Better Than You Remember - Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
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- čas přidán 21. 12. 2020
- 15 years ago, a modern retelling of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe swept the big screen. This video essay explores why and how the film holds up.
- Krátké a kreslené filmy
It seems the algorithm has picked this video up again. So if you’re reading this, thanks so much for stopping by and choosing to watch my video! I really appreciate it, and you just being here supports the channel greatly!
what this
Great production quality! Looking forward to your future videos!
You’re editing and writing is criminally underrated man.. I just subscribed
@@BrodyxBrown thanks! Appreciate that, means a lot :)
and that is why Narnia is my favorite movie.
Completely agree, this film is filled with so many fantastic moments (the sound dropping before the battle, opening air raid sequence, the terror of the sacrifice). One of the most well crafted fantasy films ever made! Legit, the ending line gave me shivers. Great Job!
So well said! Thanks, appreciate the comment
I grew up with this and its sequels during my pre teens and I think they're incredibly underrated as adaptations. While Narnian fans tend to prefer the BBC adaptation for accuracy and nostalgia, these movies were what captured Narnia's magic and stories for me (as well as what got me into the books not long after). It's just saddening that they never continued with the series, due to the underperformance of Caspian and Dawn Treader, and only now after just over 10 years is it getting more attention, thanks to CZcams film reactions and video essays like yours. That and as well as comparision over Aslan's CGI to the Lion King remake (ironically both made under Disney). Yours is the best critique on this movie by far (of which there aren't many critiques) and I hope you could do the next films at some point too! Great job and good luck with your channel!
I feel the same way! I actually grew up with both the modern films and the BBC films, but I never felt as emotionally attached to the BBC adaption (maybe a generational thing?). Anyhow thanks for the wonderful comment and support!
@@DavidBallin You're welcome btw, although I didn't see the BBC TV films until a few years ago - and only The Silver Chair did I really enjoy. Could definitely be generational (as I'm Gen Z), or rose tinted glasses from the fandom I guess.
@@cyberpunkedgerunner2644 Why did you comment on my thread and not make it a separate comment? Just wondering...
Tobey Maguire = childhood
Andrew Garfield = preteens
Tom Holland = teen/adulthood
@@enochduah3066 What's this got to do with Narnia though?
I rewatched all the Narnia films this year and realized that while I love the second for a lot of reasons, the first is literally my comfort movie 😭❤️
I agree! I haven't seen caspian in a while, but my memory of that film is really nice :)
I thought Caspian improved on source material; made the message of the book come through far more clear and tastefully.
how did you find them?!?!?
@@THStarlight Like, physically or how did I like them? Because I own physical copies of all of them but yes, I did love them still! The first one is an absolute comfort movie, the second differs from the source material but it's overall for the best and I love it! The third is a bit messier writing-wise and has a lower budget but I still hold it very dearly!
Its a feel good Christmas film, the visuals and my goodness the nostalgia. I remember rewatching it so many times. I never grow tired of it
As a child, before I watched Harry Potter, lord of the rings and any other fantasy film I would always watch Narnia and I never get tired of it. Narnia will forever be my first ever fantasy film I first watched. Glad it made my childhood great and awesome 🤩.
Same here, i was about Lucy's age when i firts saw narnia, and had the same reaction to the wardrobe cene, Plus it was the moment were o enterd the wolrd of fantasy books and movies in general, currenrly reading lotr , im thankfull to narnia for that
I prefer LOTR and HP but I do love Narnia
Sensory and storytelling splendor aside, I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me as a Christian to see a story with strong biblical allegory told in this way. C.S.Lewis is arguably the master of sharing the Christian message in a way that is both undiluted and approachable to non-Christians, and it's something of a miracle that a film adaptation preserved that. Prince of Egypt also deserves such honors!
Narnia is one of the most underrated movies of all time, and I love it - it's my favorite movie.
Great video. Greetings from Uruguay!
Amazing! I agree. Thanks for the comment and support, much appreciated :)
Ahh good 2000’s
Pinnacle of fantasy cinema
Pan’s labyrinth
Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy
Lotr
Narnia
Harry potter
Not to mention lesser movies like the golden compass or star wars episodes 1_3
Now super hero movies are all we have :(
True! Was such a great time for fantasy cinema. Thanks for the comment, appreciate that :)
Don't forget The Secret of Kells, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Bridge to Terabithia, Spirited Away and Enchanted.
