Leaked Script vs. Final Movie

[Josh]

Okay so this topic is to discuss the similiarities and differences between the leaked script and the final product. To talk about what we were glad they cut out and what we were happy they left in. I got mod approval of this topic, but I am not allowed to actually quote the script.

The following are the changes from the leaked script and the final movie.

In the leaked script Uncle Harold has more dialogue and seems to have a disliking to the Pevensies because of their uneasy relationship with his son. In the new movie, Uncle Harold doesnt speak.

In the leaked script Trumpkin and Dr. Corneilius are aboard the the Dawn Treader. No Gael or Rhince.

In the leaked script the crew explore Narrowhaven and encounter the abandoned creepy Bell Tower, just like the movie. One addition is that they notice a ship with green sails. However, when they are attacked and captured it's revealed that Gumpas is under an enchantment (he has a green glow in his eyes). Gumpas takes the list of slaves and says all thats important is his ledger...and a hungry moon(more on that later).

The crew on the Dawn Treader, meanwhile, gets attacked by Lord Bern and his group of rebels. This is because Bern thought that they were slave traders. This is one huge difference between leaked script Bern and movie script Bern. Leaked script Bern is a leader, while movie Bern is a cowarding prisoner.

In the Leaked Script Gumpas takes the slaves to a stone wall. As the full moon rises, the rocks begin to take the form of a giant serpant and the craters form eyes and nostrils (which glow green). The serpant then opens it's mouth, and Gumpas forces the slaves into the mouth. As the slaves get enchanted by the Green moonlight, they find themselves getting sucked into the Serpant's before it closes it's mouth and reverts back to being a regular stone cave. Dr. Corneilus tells Caspian that this is deep magic that must be fought with deeper magic. Caspian, Ed, and Lucy then break out into a fight and overthrow the slave traders. In the movie Caspian watches from prison as Gumpas sacrifices teh slaves to the Green Mist which eats them up and dissapears. As they are being sold off, a fight breaks out and they overthrow the slavers.

In the leaked script, Lord Bern says how they were told by Aslan in a dream to follow the blue star in hopes of finding the "Lost Souls" (people who had been kidnapped and sacrificed to the Serpant Cave). Lord Bern states that those fed to the serpant are taken to the Underworld. He mentions that they had possession of the knife that killed Aslan but they were arguing whether it was sacrilege to use it or if it was lucky to use it. Trumpkin, whose apparently in search of his wife who was fed to the Serpant Cave, says they should try to save the Lost souls. In the movie Bern says the Lords were out searching for a way to stop the Green Mist, and that things went bad once they did. In the movie Bern also gives Caspian and Edmund his sword. Also in the movie, Gael and Rhince come aboard in search of their mother/wife. That subplot seems to be replacing the Trumpkin one.

In the leaked script, Aslan talks to Lucy at Coriakin's house. In the movie he talks to her on the Dawn Treader.

In the leaked script, Coriakin reveals that the "lost souls" are being taken to the Underworld and are being held captive by the Lady of the Green Kirtle, who plans to use the prisoners to raise an army in order to rise through the the surface and overthrow Narnia. Coriakin advices them to follow the blue star. In the movie Coriakin reveals the source of the Mist to be Dark Island and that the only way to stop the Dark Island is to bring the Seven Swords at Aslan's table. He tells them to follow the blue star.

In the leaked script Caspian has dreams of Lilliandil (only reffered to as "star girl" in the leaked script). When Edmund tells Lucy that Edmund has dreams about a girl, Lucy thinks that Caspian was reffering to her (as she has a crush on Caspian in the leaked script). In the movie, Caspian does not dream of Lilliandil.

In the leaked script Eustace reveals himself by showing his tattered, bloody, clothing and pointing to himself. In the movie he breaths fire that says "I AM EUSTACE".

In the leaked script, the Dark Island is just another island. While passing through Dark Island, the image of Lilliandil appears on a nearby rock. Obsessed with her, Caspian tries to steer the ship toward Lilliandil while the crew tries to stop him knowing she's not really there and that Caspian could destroy the ship if he runs into the rocks. I never found out how they got out of that situation because the remaining pages of that part of the script are nowhere to be found. In the movie The Dark Island is the central antagonist. Caspian sees images of his father telling him he's dissapointed in him. Edmund is haunted by the White Witch and the Sea Serpant attacks.

In the leaked script a sea girl gets caught in a fishing net and brought aboard. (I presume she was released back in as she's never mentioned again). Also in the script the crew sees Sea People watching the ship. The sea people ride sea horse like creatures. I don't know their role in the script as the last third of it is missing but I presume they were enchanted by the Lady of the Green Kirtle since concept art shows them gaurding her castle. In the movie Lucy sees water nymphs who wave to her and try to warn her of danger.

In the leaked script, Lucy throws the Beauty Spell page into the water and has a brief conversation with Eustace afterword. In the movie she throws it into the fire.

