Posted by: @col-klink

I wouldn't say the result was a bad movie per se. It's technically very well done but it's also very confusing to watch. It clearly wants us to be thinking of the MGM movie but everything's so different, the actors, the visuals, the style, that it never feels like a real sequel to it.

I had a very similar reaction when watching the recent TV adaptation of "Watchmen" from last year. It is notionally a sequel to the 1987 Graphic Novel, yet it owes so much of its visual aesthetic to the 2009 Zack Snyder movie adaptation, and makes no effort to avoid comparision, yet at the same time wants to tell its own story.

As a result you have the visual component of the show asking you to remember the 2009 movie, and the storytelling element of the show asking you to remember the 1987 Graphic Novel, all of which I found to be very discordant (whilst the movie and graphic novel are very similar in terms of story, they differ on one very huge plot point which is a primary focus of the TV show).

It also doesn't help that the TV show is supposed to be a sequel, but then feels compelled to re-create certain classic scenes, or reference certain classic lines of dialogue, which all serve to make it feel more like a remake (or at least a "Force Awakens" style greatest hits compilation). Once you finally add in to the mix all the elements of real history and all the elements of fictional history, it all just became a very jarring experience for me.

Posted by: @col-klink

I rewatched the movie, Return to Oz recently on DisneyPlus and I realized that movie gives you a good idea of what a Netflix continuation of the old Narnia movies would be like.

I know what you mean!  Return to Oz wasn't bad, just... different.  Another example: Star Wars.  The original trilogy was awesome!  The Phantom Menace was good, but it didn't feel like the same story.  I'm a fan of Star Wars, but not a mega-fan; when I saw that movie I hadn't heard of the Sith, or Midiclorians (sorry for any misspellings lol).  But I knew Storm Troopers, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and lightsabers.  It's like, it's Star Wars, but it's not, sort of, I guess.

Returning to Narnia, I agree that continuing the Walden series would feel like just a recreation, and not the "real thing".  I didn't dislike their version of VDT, but I dread to think where they would have taken a Silver Chair rewrite; because that's what it was looking like - a total rewrite.  The green mist would have had some connection to LotGK, who would probably have ended up also being the White Witch (again).  It would have suffered from severe political correction, making Jill a butt-kicking hero because she's a girl, and would make Walden's VDT look faithful to the book!

But even if it were done right - and I mean impossibly right - it wouldn't feel like the same series.  They would need a different actor for Eustace, and Caspian, and probably Trumpkin too.  They might need a different voice for Aslan.  They probably wouldn't have access to whatever props or CG were used to make Cair Paravel.  They might be able to find the original filming site in New Zealand, but then they would have to make it snow again when Jill climbs out of the hole at the end.

On the other hand, I think HHB would be totally doable, and really good.  The kids who played the Pevensies are actually adults now, so they could come back.  We haven't seen any version of Calormen yet, and very little of the story actually takes place in Narnia, so I think it could work.

MN and LB tricky though.  The actress who played the Witch is old enough to be my mom now, and she's not getting younger; so they would need a different person to play her.  Same goes for Eustace, and other characters who come back in the end.

Bottom line: I don't know, what do you think? 🙂

I've only seen one of the Walden movies (LWW), but my thought is that Netflix would be much better off doing a total reboot / refresh. I enjoyed Return to Oz when I was little, but I totally agree there's something a bit strange about it, the way it sort of tries to be a sequel to the 1939 classic and at the same time it isn't.

Even though LWW was great as a film in itself, I've always felt it didn't capture the spirit of the original book very well (starts out very promisingly but loses the plot along the way, in my estimate — and I'm afraid I couldn't stand the Walden version of Aslan), and by all accounts the other two films got further and further away from the originals. On the other hand, the BBC adaptations, which were on TV when I was 7 or so, were very faithful to the books but in a rather plodding and pedestrian way (and the special (???) effects were terribly hokey even by the not-very-high standards of the time, although in a way that was part of the fun ).

I'd love to see Netflix go totally back to the drawing board and create an all-new version of Narnia that sticks close to the source material but brings it to life in a way that feels really fresh, not sort of oh-yawn-we've-seen-all-this-before, which I think would be a real danger if they try to imitate or re-create the Walden versions. I don't think any previous screen adaptation has ever really done the Chronicles justice. Of course there's no guarantee Netflix will either, but the fact that they've deliberately bought the rights to all seven books suggests they're really serious about this and want to see the whole of it through (and are convinced it'll get an audience), so here's hoping!!

I want them to do a total reboot as well. The potential of getting an entire run of the series with the same actors is just too good to not take a chance at. I, also, don't really like big parts of PC and VDT, especially VDT which made really big mistakes, in my opinion. I want them to start over and do like ten episodes for each book. Probably won't happen, but that's the dream.

The only way I could imagine them doing this on the practical level was if they deemed the original Pevensies too popular to replace (i.e., the series/movies would be more successful if they were re-cast in their roles) and they made an expanded "original" Golden Age series about the Pevensies' reign during their first time in Narnia.

I would be really, really surprised (and not very happy, even though I do like the original cast) if they did this, but I've also been surprised at the number of people I've seen online who outright said they were hoping for an "original" Golden Age series about the Pevensies when the Netflix news was first announced. (See this Reddit post with twelve upvotes.) No offense meant to anyone, but when we still have four books that have yet to be made into big budget productions with modern computer imaging technology, I can't imagine wanting Golden Age fanfiction instead. (That's not to say I wouldn't like to see an adaptation that elaborates on what Lewis describes about the Golden Age, but it should be limited... I don't want to see multiple episodes filled with fabricated material masquerading under the name of Narnia.)