People may not notice how powerful this trilogy is, especially those who are into mainstream fantasy movies.
edit: I got chills 0:41
I love how innocent and pure this movie was, the theme was powerful; because of it, I despise those hateful critiques and parodies of this movie.
It’s a trilogy with many beautiful moments! Thanks for the comment, so glad you enjoyed the video :)
The problem or perhaps the unique quality about Narnia is that its protagonist changes throughout the series. The sequence of the stories particularly, "The Horse and His Boy" and "The Magician's Nephew" makes the adaptation of the whole series into film some what difficult? It would be interesting to see how Netflix (or whoever) tackles the time jump (prequel/sequel situation) to create a coherent series.
I loved these books and movies as a kid (and still do), but I never considered the technical aspects like what you described in the video. Looking back, I think the subtlety you described is part of what made the movies seem as magical as the books. No one watched them and said "that's great CGI"; we just said "that's beautiful!" It was all so seamless, we thought, for just a moment, it was real.
Good job explaining it all.
Thank you! I’ve had these thoughts for so long, so it was great to get them out in a video.
This film’s soundtrack is criminally underrated, I’m not a soundtrack person, but even as a kid this music resonated with me in a way instrumentals never have before.
I have been a huge fan of C.S Lewis’ books, I grew up reading the Narnia series.
I have only seen the first movie, But I know for in my heart that Lewis would have loved this movie.
I saw this in the cinema as a little boy and was obsessed for months. I can barley listen to the score bcs the nostalgia is so overwhelming. This film truly has a special place in my heart.
Great to see this amazing movie getting the recognition it deserves
This was actually one of the clearest memories of my childhood.
I was 8 at the time yet the magic I felt and the memories I have from this movie was an unexplainable feeling. I watched lord of the rings and harry potter a lot with my cousins as well but I was just too young to remember most of the details.
I recently rewatched this movie a while ago for the first time in 17 years and I couldn't believe how much I still remember.
It just means so much to me. I know I'm biased but this is my most favorite movie of all time no matter what the critics or reviews say. Because it just contains so much feelings and memories from my childhood. I choose childhood memories above all else.
Even CinemaSins wasn't able to point out many real problems with the film. It can certainly be cited as an example of a near-perfect movie.
love this movie to death, was in 5th grade when it came to theatre and my class did a novel study for it, and we walked over to the local theathre for a morning viewing. the opening scene was so impactful and the movie was such an epic roller coaster for a 10 year old. i still can't believe a movie like it was made back then and how far movies today have fallen.
This movie was my childhood, I watched it so many times my parents got sick of it lol........ I love it so much😭😭😭❤❤❤ It had so much magic and the ost is INCREDIBLE....... Lucy and Tumnus' friendship was my favorite part 🥺🥺🥺 gahhhh now I wanna rewatch it.... the other two were okay, but they were nowhere near as good as the first one. ❤
I feel that!
It’s easily my favorite book adaptation because for the first time I loved it more than the books 🥺🤍
David this is such a great review. Your narration and script is so engaging ❤️ I wanna watch this movie again now! Hahah
Ahh thanks Izzy much love ❤️
hey, Ive been going through the narnia books lately and watching this made me so happy. This has been one of my favorite video essays I've watched in awhile. Great work
Aww that's so nice to hear! Thanks Ryan, means a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
You are honestly so underrated!!
Thanks man, appreciate that
It makes me so sad that they stopped after 3...I wanted to see the rest :(
Same here! Hopefully the Netflix adaptation shows us everything
This first movie was really good. It's a shame that the next two movies were not as good, deviating heavily from the source material is what killed them.
I would highly recommend the Narnia TV series especially 'The Silver Chair' with Tom Baker (The 4th Doctor) as Puddleglum.
Agree on the 3rd film but I thought most people agreed the 2nd deviating from the book was actually a good thing? From what I've seen quite a few people don't think that book is all that great
Upon a recent re-watch with some friends I remember how much this movie means to me, I was 4 only a month from turning 5 when I saw this movie when it released in theaters, it's been at the back of my mind ever since then as it was the first movie I can remember watching, and I remember how much I was crying after Aslan was killed at the Stone Table Scene and the joy seeing him come back. My mother says she can't watch that scene even today it's that intense.
