Trailer #1 Discussion

[araviss]

All I want to say right now is that although I think Susan is very pretty, she is not beautiful beyond the lot of mortals and that's how I want Lucy to look like--much more beautiful than Susan.

[arabesque]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I nearly hyperventilated when I woke up this morning and realized today was THE day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few things I thought while watching it.
~Edmund and Lucy definitely look older, but it's not a bad thing.

~Where was Caspian???? There was only like one shot of him???? Come on!!!!! And Eustace was barely noticeable. The whole trailer was about Lucy and Edmund.

PETER AND SUSAN ARE THERE!!!!!!!! *hyperventilates* Yay! At least we get to see them for a moment. I'm wondering where they are though. Maybe they meet up in Aslan's Country for a brief scene? I don't know. But I'm HAPPY about it anyway!!!

~Ramundu's daughter was a little too.....bright? I guess I just never imagined her like that.

~ The White witch AGAIN??????!!!!!! WHY do they keep sticking her in! Who CARES about the witch witch! She's DEAD! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Anyway....

~The boat is fantastic!!! I'm in love!!!

~Reepacheep looked and sounded awesome!!!!

~The dufflepuds are so adorable!!!

~I actually liked the very beginning how Edmund tried to enlist. It keeps with the opening themes of the other two films and I thought it worked really well. I'm hoping Ed doesn't turn out to be another Peter attitude though. But I would be more understanding toward the filmmakers if he did because in the book Edmund REALLY does have power issues with Caspian. Perter didn't.

And that's it. I'm going to watch it again. But where IS Caspian and Eustace in this trailer???

[gottaluvnarnia]

I have to say, I loved the trailer Although, it was quite a shock to me when Peter and Susan showed up, and I thought that the dufflepuds looked kinda like something from Dr. Seuss xD but other than those, I generally liked it. the tag line is really cool, gave me chills

[theprincessspy]

Admittedly, I had some (unrealistic) high expectations for VoDT. I was excited about Fox and Apted doing it, and I thought it would be fresh.

It's anything but fresh. It feels like they just used the PC trailer audio with new video. We've got Edmund having a "I'm a king" complex, just like Peter. And of course we've never heard before that "the fate of Narnia rests in your hands" and "you have an extraordinary destiny."

The aspect with Edmund being tempted by the White Witch is iffy. On the one hand, it feels just like Peter in PC, and it's annoying because Edmund has already been freed from and conquered her. However, I have a feeling it might play well into the Dark Island or something. I think there could be a moment where it's almost a memory instead of an actual theme pervading the movie. I hope.

While we all love Reepicheep, he got way too much screen time in the trailer. Where's Caspian? Where's Eustace? We could even have some more of Lucy!

So yes, I'm disappointed in the trailer. It's cliche, and it feels like PC all over again. But I'm hoping that they're just trying to draw in audiences who liked the first two movies (and aren't necessarily fans of the books). I admit that if there was a movie series (without books, or with books that I had never read) and I saw that trailer, I would be excited. And to introduce too many new characters (and not show the old ones) would be poor marketing on their side. They know us book-lovers will see it. They have to bring in everyone else. So I have hope.

(Oh, and showing Peter and Susan? I have a feeling it will work out just right.)

EDIT: One more thing. I got chills when the water started pouring out of the painting and they emerged in the ocean. A moment long awaited.

[Farsight1]

I expected something better, but I don't think it was completely 'horrible', like gP is saying (and this is coming from somebody who HATED the inclusion of the White Witch, the cheesy taglines and all the posters released so far). For a book fan it was bad enough. For somebody who doesn't care about Narnia so far - and there are plenty of those out there - this could be just the thing. Here are the teaser's pros and cons so far as I see them (I'll list the cons first).

Cons:
1) The beginning of the trailer failed to pull me in like the other trailers did.

2) It was a bit too generic. Apparently to the people making these movies, Lord of the Rings + Harry Potter = Narnia. I don't like the fact that Edmund now has a glowing sword, hobbit-style and they created an entire 'fate of Narnia' for them to defend. And The White Witch is now officially Narnia's Lord Voldemort. She's a witch, she can't be killed, she's in EVERY movie AND she holds a grudge against a particular group of children.

