We recently we to see two movies, Tangled and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, over the last few days. (In case you are my family reading this and are expecting to see these over Christmas, don't worry; I don't mind a repeat.)
Tangled- A+
In Tangled, Disney managed to take a very short and uninteresting fairy tale, and make it their own fun adventure, with the actual fairy tale really being told within the first few minutes, but still maintaining its relevancy throughout the rest of the film. To be honest, I was skeptical of their abilities to transform Rapunzel into a full-length feature film, but I was blown away its high quality. Disney took the idea, and made it their own. In typical Disney fashion, there was comedy, action, adventure, and romance in this digital masterpiece.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader- B
In Narnia, the franchise seemed to partially rebound from a disastrous second installment. (I would rate Lion Witch and the Wardrobe as an A, with Prince Caspian as a solid C.) The film was forced to deviate from the book due to the book's lack of an actual plot as it is instead formed by a series of independent scenes strung together with no driving force behind it, but the changes were as well-done as they could be. Where Prince Caspian lacked in believable characters and in wise plot-deviations, Dawn Treader improved in both categories. The only detriments were from my favorite scene being omitted (which could be caused from the needed plot-alteration) and a few scenes that could have been directed better and with smoother transitions. It was a very difficult film to pull off, and I am confident that it will allow for The Silver Chair to follow, which has the potential to be the best in the franchise since Wardrobe. Even better, Eustace was cast extremely well and will be great for the next installment. I was also thrilled that Aslan's line about being present in our world, but with a different name, was left intact.
2 comments:
I read in World Magazine (maybe you did too) that Douglas Gresham (sp?) really dug in his heels on the "Aslan present in our world" line.
So, want to tell us what your favorite scene is? :)
My favorite scene is when Caspian fools the governor, making him think the Treader is only the lead warship of the fleet, and then when he installs Lord Whatshisname as Governer of the Lone Isles. That is my favorite scene in the book, though Aslan's line is also my favorite line in the book.
I hadn't heard that about Douglas Gresham, but it does not surprise me. I am guessing he only agreed to even let them do the Narnia franchise if they let him be an executive producer to make sure the Lewis estate was fully involved; it paid off!
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