Ramandu & Lilliandil

[icarus]

Overall i was genuinely fine with most of the set-up they had going on for the scenes on Ramandu's Island - again the entire island sequence seemed far too short for my preference, but unlike the Lone Islands it was probably long enough for what they intended to do with it in the movie, so it didn't really seem rushed (short, but not rushed, if you get what i mean)

A few questions though regarding Ramandu and his Daughter -

Did anyone else find it slightly odd that they referenced Ramandu and/or his Island by name at least 4 times in the movie and yet we never got to meet him? I of course knew that Ramandu wasn't going to be in the movie beforehand, but my brother who also came to the premiere with me said he thought it odd that they should build up all these references to Ramandu and then not go anywhere with it - i think he was expecting that after the Dark Island was defeated we would get to meet Ramandu, because the number of references made to his name would seemingly indicate he was an important part of the whole Swords/Mist plot.

Secondly, as i mentioned we've kind of known/suspected that Ramandu wouldn't be in the movie for a long time, but one of the main (if not only) arguments that came up in favour of axing him was that it would allow his Daughter to take over some aspects of his role, giving her more screentime and allowing them to better develop the relationship with Caspian - and yet in the end, she was in the movie for less than she is in the book, and the relationship with Caspian was none existent, bar a strong hint of physical attraction when they first meet.

It also seemed they had dramatically cut down the whole "Follow the Blue Star" plotline from the Leaked Script to the bare minimum, such that it kind of didn't really have much point to it in terms of forming any sort of through-line to the narrative anymore. In retrospect i would of quite liked to have seen them keep more of this plotline in as i think it was a fairly interesting idea to explore.

So i guess the questions there would be whether or not you thought they managed to justify their decision to axe Ramandu, and whether or not you think they gave Lilliandil enough presence in his absence?

[MinotaurforAslan]

I thought they referenced Ramandu because they didn't know what else to call Ramandu's Island. Given the way things carry out in the movie, it should have been called Lilliandil's Island, Star's Island, or Aslan's Island or something that made more sense.

In the movie, Lilliandil felt like Coriakin 2.0...all she did was show up for 5 minutes, add a bit more detail to the explanation of the green mist by Coriakin, and catch Caspian's eye due to her surreal beauty.

Their adaption of these characters is on par with the way they adapted the rest of the book...all the backstory and explanation surrounding them is axed and replaced with some sort of connection with the green mist. I felt it was way too brief.

It is disappointing that the final film is basically a more vague version of the leaked script.

[DamselJillPole]

This makes me feel so disappointed. I wan't more Caspian/Lilliandil! Is this still screening talk or this this the final film?

[Josh]

I will say the leaked script did do a better job at developing the relationship between Caspian and Lilliandil.

Especially with Caspian having dreams about her, and the fact that it's indicated that he will return to Ramandu's Island.

[aragorn2]

Is the infamous "I can change forms" line in the movie and is as cheesy as it looks in the trailers?

[amh1219]

Is the infamous "I can change forms" line in the movie and is as cheesy as it looks in the trailers?

Yes and yes.

[Josh]

Honestly that whole scene was blown out of proportion. And other then saying "No!", Edmund doesnt show any romantic interest in Lilliandil. Yet another example of misleading marketing.

[icarus]

Honestly that whole scene was blown out of proportion.

Definitely. It was at the end of the day just a simple one-line joke. It didn't lead into any sort of romantic plot thread for either Edmund or Caspian. Though perhaps in the case of the latter it probably should of done.

If the moment had any significance beyond just being a funny joke to stick in there, it was perhaps a nice moment to round off Lucy's character arc about her insecurities over her appearance. The way she rolled her eyes at the boys reaction was kind of her way of showing to the audience that she had conquered her inner demons and that she was now able to rise above such petty issues.

[Matsi]

So they don't show her any more after their first meeting at all??

[Bookwyrm]

As bad as the lame use of Ramandu's Daughter was in the leaked script, at least it would have meant the Ramandu's Daughter/Caspian romance would have been developed. As it is, it sounds like they could have cut her completely from the film with little lost.

[DamselJillPole]

It's not fair that they give a non existing and made up couple more screen time then an actual romance that takes place in the books. I'm really upset about about this and a lot of other Caspian/Lilliandil fans will be too!

[White Wizard]

Lilliandil was slightly creepy- my older sister even asked me, during the film, if she was really an evil character. Now that would have been a plot twist and major deviation from the book.

[MinotaurforAslan]

So they don't show her any more after their first meeting at all??

Yes. She appears in the movie for about 5 minutes.

[RoseRed]

I think the way they conceived her character (costume, they way she was lit up, the whole 'blue star' idea) was lovely, but like many other things in the film it was barely used :/
The ONE thing I thought the movies could possibly improve on the books was to extent the casp/lilliandil (I do like her name, kudos gresham!) romance a little...though in PC I started to despair this would be the case :/
as it is, she is given a very very short about of screen time, a minor role, and there is no romance to speak of.
my reaction ->

[DamselJillPole]

^ then why would Ben Barnes say inan interview that there will be romance in VDT? It doesn't make sense.

Did Caspian even glance back at Ramandu's island when he left it or even mention lilliandil in the least?

[coracle]

On the positive side, this film has maintained the "children's story" feeling, yet it is clear that Caspian is interested in seeing this lady again, and we know he goes back to Narnia (via her island), so logically they will meet again. Most of this film is seen through the eyes of the three children.

In the next film we will see the next step of this; I understand that Lewis wasn't expecting to write more than these three tales, and so he did have to write a paragraph tying up loose ends (such as marrying off Caspian and this lady), whereas the film maker who hopes to make the next one has time to wait to elaborate on the relationship.