3) More on the The White Which stuff: she DOES appear (!), she IS green (!), she tempts EDMUND again (!), and the Dark Island is NOT dark (!).

4) Edmund is suffering from movie-Peter complex AND he seems to have forgotten everything the Witch did to him, not looking at all like he opposes to be tempted by her. Maybe it's just me, but if somebody had tried to kill me AND my siblings, I wouldn't even bother to listen to that person. Then again, the mist of the Dark Island is magical, it makes people desperate, and an apparent lack of choices could make them forget anything and make a deal with whatever comes out of that mist. But follow me here: Green Mist... A Witch controlling it all, causing people to doubt everything they know in a contained space they can't get out of... Sounds a little bit TOO familiar, doesn't it? I don't quite like where THAT seems to be going.

6) Aslan and the Minotaur don't quite look like themselves.

7) Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund are ALL at the same place wearing similar looking clothes - and it doesn't look like it's England. Flashback? Adaptation heresy? Until December, we'll never know.

8) If Michael Apted's filmmaking style is any different from Adamson's, you can't tell from the trailer.

9) Where is the reference to the Lost Lords? This is just the teaser and they'll probably explain things on the full version of the trailer, but it did bother me not hearing anything about it.

Pros:

1) The overall look of the trailer (and website) is much more appropriate to the movie than the posters and print materials so far. Looks like they have very different people working on this. I don't know whether one will outbalance the other, but at least it's not a 100% failure. More like a 50/50.

2) Lucy shoots bow and arrow and does NOT use her dagger in battle, exactly like she did in the VTD book (if you don't believe me, go read it yourself).

3) The "battle" on the Lone Islands looks more like a small skirmish than a full fledged "battle" and Lucy is NOT in it (because of course she's in jail with the others). You can see that when she prepares to shoot, she looks like she's either inside the ship or Coriakin's house - the latter is more likely and plausible. If the battle is against the Calormene slave traders when they first arrive or when they resist to Lord Bern's commands once he's in power, I could deal with that (I still wouldn't be 100% okay with it, but I could understand).

4) One of the main points of the book is still there: Aslan brought Lucy and Edmund back to Narnia so they could be tested and he brought Estace along so he could learn a lesson.

5) As always, I enjoy the art direction of the movies (if not always the promotion material). The ship looks great and unique, the costumes are great, the scenery (when there is one) is amazing. The Silver Sea, Dufflepuds' Island and the Edge of the World look much like I had imagined them.

6) The trailer DOES feel a little like the first trailer for LWW. If not original or unique, at least it keeps the look of the series somewhat consistent.

7) The trailer IS better than any of the trailers for the earlier HP movies (1-3) - not that it's hard to be better than those trailers. And I remember the taglines and teaser trailer for the first movie they exchanged directors looked especially choppy and lame (Prisoner of Azkahban/Something wicked this way comes). You almost couldn't tell what to expect from the movie, other than it was going to be a Harry Potter movie and that it was going to be darker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G75X3lizkUY

It ended up being the most critically acclaimed movie in that franchise.

Conclusion:
I don't know. I won't judge what I see until I watch the whole finished movie. For now, nothing makes much sense. I have a strong feeling they're going out of their way to pander to the Potter fans this time around, more than ever before. Sometimes I wish Narnia had been made BEFORE Lord of the Rings, HP, Eragon and the rest. Then we wouldn't be spoiled the fun of seeing dragons, magic books, witches and epic battles on screen for the first time and we wouldn't have much to compare it against.

[Linus the True]

Whose day is ruined? I'm still looking forward to seeing the movie, and I will probably like it. But if this trailer is any indication (and trailers are supposed to be indications), then major changes have been made to the story.

Well, your day may not be ruined, but from the sounds of it, a lot of other people's days have. I'm trying to encourage them.

A lot of assumptions are being made about what the images mean. I don't like the scene with the White Witch, for instance, but her entire appearance in the film may be not much longer than what's seen there. Peter and Susan? I'm guessing a flashback at the beginning of the film, to remind us of the Pevensies' previous adventures. There may, in fact, be major changes, but I don't think this trailer conclusively proves that.

