How should the CHARACTER of the White Witch be played?
Posted: Oct 22, 2019 9:11 pm
Hey guys,
I could talk about characters all day (and not just Narnia-related lol), but unfortunately, I don't know much about actors (or actresses in this case). Like I could suggest "the woman who played the Lady Morgana in Merlin", or "the lady who played Galadriel in Lord of the Rings", but that's as far as it goes with me. I don't know who's who off the screen, and I don't want to hijack that thread, so I'm creating my own.
With all this discussion of the BBC version recently, and especially after the most recent edition of Talking Beasts, I've been thinking a lot about this lately. And I've reached the conclusion that we're kind of putting the sledge before the reindeer. Personally, I'm less interested in who should play her and more in how her character should be played.
On the one hand we have the BBC version, which (hysterical beaver costumes and wolf-man-roars aside) is probably closer to the book. That version of the Witch is absolutely terrifying, especially to little kids (and yes, she was to me too lol). And honestly, even as an adult, I would be afraid to meet someone like her! You really wonder what she's going to do, how she will react to what you say, literally every time she raises her voice. And considering her performance was in a time when kids shows were still "cartoony", that over-the-top style was effective for the target audience. She also looked a lot more like the Witch from the book - she wore a crown (not an icicle), and her face was white ("not merely pale, but white like paper or icing-sugar"), and all that. The crown wasn't gold, but the silver worked, and there were other little details they couldn't do back then (I think). Like obviously she wasn't as tall, but they would need either CGI or a WNBA athlete to make her as tall as the one in the books! Also, her castle was way cooler, and way creepier.
On the other hand, you have the Walden version, and she's scary, but not in the same way as the BBC version. She seems a lot more "in control", a lot more deceptive, and a lot more real. She's still stern, still cold, still raises her voice at times, but never throws a full-on tantrum. I can't imagine Edmund falling for the BBC Witch's nice act - I can with the Walden version. As for her costume, the only thing I like better is her robe, which looks more like polar bear fur or something a queen would actually want - everything else is a cheesy Elsa rip-off. She's rockin' the blue dress, bunched-up blonde hair, and a humongous icicle growing out of her head. And like her costume, her castle just screams "generic ice queen". But that's not what she is - the snow thing was just a means to an end (post for another day ). I think the freakiest thing about her was when she wore Aslan's chopped-off mane into battle! I didn't notice it for a few years (I thought it was just her hair), but a friend pointed it out and now "I can't un-see it". Lewis didn't do that in the book, but it's absolutely the kind of thing she would do.
So what should this next version of the White Witch look like? Sound like? Act like?
I think the answer, in a single word, is "balance". Someone said on that other thread (about who should play her), the "she needs to be cold, yet fiery when necessary" and I kind of think he nailed it. Her character is somewhere in between the BBC and Walden versions. She's not totally chill all the time, and she's not a tantruming psycho. The book shows us things that don't fit well in a movie (dark thoughts like "he is easily dealt with", or the fact that the Turkish Delight was enchanted). But the Walden Witch conveys that attitude without saying a word. But then again, her reaction to Aslan was just as cold, just as "in control" - where that actress should probably have been more like the BBC version.
I think thought too, it also depends on the target audience. If Narnia is meant for little kids... well, IMO little kids should watch the BBC version! It's got hysterical beaver costumes, a guy pretending to be a wolf (and roar when he should have howled) and hands-down a scarier version of the White Witch. It's also got cartoony flying horses, not-too-scary ghosts, hilarious giants and an animatronic Aslan. Little-little kids should start there.
But seriously though, so many people on that last podcast said the Witch was so terrifying when they saw her as a kid - and yes, it was the same way for me too! She gave a voice to the White Witch from the book, intensified and amplified to a bazillion decibels. But if their target audience is anyone else, they'll probably want to dial it down a little. Maybe Walden until Aslan comes on the scene, then much more like BBC.
But I've rambled on and on about this subject, and this wasn't meant to be a blog post (if it were, I'd have done it on my blog ). What do YOU think? I'd be interested to get your two cents on the subject.