In the leaked script Lilliandil has the crew put Lord Roop to sleep so he can ease his mind. She also tells Caspian that to stop the enchanted sleep, one of the crew must go to Aslan's Country. She gives them the Knife that killed Aslan and says that if used with the right intentions it will bring good luck for the battle to come (presumably the battle with the Lady of the Green Kirtle). Edmund does not obsess over her the way Caspian does. In the movie the crew hasnt even rescued Lord Roop. Lilliandil tells them to go to Dark Island to get the seventh sword. She says the enchantement will be broken by placing the swords at Aslan's table. Also, in the movie Edmund seems to have an attraction to Lilliandil as well as Caspian.

Thats all of the comparisons I can make since I never got to see how the leaked script ended. But juding from the direction of the script and judging from concept art I saw here is how I think it ended.

The crew ends up getting into an underwater battle with the Sea People (who are enchanted by the Lady of the Green Kirlte). They end up defeating them. Not willing to give up, the Lady of the Green Kirtle sends a giant Sea Serpent to attack the crew. Dragon Eustace and the crew battles the Sea Serpant and kill it. After the battle, Aslan arrives and heals Eustace and then undragons him. The "Lost Souls" are freed (eitehr from the belly of the serpant, or the prisons's of the Witch's castle). However, the Lady of the Green Kirtle escapes and swears vengance upon Caspian and Lilliandil for thwarting her plans (setting her up for the Silver Chair). The crew then sails to the end of the world. I believe we actually see the wave of water open up and reveal the beautiful Aslan's Country, as I saw concept art showing this. Aslan walks out of his country and the wall of water closes behind him. The script would probably end the same way the movie did.

Overall I think both the leaked script and the final movie had their ups and downs. I think the plot with the Lady of the Green Kirtle makes more sense then the Green Mist/Seven Swords plot. I also like the development of Caspian and Lilliandil's relationship, the role of Lord Bern (which is more faithful to the book), the better development of Caspian wanting to live up to his father and wondering if he's in Aslan's Country, the fact that the sea people are present, and the fact that Aslan seems to be held more important.

What I don't like in the script that I am glad the movie took out is Lucy's attraction to Caspian, Trumpkin's presence (It would hurt the Silver Chair movie since one of the signs is that Eustace would see an old friend from Narnia), the constant tension between teh Narnians and the Telmarines (it's realistic but I found there was too much bickering and no real friendship), and that it's often cheerless.

Overall I think the leaked script would have been more epic, more in continuity with the first two films, and would have had a more clear plot. But I feel the movie does a better job at making the Dawn Treader it's own story that retains the overall spirit of the novel.

One thing I do think both versions of Dawn Treader have is the tone. I found that the leaked script was a bit too dark (for this entry in the series at least) and that movie was a bit too light (the audience is getting older not younger). The leaked script actually had a few moments that creeped me out, and the characters were always in a state of tension. The new movie however has the characters either completly happy or briefly troubled by the Green Mist. I think the Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie's tone should have been somewher inbetwen the leaked script and the final version.

[Trufflehunter]

I did not know all that stuff about the leaked script! Wow! I'm definitely glad the serpent-cave entrance thing and the LGK were excluded from the final film! Her plotline may have made more sense than the Dark Island and it's Green Mist, but I think the final film was still much more true to the book than the Leaked Script version would have been.

[icarus]

Despite all the reassurances from the production about how the final movie would be nothing like the Leaked Script, i have to say that at the end of the day it was very similar in many regards.

Certain key parts may have changed, but the essence of many scenes remains exactly the same ("Souls fed to Cave" becomes "Souls fed to Mist", big deal) and some are just severely cut down versions of the leaked script (Uncle Harold, The Bell Tower, etc) which to be honest would of benefited if they had actually retained the greater level of detail found in that version. For example, the concept of following a Blue Star was featured as a prominent central driver to the narrative in the Leaked Script and actually made a degree of sense - in the final movie it featured briefly but seemed largely irrelevant.

I'm glad they got rid of all the LOTGK nonsense and several other things i wasn't a fan of, but to be honest i would generally of preferred that they kept the properly developed plotlines featured in that script, rather than the cut-down non-nonsensical versions we ended up with. I can't remember who said it, or what topic it was on, but someone on here said that the final movie was basically just a "more vague version of the Leaked Script" - whoever you were, you were spot on.

____

Anyway, a couple of extra bits and pieces i'm not sure you covered -

- Rhince seems to be a proper member of the crew in the Leaked Script and not a random Lone Islander as he is in the movie. And of course Gael is nowhere to be found - though in place of that plotline we have the comparable search of Trumpkin for his Lost Wife or something like that.

- Pittencream appears as a substantial character, rescuing Lucy from a moment of "Mild Peril" early on when the kids get endangered by the ship's rudder after arriving in Narnia, and he also appears briefly before Eustace steals the Orange which leads to the Sword fight.

- Coriakin's Island appears in its correct position nearer to the end of the story, as Eustace is already a dragon by this point, and it references a fewer number of Lords having passed through than it did in the movie.