[Linus the True]

All I want to say right now is that although I think Susan is very pretty, she is not beautiful beyond the lot of mortals and that's how I want Lucy to look like--much more beautiful than Susan.

But what, exactly, does "beautiful beyond the lot of mortals" mean? None of us have ever seen anything like that. Lewis can describe it in a book and we can all imagine what that looks like for ourselves. In a film, it has to be shown.

That whole scene is about Lucy's temptation to jealously take away all of the attention that Susan gets for being so pretty. What better way to illustrate that than by having her look as pretty as Susan herself? Showing some random pretty woman in the reflection would still not be someone beautiful beyond the lot of mortals, and it would miss the emotional connection created with Susan.

And it's only better dramatic irony that Lucy is, in fact, quite pretty. She's hard on herself the way we're all hard on ourselves, when we compare ourselves negatively to our siblings, our friends, or celebrities we see on TV. I think that's a pretty universal feeling.

It's like the scene in LWW when Mr. Tumnus plays the flute. Lewis describes it as a melody more beautiful than anything we've ever heard on this earth. When we hear it in the movie - well, it's pretty, but there's no way it could ever live up to the tune in our imaginations. For the movie, the filmmakers just had to pick a nice melody and go with it.

Again, I'm not trying to argue so much as encourage you that, when we see the final product, the filmmakers' choices may make more sense.

[mm1991]

There wasn't enough of Eustace in there, which is what I really wanted to see.

Actually, I had seriously low expectations for this trailer and it got surpassed. Now I think I can be optimistic about this film!

I also didn't like the line by Edmund, "I'm a king!". Please let us hope it's not PC Peter all over again.

But other than those things, I think the trailer was very good. It looks like it will be the best film yet

[Let us remember that this is just the TEASER trailer. Don't look into it THAT much. In teasers, they usually put in scenes they won't even use. They match up video and audio that aren't really together in the movie. A lot of work still isn't done yet. We can analyze and judge, but let's do it lightly, shall we?]

[Lirenel]

Luckily, I watched the trailer before reading the comments, so I was able to enjoy it. Despite the fact that I still can't make out what Lucy says when the painting starts leaking...

Honestly, though there are issues people have raised, I thought it was a good trailer. It definitely got me excited!

Of course, I'm intrigued to see the reasoning behind Edmund's enlisting and nightmare. For the enlisting, I'm definitely hoping it's not something like 'Peter enlisted and Edmund wants to join him'. Though, I kinda smiled because Edmund could totally pass at 18, and by 1943 (which I believe is when VODT takes place) I'm pretty sure the British weren't looking too closely at birth certificates. I did like that Edmund acted confident and not at all worried - if Lucy hadn't jumped in, I bet he could have gotten in.

As for the witch, I think people are forgetting that the Dark Island is a place where dreams literally come true. He's not being tempted by the Witch, he's seeing the manifestation of his nightmares. Just because he forwent the temptation, and defeated the witch does not mean that she can't haunt his nightmares, that he can't have nightmares where he gave in to her temptation instead of defying her. Heck, Narnians who probably never met the WW probably have nightmares about her - I have recurring nightmares of Nazis trying to kill me, and I can assure you I've never been attacked by Nazis in my life...they're just the monsters of my dreams.

So no, I'm not worried about the WW or her temptation being Edmund's nightmare. It's perfectly reasonable from a psychological point of view.

I loved Ramandu's Daughter (not ready to call her Lilliandil yet), didn't mind that she glowed because didn't she glow a little in the books? (maybe I'm remembering it wrong)

I'm a little more worried about Peter and Susan at the end of the world. If they have even the hint of Caspian looking at Susan longingly, I will scream. Loudly. Though, it would be nice if, instead of looking at the kings and queens, Caspian starts looking longingly back at the ocean, realizing he has started to fall in love with Ramandu's Daughter...

Anyway, I liked the trailer and am looking forward to more!

[Glenstorm the Great]

Ok I'm still in a HUGE state of shock right now. And I"m shaking. So hard I can barely type/ So please excuse any typos or stupid things I write.