I could talk about characters all day (and not just Narnia-related lol), but unfortunately, I don't know much about actors (or actresses in this case). Like I could suggest "the woman who played the Lady Morgana in Merlin", or "the lady who played Galadriel in Lord of the Rings", but that's as far as it goes with me. I don't know who's who off the screen, and I don't want to hijack that thread, so I'm creating my own.
With all this discussion of the BBC version recently, and especially after the most recent edition of Talking Beasts, I've been thinking a lot about this lately. And I've reached the conclusion that we're kind of putting the sledge before the reindeer. Personally, I'm less interested in who should play her and more in how her character should be played.
On the one hand we have the BBC version, which (hysterical beaver costumes and wolf-man-roars aside) is probably closer to the book. That version of the Witch is absolutely terrifying, especially to little kids (and yes, she was to me too lol). And honestly, even as an adult, I would be afraid to meet someone like her! You really wonder what she's going to do, how she will react to what you say, literally every time she raises her voice. And considering her performance was in a time when kids shows were still "cartoony", that over-the-top style was effective for the target audience. She also looked a lot more like the Witch from the book - she wore a crown (not an icicle), and her face was white ("not merely pale, but white like paper or icing-sugar"), and all that. The crown wasn't gold, but the silver worked, and there were other little details they couldn't do back then (I think). Like obviously she wasn't as tall, but they would need either CGI or a WNBA athlete to make her as tall as the one in the books! Also, her castle was way cooler, and way creepier.
On the other hand, you have the Walden version, and she's scary, but not in the same way as the BBC version. She seems a lot more "in control", a lot more deceptive, and a lot more real. She's still stern, still cold, still raises her voice at times, but never throws a full-on tantrum. I can't imagine Edmund falling for the BBC Witch's nice act - I can with the Walden version. As for her costume, the only thing I like better is her robe, which looks more like polar bear fur or something a queen would actually want - everything else is a cheesy Elsa rip-off. She's rockin' the blue dress, bunched-up blonde hair, and a humongous icicle growing out of her head. And like her costume, her castle just screams "generic ice queen". But that's not what she is - the snow thing was just a means to an end (post for another day ). I think the freakiest thing about her was when she wore Aslan's chopped-off mane into battle! I didn't notice it for a few years (I thought it was just her hair), but a friend pointed it out and now "I can't un-see it". Lewis didn't do that in the book, but it's absolutely the kind of thing she would do.
So what should this next version of the White Witch look like? Sound like? Act like?
I think the answer, in a single word, is "balance". Someone said on that other thread (about who should play her), the "she needs to be cold, yet fiery when necessary" and I kind of think he nailed it. Her character is somewhere in between the BBC and Walden versions. She's not totally chill all the time, and she's not a tantruming psycho. The book shows us things that don't fit well in a movie (dark thoughts like "he is easily dealt with", or the fact that the Turkish Delight was enchanted). But the Walden Witch conveys that attitude without saying a word. But then again, her reaction to Aslan was just as cold, just as "in control" - where that actress should probably have been more like the BBC version.
I think thought too, it also depends on the target audience. If Narnia is meant for little kids... well, IMO little kids should watch the BBC version! It's got hysterical beaver costumes, a guy pretending to be a wolf (and roar when he should have howled) and hands-down a scarier version of the White Witch. It's also got cartoony flying horses, not-too-scary ghosts, hilarious giants and an animatronic Aslan. Little-little kids should start there.
But seriously though, so many people on that last podcast said the Witch was so terrifying when they saw her as a kid - and yes, it was the same way for me too! She gave a voice to the White Witch from the book, intensified and amplified to a bazillion decibels. But if their target audience is anyone else, they'll probably want to dial it down a little. Maybe Walden until Aslan comes on the scene, then much more like BBC.
But I've rambled on and on about this subject, and this wasn't meant to be a blog post (if it were, I'd have done it on my blog ). What do YOU think? I'd be interested to get your two cents on the subject.