[Valiant]

Yes, I feel the leaked script would have been more epic, and thus probably recieved better by the general audience. Don't throw rotten tomatoes at me, but I think the LotGK would have made more sense tha the green miist (though I would have prefered that neither of them were included.)
I also very much like that most of it seems more developped than the final VDT movie.

However I hate the Lucy/Caspian plot! As well, the final film does seem closer to the book than the leaked script version.

In general, although I agree with icarus, that they are very similar (despite reassurances from production that they would not be.. )I also agree with Josh, that the tone sets them apart. The final film is much more lighthearted than the leaked script version.

[Lirenel]

You know, a better movie would have merged the two a little. The green mist is slightly better than the soul-sucking cave, but I think they should have at least alluded to the LOTK being behind the mist (though not having the crew confront her directly...have her behind the scenes). I found the green mist plot made little sense because there was no underlying reason for it and, as much as I cringed at first thinking about the LOTK being the VODT, it would have been more coherent.

I also think they should have started following the blue star earlier and have Caspian at least dream of Lilliandil, to expand on that relationship and actually have a reason for the blue star. I thought in the movie that they could have completely removed the blue star and Lilliandil and it still would have made sense. But no Lucy pining over Caspian.

I also would have preferred rebel!Bern instead of crazyoldman!Bern. And maybe an explansion of the slave plot, because did they even name Gumpas/Pug in the movie? Or explain why he sold Lucy and Eustace but not Edmund and Caspian, who would have probably gotten him more money on the market? There just needed to be...more.

[DamselJillPole]

I wouls have rather seen the leaked script with the Caspian and Lilliandil parts!

[coracle]

I found that the leaked script was a bit too dark (for this entry in the series at least) and that movie was a bit too light (the audience is getting older not younger).

Not forgetting that the "leaked script" was a proposal that had not even been to the producers before some unwise person posted it on their hackable website, and was never approved.

Josh, let me correct your idea that "the audience is getting older".
It is not getting older. The Narnia stories are not like HP which starts with 11-year olds and gradually moves into seriously dark and nasty young adult stuff.
They remain stories for children. Some of the material will be better understood by older children, but they were never being written for 14-15 year old boys who like violence and darkness.
The audience is not getting older, because the producers want PG family-suitable films. So little brothers and sisters who were a little young for LWW originally will have seen it on DVD, and can enjoy this one too. And so on.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Except The Last Battle, that one's for older children.

[MinotaurforAslan]

Wow, Josh, you made the leaked script sound...pretty good. It's making me wish that they had gone whole hog one the changes they made to VDT instead of going halfway and leaving us with wimpy plotlines.

Although I think the green mist contributed to making the film more "Christian" and therefore more liked by Narnia/Christian scholars and reviewers, having LotGK be the villain ultimately would have made more sense.

[Bookwyrm]

Oy vey. I can't believe it, but laid out like that, the leaked script looks much, much better in comparison. I think I might be ill. Where's a fainting couch when you need one?

[aslanscountry]

let's hope some of these have been filmed anyway, just ending up in the cutting floor, so we can still see them in the DVD deleted scenes!

[spartan5]

The leaked script has always been an interesting document...lots of changes from the book worth debating. That script was further along in development than the production ever let on. The copy I saw had a watermark with the name of a casting director, to use the script during auditions...they don't often audition major roles using scenes that won't see the light of day.

I always suspected elements from that draft would make the final cut, so to speak. At that point in the production (May/June 2008) a lot of time and money had already been invested in VDT - and after PC disappointed, no one was too enthusiastic about spending more money to start the production over from scratch. Kind of like working on a major school project for months, only to have the directions change close to the due date. Sure, you make changes, but a lot of what's done doesn't change.

But how much would carry over? The above comparisons are awesome to read! I never thought that leaked script was THAT bad. The worst part about it was that the whole thing didn't leak - only about a third - so it was hard to place things in context.

[Eustace]

Wow! I never even got to read past two pages of the leaked script, it sounds much better than the movie excluding a couple of scenes like Luscian and the soul eating cave with LOTGK. But in general more people might have like this film opposed to what they did make.

[lysander]

Parts of the leaked script are super ridiculous, but it's clear that it's actually better developed and has stronger internal logic than the final result. Wowsers. And there are even some book!parts that didn't make it into the film, such as this, which I really missed:

In the leaked script Lilliandil has the crew put Lord Roop to sleep so he can ease his mind. She also tells Caspian that to stop the enchanted sleep, one of the crew must go to Aslan's Country

*joins Booky on the fainting couch*

[Timo]

Like most people already said; a mix of the 2 would have been the best.. But I don't know if that would've worked out.
If I have to choose, the movie version is my fav

[emijoy]

Wow! The leaked script does sound better in comparson with the actual movie, except for the Luspian romance. I thought the seven swords/green mist plot was just lame(causing the rest of the movie to be so watered down) and was disapointed by how they seemed to rush through the lone islands and the underdevelopment of the Caspiandil romance.