How Greta Gerwig's Chronicles Of Narnia Reboot Can Avoid The Disney Movies' Biggest Mistake
Summary
- Chronicles of Narnia reboot can’t mimic Lord of the Rings to succeed in the fantasy genre.
- Avoid turning Narnia into a war epic like LOTR – focus on the folktale story’s cozy aesthetic.
- Disney’s Narnia films made mistakes similar to The Hobbit – need to embrace essence of source material.
Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia reboot for Netflix is in early development, and there’s one significant mistake from the 2000s Disney movies they should avoid. Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig is set to direct two Narnia movies for the streaming service, but it won’t be the first time C.S. Lewis’s beloved fantasy series is adapted to the screen. Between 2005 and 2010, the first three books were adapted into feature films by Disney, featuring an all-star cast, including Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson, James McAvoy, and more. While they’re beloved classics for some, they arguably weren’t the best interpretation of the books.
The 2000s Chronicles of Narnia movies came in a wave of fantasy adaptations following the box office success of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and the early Harry Potter movies. It’s often the case in Hollywood that when one project succeeds, studios will attempt to emulate its success with movies of a similar premise. The same happened following HBO’s Game of Thrones, with various streaming services attempting their high-budget fantasy series. Greta Gerwig is an exciting choice for Narnia, but the film has to avoid falling into certain traps that often damage fantasy adaptations.
Chronicles Of Narnia Can’t Try To Be Lord Of The Rings
The Chronicles of Narnia Story Isn’t A War Epic Like LOTR
The films of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy are considered some of the best fantasy movies of all time, and their success resulted in a wave of fantasy adaptations. Many of these adaptations attempted to mimic elements that made those movies so commercially popular, including enormous battle sequences and constant, riveting action. These battles aren’t vividly described in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, but they still complement the narrative of the series, as it’s centered around a war allegory.
fantasy projects almost always do better when they embrace their source material
2005’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ends with a massive war sequence, which is drawn from a few pages from C.S. Lewis’s first Narnia book. However, Narnia isn’t a fantasy war epic like The Lord of the Rings; it’s more of a folktale story with a calmer, cozier aesthetic. The Disney movies added several action sequences that weren’t from the books, and while it makes sense for mainstream appeal, fantasy projects almost always do better when they embrace their source material. These stories have proven to be effective.
Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles Of Narnia Movies Should Repeat One Casting Trick That Actually Improved The Book Story
With Greta Gerwig’s Netflix Chronicles of Narnia movies underway, one casting trick from the 2000s Disney renditions could be necessary.
Disney’s Chronicles Of Narnia Movies Made The Same Mistakes As The Hobbit
The Hobbit And Narnia Are Both Folktale Books Meant For Younger Audiences
The Disney Chronicles of Narnia movies made very similar mistakes to The Hobbit trilogy, though the latter was even more egregious. In hopes of maximizing The Lord of the Rings’s success, studios vied for The Hobbit to be made into a trilogy, transforming a child-friendly adventure tale into an epic packed with filler. Fantasy adaptations don’t need to be 100% accurate to their source material, but they need to embrace the essence of what made them appealing to begin with. Hopefully, Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia will do just that.
