed and frenetic would be wonderful.

Was reading another review and the reviewer even mentioned he thought it shorter than the previous two films and he felt it rushed too.

The movie felt far too short for all the material that needed to take place. The Magician's House, Ramundu's Island and the Lone Island scenes were all severly truncated from the book. Very disappointing in that respect.

During the anticipation, I saw a number of fans say they felt like the story has been put into a blender. Now, having seen it, I think a strainer needs to be added to the analogy.

The filmmakers picked out all the parts of the book that would make for exciting special effects sequences, and strained out the rest of the story. The movie is a rapid-fire montage of cheap special effects with zero emotional resonance.

Take the Gael/Rhince subplot for example - after all the controversy, the problem with it was not that it had been added in the first place but rather that it was so underdeveloped as to make its inclusion almost pointless.

Exactly. Almost every subplot in the movie has this problem (Caspian's father is another example).

I'm glad it was two hours because they dont let you bring snacks in the movie and i have to eat certain foods and every 2-4 hours.
i prob could go five but not sure. 2 hrs. is perfect i wish more movies were like that these days. I like fast because I have a short attention span.

It went by too fast, they squished it all into (seemingly) about a 5-day voyage, They could have gone longer.

This was probably the biggest problem for me. Overall, I liked this movie. The problem was that it moved so fast that there was no time for the film convey its themes properly nor develop an attachment between the audience and the characters

I liked the idea of the undragoning, but it went way to fast. I liked how Reep wanted to go to Aslan's Country, but they never developped this properly, so at the end, it didn't make the impact I was looking for.

Now my main problems with the previous movies have been too much detail.

However, my reaction to this film is the complete opposite. Certain things did need more detail. I mean, I didn't want them adding unnesscary detail or take away the simplicity, but I wish they used some extra time to develop the characters and themes- in accordance with the book.

I think the only real problem I had with the pacing is the beginning. I really wish they had stayed in our world just a little longer, so that we could get to know the characters before they were thrust into Narnia. Basically, they came home, went up to their bedroom, and got sucked into the painting. I would have liked to have seen a little more of Eustace's parents too. I felt that they were telling us what was happening rather than showing us.

GlumPuddle wrote: The filmmakers picked out all the parts of the book that would make for exciting special effects sequences, and strained out the rest of the story. The movie is a rapid-fire montage of cheap special effects with zero emotional resonance.

I have to agree, (though not quite so strongly!) I felt so rushed on a journey I wanted so much to enjoy! I wanted to anticipate Aslan's country, feel the build up, like the swell in a song, but when I the movie took me there I almost was at a loss as to why were there at all, as if it was just a bus stop on the way home from "Green Mist" Island. The meaningful parts that were perfectly done were cut so short that they lost their life, like Eustace's transformation and the albatross (edit!) in the Dark Island. Only hours after seeing the film, I find it hard to think of any scenes that resonated with me emotionally. I'm all for an extended cut! Fingers crossed!

Dove? I think you mean an albatross and Eustace's transformation back into a boy? If by 'perfectly done' you mean 'not good at all", I'd agree. What was the point of Aslan as the albatross in the movie? He didn't do anything and he certainly didn't lead them out of the Dark Island. It was a cameo, nothing more. The less said about the transformation, the better.

I agree that the pacing was probably the worst part of the film for me. There were times when the film just shot forward with some very badly done time cuts. Like when Caspian gave Edmund the sword then there was a very abrupt cut to the next scene. Also they got to Ramandu's island so quick. It made me think maybe they shouldn't have cut as many islands because i think they needed something else there.

I also agree that they didn't do a very good job making us care for any of the new characters so it was like why include them.

I can't stay out of this section and I'm seeing this tomorrow....I'm slightly bummed. To only have the BBC VDT script and these current actors would be bliss. I guess I can only imagine the ideal VDT in my mind's eye.

The first time I watched it, I didn't have a problem with the pacing. It was all new and exciting and holding my attention. After thinking about it more, and seeing it two more times, I have found it to be a much huger problem.

The two parts I found that were rushed the most were Narrowhaven and the Magician's Island. In the book, there are two whole chapters on the Magician's island - but the time spent on that in the movie was very, very small.

Narrowhaven was all heroic-rescue type thing, which I didn't really mind, except that they didn't really set it up all that well. It was like, one second they were reading out of a book and the next second they were all hitting and slashing and fighting.

I loved the relationship that Lucy built with Coriakin in the book: I really wished they had done that in the movie. It reminded me a lot of the short, yet close relationship between Lucy and Prof. Kirke, and I would have loved to see that played out. It also really wasn't that clear in general about the dufflepuds and why exactly they were invisible.

I was also REALLY looking forward to the 'poddymons, monopuds' line, or however it was that they got it mixed up.

The end was BEAUTIFUL. I don't think I would ever change a thing about it.

One of the reasons I think the beginning was rushed (sorry, I'm jumping all around this movie chronologically-wise...) was because there were no opening credits. While having Pauline Baynes' illustrations at the end was really cool, I really wanted to see opening credits. It sort of builds the setting and sets you up for the movie and the characters more. They sort of just jumped right in, and while I didn't mind it (because I already knew the story), it was rather fast paced.

Overall, yeah. Very rushed. And they definitely had some extra time to buffer too - I mean, it wasn't a super long movie.

I'm sorry, did I just get done watching the film, or a trailer for the film?

Dove? I think you mean an albatross and Eustace's transformation back into a boy? If by 'perfectly done' you mean 'not good at all", I'd agree. What was the point of Aslan as the albatross in the movie? He didn't do anything and he certainly didn't lead them out of the Dark Island. It was a cameo, nothing more. The less said about the transformation, the better.

Goodness yes, the albatross, not dove! I felt the undragoning and Albatross 'cameo' could have been done perfectly. They had potential to be, but a big part of the reason they failed were they were not given enough time. I was very upset with the albatross, you're right it was nothing but a cameo. I wanted to hear the words it whispered to Lucy, and i think they could have done it right if it had been given the right time and not overshadowed by the sea serpent. It's hard for the characters to be taken to a breaking point fighting their worst nightmares when they are fighting a sea serpent :/