My thoughts while watching the trailer:

1. Why is Edmund making me think of Peter in the beginning of PC?
2. Wow Lucy looks so much older! (which is a pretty good thing )
3. Painting! Amazing and...EUSTACE!!!
4. Wow totally great entrance in to Narnia
5. The Dawn Treader! Purple sail!
6. What the heck is bringing them on board of the Dawn Treader?
7. Aslan?!
8. Ooh bad minotaur CGI
9. Reepicheep...no noticeable difference.
10. mermaid!
11. Caspian!
12. Where is Eustace
13. Dark Island?
14. Coriakin?!
15. Yay Eustace!! At the dragon's cve?
16. No!! Edmund's dream?! And what's the green stuff?! and green eyes?! (ples no LotGK )
17. Awesome magic book scene!
18. RD!!! (correction: LILLIANDIL!!!)
19. glowing sword?
20. NO!! bright blue star
21. Cheesy tagline!!! Noo!!!
22. Nice fawn jumping skills again
23. Please tell me that's not Susan's bow
24. Cheesy tagline
25. wow that tree magician thing was so cool!
26. OH MY GOSH IT's THE DUFFLEPUDS!!!!
27. Lilies! Wait is that Caspian in the boat
28. WHERE ARE THEY AND WHY ARE PETER AND SUSAN THERE!!!???
29. Awesome logo- looks dragon-ish

[mm1991]

P.S. - I love the sail!
P.P.S. - I'm surprised by all the negativity on here.

[zeeky5678]

Hey guys, I know I havent been on in forever, but I kind of have to voice my opinion on this. Well, I waited up until Midnight last night, only to discover I had another 2 hours (my time) to wait. So I really was hoping to get something better than this. Here's my review:

Well after I viewed this trailer, I wasnt in awe like even the Prince Caspian trailer made me feel, Prince Caspian and LWW, all managed to draw me in with their trailers, but for some reason when I watched it 20 or more times to try and catch everything in those quick shots, the trailer really started to get old. That's something that I never felt with LWW or PC. Now, regarding the movie as a movie and the trailer as a trailer. The general LOOK of this movie doesnt even Look like a Theatrical Movie to me, it doesnt look like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, heck it doesnt even look like a Narnia movie anymore. Now, not looking like a Narnia movie is not a problem at all, im all for new looks in the film business, the bad thing is, to me this looks like a Made for T.V. movie, and it's not because of the CGI. Several shots, for example the first look at the Dawn Treader after the painting transistion, it doesnt look like that shot should belong in a movie. Now, after watching this a few more times and thinking about it, I finally figured out what this really is...A Teaser Trailer. Except this isnt a good teaser trailer at all. It's one of those classic teaser trailers saying "Look, we've got a movie coming out! Here's some random shots thrown together for a sneak peek!" Every now and then a movie gets one of these. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a good example of one of these, It's teaser didn't really say much about Plot, if you had no idea what Harry Potter was and no one told you anything about the plot, you'd have No clue what the movie was supposed to be about. This teaser trailer is that exactly, it doesn't show much of a plot or story. Now, personally it was good up until Edmund asks "Why Are We Here?" In a GOOD Trailer, you'd think they'd start discribing whats happening in the plot to ANSWER Edmund's question...however, in this trailer we basically get "If there's no war to fight, Why Are We Here?..............................." Thats the main problem with this trailer is the lack of plot or story, so now knowing what this trailer actually is, I'm not as disappointed as before.