When Aslan in this is more expressive than the entire lion king remake
This is fantastic work David! Your narration is clear and well spoken and your editing skills are flawless! This really highlights the key points to be made about Narnia! I might just have to go back and watch it....
Yay! Thanks so much
I remember I couldn't finish the book. and then I couldn't remember the story in first movie either because it's been 14 years I guess. I decided to watch it on Disney yesterday and ended up watched all 3 movies in a day. it was very meaningful story. the ending song was touching and make me cried.
I love Andrew Adamson for his work, he did the first 2 shrieks and the first two Narnia Movies and with a track record like that. This Video explains why the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is my favorite movie of all time
This 8:19 minutes long video was worth watching 🥰 Thanks for the upload 😊
I never read the books when I was younger but I’ve seen all the movies and this movie is the best one in my opinion
I was gonna mention the music in the comments, until you did haha. Definitely in my top 5 film soundtracks!
Great video, I would love to see more video essays like this: short, interesting, well edited. But only if you have a strong motive to produce such a video.
Perhaps I'm biased because this movie is a big part of my childhood, but I'm sad to see this only has 6,9 on IMDb, I don't get the low rating
Thanks for the comment and support! I agree, the soundtrack is amazing. I don’t get the low rating as well, that’s why I made this video haha
Narration at its finest
I finished the book a couple weeks ago for the first time and rewatch the film on DVD today. I love the book a lot, but the movie is truly spectacular.
I finished the Prince Caspian book and starting Voyage soon. I love the world of Narina.
This has been my favorite movie since the moment I’ve watched it so yes… it’s Still better than I remember XD
Glad you think so!
I'm going to rewatch this when I get home! I love this movie, and Prince Caspian! The battle scenes are some of my favorite action scenes of all time, bar none. These movies are what really ignited my love for fantasy, which burns strong to this day
That’s so wonderful to hear! Thanks for stopping by and watching the video
Thank u for this video. You touched all the points that I love about this film. I can't belive there are people who think this isn't good enough.
Thank you for the lovely comment! Appreciate that
I know a lot of people like the first film the most, which was amazing obviously, but personally, there is just something about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader that I love so much
That’s totally valid!
I always felt like the only person who liked that movie
this is now my favorite video on a CZcams.
What!! Haha thank you, means so much :)
I’m quite sure they told the professor about their adventures in Narnia and he simply smiled and said, “now I have a story for you.”
One of my favorite stories as a girl. I watched all three movies in theaters but none impacted me as much as the first. It opened me up to fantasy more than before. As an adult I can notice how **perfect** the cinematography, animation and score was. I’ll admire the children themselves can be boring at times but every other aspect of the film balanced it out.
Im so thankfull for narnia series, bc it was my first fantasy film ever, i was about lucys age, and had her reaction when she entered the wardrobe, and after watching these series my older brother saw i liked the type and showed me lord of the rings and harry potter, and that was one of my scapism places ever since, thanks narnia, for opening the door for me.❤
Also i cant belive this movie is almost 20 years old and looks as good as percy jackson on netflix
If they bring this back, I hope they make into a full length series with seven seasons to capture the epicness of all seven books, including “The Magician’s Nephew”. I hope they don’t have it be low production, it needs to have a high budget project with the best people and storytellers to tell it.
Thanks for the review. This was a great film from my teenage years.
Amazing! This brought a huge smile to my face well done 👏🏽
I'm glad to hear that, thank you!
This is an amazing video!!! Keep up the wonderful work!
Thank you! I really appreciate that
This was what got me into Medieval fantasy originally. I had never seen a Army of two sides clash together after a charge in a open field. As a kid it really left me in awe. From then on I was obsessed with large sword warfare and fantasy open world games etc. Love this movie. Was a very important thing For me that molded into what I love today.
Are you going to review the two sequels for the upcoming Netflix adaptation? Cause I'm looking forward to it if you do. The Narnia movies were my Harry Potter and LOTR fantasy movies. Growing up being raised in a very conservative household.
