Okay, so the trailer has been out for a while and after watching it loads of times, it has lost some of it's appeal.

Who makes the trailers? Fox or Walden? Because I've been thinking...this is a very Fox-ish trailer - different from any Narnia trailers before. If you look at trailers for, say, Eragon or The Seeker, it has the same feel to it.

Fox or Walden?

Fox makes the trailers as part of their movie distribution contract with Walden.

mm1991
I so see that now. After looking at it again. Its funny I saw the trailer for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollow. I see how all the action is in that trailer. So in comparison to PC or LWW. VDT trailer is all action. I still love the trailer.

I happen to think the trailer does its job just fine; nobody I know in real life has been anything less than excited for the film after seeing it. Most of them are just jazzed to see that the Narnia movies are still being made at all.

Here's the thing. Regardless of what you think about the trailer, pre-emptively judging the film based on it is useless. There have been some OUTSTANDING trailers for terrible movies before - and likewise, there have been many, many underwhelming trailers for movies that turned out to be incredible.

Marketing is a tricky thing, and nine times out of ten, it should not be trusted.

That's very true equustel, but here's the danger in my mind.

Several years ago, there was a teaser trailer that came out. It had pictures of the ocean and beaches and sharks... and horribly cheesy taglines... and then a really stupid skull shaped island...... and then an even more stupid skeletal foot......
And I thought, wow, how far has Disney fallen? I mean, the teaser trailer was just AWFUL!

And then came the trailer which wasn't much better. Some story, sorta, about curses and pirates and it was rife with cheesy lines and horrible dialogue.... "You like pain? Try wearing a corset!"

I was not going to see the movie, I mean it looked absolutely awful. In fact, the only reason I saw it was because my aunt bought my husband and I tickets for specifically that movie. And it turned out to be the huge blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean. To this day, it holds the record in my book as have the WORST trailers ever for such a fantastic movie (though I still hate the above quoted line ).

The danger is that after that promotion of the movie, I was NOT going to see it and the ONLY reason I did was because tickets were purchased for me without my knowledge. And I recall people predicting that it would do horribly at the box office because of the trailers and such.

Thankfully I don't believe that the VDT teaser is ANYWHERE near the awfulness of those (by the way, they can be found here and here if you care to see them).

But having a good solid trailer does help movies get a running start. I mean, just look at the Harry Potter trailer. The whole web is buzzing over it. Nothing like that for VDT, even though the overall reaction has been positive. I would have liked to see a lot more excitement.

The danger is that after that promotion of the movie, I was NOT going to see it and the ONLY reason I did was because tickets were purchased for me without my knowledge. And I recall people predicting that it would do horribly at the box office because of the trailers and such.

Thankfully I don't believe that the VDT teaser is ANYWHERE near the awfulness of those.

But having a good solid trailer does help movies get a running start.

Good points, Watchful Admin. It ultimately prooves that the movie itself is what matters in the end. The ideal situation would be a great trailer or trailers and movie.

I am one of the minority around here who liked the VDT trailer and I'm sure the general moviegoing audience is responding in a more positive way. It's not the greatest trailer ever but I also don't believe it to be the worst or close to it. I think it will help with that "running start" when all is said and done.

Oh my goodness me - I do not remember the trailers for 'Pirates of the Caribbean' being that bad!

I'd say a comparison to the new Harry Potter trailer is slightly unfair. That is the second trailer for HP - I myself (I'm a massive Potter fan) was completely uninspired by the first one. The new one is pretty amazing, but it's pulled out all the stops, the final battle being a major part of the trailer, as well as the dragon-y bit. The VoDT trailer has still got all it's major players sitting on the bench.
You can compare a horse sitting in the stables to one running about the field.

Putting aside strange analogies, I think a fair amount of people have got it right when they say this trailer (although I still like it - terminally optimistic) is misleading

The danger is that after that promotion of the movie, I was NOT going to see it and the ONLY reason I did was because tickets were purchased for me without my knowledge. And I recall people predicting that it would do horribly at the box office because of the trailers and such.

Yeah, but that's exactly my point: did lame marketing ultimately hinder Pirates' success? Nope. I remember that release very well, and you are right - NOBODY was expecting it to be any good. But a couple days after its release, nobody could stop talking about how great it was. The positive buzz and word-of-mouth surrounding the film was insane. People attended it in droves. Every friend I had that wasn't planning on seeing it decided to see it after all.

The truth is, all marketing really affects is the opening weekend's box office numbers. From that point on, a film's success or failure relies on whether or not people are coming home and telling their friends/family it was good. Legs are what make or break a movie in the long run - all the Narnia movies so far have had strong legs (yes, even PC) and I don't see that changing for VDT.

But having a good solid trailer does help movies get a running start. I mean, just look at the Harry Potter trailer. The whole web is buzzing over it. Nothing like that for VDT, even though the overall reaction has been positive. I would have liked to see a lot more excitement.

Harry Potter 7 has the really unfair advantage of being the final installment in one of the most successful book AND movie franchises of all-time. It really shouldn't be used as a yard-stick by which to judge Narnia - which, while popular and timeless, is nowhere near HP's level of mass appeal. Not to mention the Chronicles are 50+ years old at this point, while HP is the reigning phenomenon of this current generation.

In the end, I like to remember that the HP film series didn't really break out as a critical and artistic success until the third installment: which was also the first time a new director was helming. Remind you of anything?

But having a good solid trailer does help ... whole web is buzzing over it. Nothing like that for VDT, even though the overall reaction has been positive. I would have liked to see a lot more excitement.

Even with HP having a great trailer, I still wont go see it as I completely lost interest after the second movie. *shrugs*

I have yet to be excited over a Narnia movie trailer. I like the first two movies and will go see the third, specultating VDT will be the best so far.