Now, here I go through the trailer and talking about how stuff looks:
-The Opening Scene I actually like, I understand why he's enlisting. It actually makes a whole lot of sense. While it was funny, it wasnt "LOL" it was "Small Chuckle", then I the words "I'm a King" from Edmund and I was like Oh this AGAIN.
-The painting...I hate. The Dawn Treader is so ridiculously small in the background im surprised Edmund and Lucy dont need a magnifying glass to see it. The music here really makes no sense either. Now, the effect of the actually transistion to Narnia I LOVE. The water slowly starts seeping out through the sides, as you can see in the close up and then, it starts coming out more and more and more. I love how the water only coming from the ocean part of the painting. Eustace taking it off was good too, and I really like the change on how they get sucked into Narnia, it definately beats the effect BBC did.
-Boarding the Dawn Treader- I think it looks alright, the trailer starts building they reintroduce characters, including a VERY Izzard sounding Reepiceep (GREAT job on the recast) ,but missing Caspian, who without seeing the Previous installments would think he's just some random dude and then, you expect the trailer to kick off right after Edmund asks "Why are we here?" But this is where the trailer totally loses my appeal
-This is where the "Montage" begins and I really dont want to comment on any of this...The CGI is bad, except for Aslan however who I found better looking then Prince Caspian (which IMO has an extremely fake Aslan) however, wasnt he like HUGE in Prince Caspian? Now, he's shorter then Lucy?? Anyway, the main thing the need to work on these next 4 or 5 months is the CGI, that needs some Major work. Other than that I guess everything looks decent, but it so looks like they're trying to turn Lucy into Susan. Another reason I hate this trailer is the extremely CHEAP speed up effects they decide to randomly use, that really makes the Movie look terrible IMO, and I really dont know why trailer feel the need to do it at all.
-Regarding the Pevensies Epic Walk at the end of the trailer: I have a MAJOR problem seeing Peter and Susan in Narnian clothes walking in the same place as Lucy and Edmund. Now, one theory is that it's a flashback. 2 Problems with that: 1.) A flashback to what (or of what)? 2.) Edmund and Lucy are wearing their current clohes for VoDt. Now, I do have a theory what if they're like trying to show that Edmund and Lucy are now in the same place Susan and Peter were in PC (That they wont be returning to Narnia) and they do like a Fade shot like they show Susan walking and it turns into Lucy and they show Peter walking and it turns into Edmund. That is the ONLY theory I can come up with to explain this.

Those, are basically my issues with this trailer, I sure hope it's just the trailer and how early they are into finishing the film, because in that case I sincerely hope the Theatrical Trailer actually has a plot line.

Favorite Scene: "This place just gets weirder and weirder!"
Second favorite: ...The Painting Transition

~Zeeky5678~

[beloved]

What was good:
The picture was pretty cool
I'm in love with that ship, can I have one?
Reepicheep is perfect, no noticeable difference except he sounds nobler.
The mermaid (maybe that's what she is) is pretty awesome
Caspian is looking good.
The book of spells actually looks really good as a whole. Lots of little elements.
I really like Reepicheep's line, it may be the best in the trailer.
The golden lampost on the Dawn Treader looks very cool, I really like it.
Laura really makes a fantastic Liliandil.
The faun is pretty awesome.
For sure, that's Susan's bow, but Caspian brought Lucy's gift, why not Susan's?
Lucy finally gets to fight something, that's super exciting.
I love the Dufflepuds, they are so funny
The lilies are amazing

What was not so good:
"I'm a king"
Joining the army? (Rationalize: maybe he's trying to get away from Eustace)
In the painting the ship looks too small
Aslan looks small, unimpressive
Is Coriakin screaming "Dumbledor" in everyone's mind too?
The Dark Island:
It seems oddly bright
doesn't feel very creepy
Almost looks like a cheesy scary movie
Can't Jadis say anything else?
blue, blue, blue
One very bright blue star (maybe she only looks that bad when the sun isn't up)
Rhindon looks to be infused with blue "Star Power"
Flaming ball of blue? Seriously overdone
There are so many things wrong with the end that I'm not sure where to start...
First of all what is Caspian doing there, and there are clearly 4 shadows while talking to Aslan
Susan should be in America.
Peter should be studying
Reepicheep should already be home
The logo looks too much like a scene out of POTC:AWE for my liking

I do love this trailer, but I keep remembering how badly this can turn out. I don't really have anything to say on that yet because I haven't seen it but it seems like every time news comes out I lose a little bit of hope in how good this move will actually turn out to be.

[Beginte]

lover of narnia, my friend, I'm so very happy to see someone so joyously optimistic here! I adored the trailer as well (though I think from the technical side it could be a tad better put together), even though it didn't mention much about the Lords. But it is a teaser, they're always limited by the amount of film material being ready for publicity, at least roughly finished.