Posted by: @courtenay

I've only seen one of the Walden movies (LWW)

Wow, really? Has that been intentional? Not trying to be off-topic, but I need answers! ?

Yes, it has been intentional. I saw the first film when it came out in 2005 and thought it was very well done in and of itself — it started out well, but I felt it ended up failing to capture the lovely, gentle, understated spirit of the book (which I've known since I was 4 or 5 years old and it's always been a big part of my life). Too many added action scenes and I just couldn't warm to that particular portrayal of Aslan. It's not a bad film, but for me it just wasn't Narnia. So when I heard that Prince Caspian went noticeably further from the original story to the point where quite a lot of fans weren't happy (especially with the implied Susan-Caspian romance... ugh), and then Dawn Treader strayed so far from the book that it was almost unrecognisable, I decided that I really wasn't interested in seeing either of them and I'm still not. But that's just my opinion and I wouldn't argue with anyone who loves the films and has got a lot out of them — we've all got different tastes and that's the way it should be.

I’ve actually thought a lot about this idea ever since I found out about the plans for a Netflix adaptation. I grew up watching the first two Walden films so they’re quite sentimental to me, and while I think the criticisms of Walden’s LWW and PC are completely valid, I’m still very much of the opinion that they were both amazing films! I’m not too sure how many people will agree with this ( ) but I think if they were to go down this route of making Netflix adaptations of the other books WITHOUT touching LWW, PC and VDT, they should get Andrew Adamson to direct (or at least be heavily involved in) their production. This should help to maintain aesthetic consistency between the films (at least the first two) and the new works, something I felt was sorely lacking in Dawn Treader without Adamson in the director’s seat. It also goes without saying that Douglas Gresham should be there to give advice to the filmmakers and to ensure they stay true to C.S. Lewis’ vision.

@dannyb, 

That sounds like a fantastic idea! I know there are criticisms of the first two films, but I choose not to harp on them very much  because I'm just grateful they even exist. (The third is imo a mockery of the book that had a few nice moments here and there). Overall the Adamson films tended to either match or improve upon my own image of the books, and they treat the books with at least a decent level of respect (as opposed to VDT.)

I wonder if Adamson would consider doing Narnia films again. Given his enthusiasm over the ones he did make, one would have some hope that he might say yes if asked!  

@the-mad-poet

We can only hope, my friend. I’ve been rewatching the DVD commentaries and bonus features of the Walden films recently and Andrew Adamson really does seem enthusiastic about the franchise, not to mention how supportive and helpful he is to the rest of the cast and crew!

My siblings and I have literally grown up seeing the Walden movies and my first introduction to Narnia. So anytime I think of Narnia, the only one I think of is the one from the movies. The same actors and actresses and scenes and lines.  (Though like people said before, VDT was somewhat messed up )  

I think that Netflix should start fresh and create their own new Narnia series. Though I absolutely loved the Walden series, I feel like they wouldn't do it right. Walden is it's own adaptation of Narnia and Netflix would never give me the same vibe. It may try to imitate the Narnia movies, but it can never give off the same feeling. I also think that Netflix should start their own series because they won't have to be limited by what the movies did, and can create Narnia in their own way. Who knows? I might the like Netflix adaptation because it took Narnia and created it's own version or it's own world without continuing the Walden movies. 

@kingedthejust

I liked the Walden movies, but I would like them better if they were closer to the books. The problem is with the script adaptation. It needed much more faithfulness to C. S. Lewis’ original stories.  The acting was fine in all three films.  I found it very enjoyable and entertaining.  I own all three of the movies on Blu-ray and enjoy viewing them quite often.  I think that the people who created them might have done better with a script similar to the BBC Narnia. I don’t know if Netflix would make their series reasonably close to the books, but I hope they will at least try.  That would be the minimum that they should achieve.

Posted by: @narnian78

I liked the Walden movies, but I would like them better if they were closer to the books...I think that the people who created them might have done better with a script similar to the BBC Narnia.

Andrew Adamson, who directed the first two Narnia movies, was actually one of the screenwriters, so I doubt he'd have wanted to direct a movie with a script closer to the text. But maybe Michael Apted would have. From the VDT movie, he struck me as someone who didn't care much about the quality of what he was filming.

@col-klink

Now that Michael Apted has passed away I wouldn’t be too critical of him or his work. It is true that the story for the Dawn Treader movie could have been much better, but I actually thought the visuals of the film were of quite good quality. So he must have at least cared something about the film looked. What I didn’t like is that they left Ramandu out and that great scene in the book where the birds fed him to make him a little younger each day. And there was the Green Mist which didn’t work so well as the villain.  But there still are other things which were enjoyable such Eustace as a dragon (Will Poulter was really good in that role).  I liked the Dawn Treader ship too (it had a classic look ).  There was a fair amount of realism in the sea voyage. So I can’t honestly say that I completely disliked the film.

Andrew Adamson did quite well with the appearance of the first two films. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was fairly close to the book, but Prince Caspian had some incongruities like the battle in the castle which seemed too much like Hollywood for Narnia. But I do like that film better now than when I first saw it. The acting and visuals were very good and impressed me more when I watched the film again.  However, I thought Ben Barnes was much too old to play Caspian. 

I don’t think I would ever hate any of the Narnia films because there is always some something in them for me to enjoy, and I love the way they look.  That is why I own the blu-rays of all three films and watch them quite often. 🙂