@equustel, I agree with the majority of what you said except for one thing....

Harry Potter 7 has the really unfair advantage of being the final installment in one of the most successful book AND movie franchises of all-time. It really shouldn't be used as a yard-stick by which to judge Narnia.

I can't agree with you here because we're not talking about the movies. We're talking about the trailers... quality of trailers to be specific. That has nothing to do with which books are popular and when they were popular....
All of my NWeb facebook buddies who are fans of Narnia linked the Narnia trailer with very mixed comments. All of my Nweb facebook buddies and my real life buddies and pretty much everyone else that I know linked the HP trailer talking about how amazing it was, regardless of their interest in the series.

Fox picked this series up after Disney left it knowing this movie is going to make or break the rest of the series. I would have thought that because of that, Fox would have put some more time and effort into their trailer. And if you don't like the HP trailer comparison, then I'll say something a little bit closer to the first teaser for LWW or LotR (which happens to be 50+ years old as well ) would have been nice.

No, overall I do agree with you equustel that marketing doesn't NECESSARILY directly affect the movie.

But I suppose at the heart of my issue with it is that there are three major fantasy works out there... Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Narnia. I feel like LotR and HP are/were made by people who love the series as they are and made movies based on the books. Narnia? Well, that'd debatable. I definitely have days where I feel like this is just another fantasy series picked up by big name studios who don't care about the stories so much as making money. Narnia deserves better. (And PLEASE understand that I know there are people on the production that DO love Narnia and are trying to make the best possible movies based on the books... just not everyone)

What do you think? Do you think the trailer and the movie it features looks like it was made by people who are madly in love with the books?

So as far as I'm concerned, did I like the trailer? Yes I did, but I didn't love it. Do I think it could have been better? Absolutely.

...
The danger is that after that promotion of the movie, I was NOT going to see it and the ONLY reason I did was because tickets were purchased for me without my knowledge. And I recall people predicting that it would do horribly at the box office because of the trailers and such.

Thankfully I don't believe that the VDT teaser is ANYWHERE near the awfulness of those (by the way, they can be found here and here if you care to see them).
...

That was a very well written post, FK. The VDT trailer is just an awful trailer, but it's the movie that counts. (Pirates is a decent movie. Nothing special. Just Star Wars with bigger plot holes and less interesting characters)

There are a number of shots in the trailer that disturb me like the White Witch, Edmund being Peter 2.0, and Fog Island, and the faun doing a front-flip. But Fox is also holding a lot back too. So we'll see.

It's not just the trailer that worries me. Long before the trailer came out, I was starting to get the feeling that the filmmakers don't really understand what VDT is about. Having to save Narnia from some unfathomable fate ("the fate of Narnia depends on you") misses the point entirely. With PC, even though they made a lot of changes, I always had the feeling that the filmmakers were getting the point of the story. (I am in the process of creating an epic hour-long video analysis that explains why most of the changes in the PC film were either necessary or unavoidable)

In terms of comparing the new HP trailer with the Narnia trailer.....Although production has only just recently ended on HP (for the last time ever), they started production back in February of '09. They have more material that is finished and just more material overall (the trailer is not just for part I - it's a trailer for both parts [Part II will be released next year]). If it was turned around, it would be like taking two Narnia movies (like if they would have taken LWW and PC) and making one big trailer for both of them and then watching a Harry Potter trailer (with the exception of this newest one) - of course the Narnia trailer would be more action packed/exciting, if just for the fact that it had more material to show.

HP has Warner Brothers which is, let's face it, a master of trailer making. On the other hand, Narnia now has Fox which has a history of not-so-good trailers.

Just some things to keep in mind.

It's not just the trailer that worries me. Long before the trailer came out, I was starting to get the feeling that the filmmakers don't really understand what VDT is about. Having to save Narnia from some unfathomable fate ("the fate of Narnia depends on you") misses the point entirely. With PC, even though they made a lot of changes, I always had the feeling that the filmmakers were getting the point of the story. (I am in the process of creating an epic hour-long video analysis that explains why most of the changes in the PC film were either necessary or unavoidable)

Don't anyone smack me for bringing it up, but I worried about the same issue after the leaked script. What I read on those pages was quite different from the book I grew up loving. And whats more, for some time at least, the screenplay ultimately had Eustace earning grace by attacking the sea serpent--not only a huge departure from the book, but a frankly offensive theological statement, too. (This was one of the plot developments that was tossed after Fox came on board...that earned them plenty of goodwill in my book.)

Anyway, most of those fears were put to rest after the Narnia marketing event this past February, out of which came a lot of positive reactions about the story/plot. I like the VDT trailer, though my favorite remains the teaser for LWW - probably because it was the first. I have a feeling that the official VDT trailer will be better.

Also, not to go off topic, but I hope you (g_p) include your thoughts on why the Nurse was dropped and why Adamson kicked off the film with a birth scene. But, maybe these are changes you don't agree with!

So, when is the official trailer likely to come out? TBH I didn't really know they did two trailers I only remember one from PC.

As to Ramandu's Island, I don't think that one is it. Though I do not like the deviation from the book, I wonder as someone else has, if that scene takes place on another of the islands or even at night. I think I said earlier most places look dark and spooky at night even in paradise-like islands.

I am sure by the time the next trailer comes out they will have a lot more footage and will be able to put together a better trailer. Maybe they will even have read our critiques on it and decide to improve on the editing of it.

Also, not to go off topic, but I hope you (g_p) include your thoughts on why the Nurse was dropped and why Adamson kicked off the film with a birth scene. But, maybe these are changes you don't agree with!

Why some people have trouble with the birth scene, I'll never understand. It's part of everyone's life, people... there's nothing disturbing about that.