SUSAN AND PETER WERE THERE!!!!!!! I am beyond happy about this!! They were most definitely in Narnian clothing walking on the beach with Lucy and Ed! I love this!! The movie people are making me extremely joyful! I to have secret ambitions and hope ( like susan and Caspian seeing each other again. That would be sweet!!!!) but like Beginte I don't want to get butchered. Susan and Peter are back.....I'll seal my lips until a later time.

Heh, what you spelled in tiny letters is not what I had in mind (though indeed that would be kind of a finishing touch to their bittersweet story) - I more thought in it being something like a tie to Last Battle, where we see all the characters again just to say goodbye. And so, we see Peter and Susan again, because it is time to say goodbye to all the Pevensies... heartbreaking but aesthetically a good idea.

I'm also thrilled - no, make that thrilled to see Caspian sailing to the end of the world! In the book, I always felt it was unfair to leave him behind, while he could turn back later and go back to the ship. I'm very happy to see him with Aslan and others, I always felt he got far too little credit and appreciation, below what he deserved, especially given his life story is probably one of the most tragical (innocently at that!) in the Chronicles.

Anyway, I'm waiting to see the whole film

[Hefziba]

This final of the trailer is worrying me A LOT.

1. First, they put in their site (ok, I know it's a copy from narnia.wikia) that Lucy, Ed and Peter died. But they simply should not tell us that so early.

2. Then, the four Pevensies appear together, wearing Narnian clothes, in the same place.

3. At the End of the World, Aslan says to Ed, Eustace, Lu, Caspian and Rip that their adventure begins now.

Oh my God. All of these coincidences are making me feel sad.

But, for a pessimist I'm pretty optimistic, so:

1. Maybe the guys who designed the website simply don't know the story and no one warned them about that information.

2. Maybe it's just a flashback or even a dream. Or a spell. I would accept any of those options.

3. This still intrigues me. Why does Caspian go to the End of the World? He can't. He shouldn't. Will he sail back to the ship alone, using the coracle? Will he see Ed and Lu saying goodbye and Ripchip goind to Aslan's Country?


Will this be the end of the series? Oh my Aslan.


EDIT: The four Pevensies could be that wonderful story which Lucy reads on Coriakin's book.

[JadistarkilleR]

man how frustrating was it to have been able to see the trailer but not be able to talk about it when you get to Narniaweb until the online trailer hits huh? huh?

anyway, THAT TRAILER ROCKS!!!! sure it was obvious the post production works wasnt quite done yet but so far the Fox promise is living up to the Narnian standards.

on first viewing my thought was "whoah there, everybody's back, and i mean EVERYBODY!" i know thats likely the first deviation from the book, but i figured so long as Peter and Susan stays as secondary characters and keep Edmund and Lucy as the lead i'm ok with that.

second surprise was how The White Witch figures in there, the lady just wont quit! again another deviation but this one i fully welcome-- i like that her role as this story's Lucifer that keeps tempting our Christ-like figure, she started with Edmund, then Peter, then Caspian and now she's back with Edmund. with this latest addition Edmund's plight with Jadis is mirroring the temptation of Christ in the dessert, just when he thought He's done with the devil, here he comes again with another offer at even worse point of His endurance.

i did notice that there was hardly any Eustace or Caspian in the trailer, other than the 1-2 second shots of them, so i'm hoping that come the succeeding trailers (or better yet, character trailers like what they did for Star Wars) will feature them in greater detail. we already know how cool Eustace is, but i'm half anticipating- half dreading the paler, more English sounding King Caspian, i mean really, when i walk into the theater i expect to see and hear King Caspian, not Ben Barnes in a fancy costume.

oh and looks like the Rheep voice-over switch isnt too jarring, i was worried about that. still dont understand the change from Izzard to Nighy, but it doesnt sound like its going to be as big of a consistency issue as i once thought.

lastly, looks like Gandalf lent Edmund his sword Glamdring i'm not upset (yet), but not quite thrilled about glowing Rhindon either.