I'm currently working on a non-Narnia video. But afterwards I wouldn't say no to revisiting the sequels and creating some arguments on those!
The music reminds me of home.
This movie prepared me. I thank God.
This is such a great video! Please make more!
Thank you!
that "father Christmas" motif sounds like christmas music.
My favorite fantasy film for sure! It's pure magic! Thanks a lot for your review.
My literature book had a short part of the Voyage of Dawn Treader and it made me know about the series...
I absolutley love this movie and it's sequels!!!
I love the 2005 film adaption of The Chronicles of Narnia and I also say it's way better than the BBC television series in my Opinion!😃
Yes! One of my favourite series.
It was an amazing performance from Georgia Henley as Lucy. It's not common to see such a good performance from a child actor
Amazing video!
This review by itself is absolutely amazing. Definitely Sub-ing for more
Thank you! Hope to be making more sometime soon
Best video of Narnia out there
Excellent video!!
Very nice narrating David ❤️
Loving this!
Great review!
Imagine this movie in 2022 it would be amazing 🥰
why hasn't there been a Kingdom Hearts set in Narnia?
My only real critique with the movie of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is that C. S. Lewis wanted Disney to have nothing to do with the series. By the time that the book was published, Disney Animation already had the reputation of changing the meanings of their book based works.
That's an interesting piece of info I wasn't aware of! I guess we're really lucky that it actually turned out to be one of Disney's best film adaptions ever.
Walden Media had already worked with The Lion, The With and The Wardrobe and retained much of the adaptation rights. This is, of course referencing the series published by the BBC. When the BBC sold the publishing rights, the movie was getting near completion. At the time that the movie was published, the only thing that Disney owned was the publication rights. @@DavidBallin
Part of the classics!!!
2005 Was the year this movie. I got the cool box set dvd where the case was the wardrobe I loved this movie when I was young. I am 19 now and everytime I watch this movie it remind me why I feel in love with Harry Potter lord of the rings and this beloved movie of mine.
The wolves scared the shit out of me. But I will always love this movie.
Hellow I bought narnia book 2 before 1 week. I hope to start read it tomorrow
I hope you enjoy it!
Love this movie but in particular my favorite is Prince Caspian. Love Both
what I got from this video is that Tilda Swinton is hot
🔥🔥
I remember just watching the originals but loving the remake.
Well said.
Thank you!
I really liked the film. Easily the best of the Films and I adore the World of Narnia.
I love how they can use CGI in a movie like this!
Love from India
Please make a video essay about the second movie!
It’s on its way! 👀
This was my favorite book until I read Watership Down at age 12
This is such a good video critique, makes me want to watch the film again! Also your editing is pretty awesome, which software did you use to edit?
Thanks, I’m glad to hear it! I used DaVinci Resolved to edit this video :)
@@DavidBallin thanks for replying, and looking forward to more videos from you!
I agree!
Could you do the other narnia movies as well. Please I would love to see what you think.
i wish they had more then 3 movies
Aslan has personality and expression which is what was missing with the animals, especially the lions, 14 years later in The Lion King remake. Walt Disney understood even when making Bambi back in 1942 that the backgrounds don’t have to look real but they have to feel real. His studio and company used to understand this. Now, all they care about is making it look as photorealistic as possible, but they lost the heart, soul, personality, character, and expression of the characters and even the world building in the pointless live-action remakes.
I still love the bbc version as well
And Netflix was adapted the franchise of all books. I hope they will do like a requel(mix with original actors/actresses, or atleast cameos) prequel, and sequel. I was hoping at least they used the first 3 movies and do a scenes like what happens in Narnia when the 4 siblings accidentally left way back to wardrobe before Prince Caspian. You know. I hope Netflix won't ruin the CGI, Aslan, atmospheres, and fans tastes.
I love narnia movies
This movie aged better than Harry Potter and the Pilosopher's Stone
Do one on Narnia but the one 1980 BBC ONE
I really hope we get more movies soon I don’t wanna see you reboot just adapt the rest of the books and make them go to theaters not streaming
Would have been awesome to see that happen. However, I don’t think the studios have further plans for these movies. I’m just hoping the Netflix adaptation is actually good
I really hope Netflix's show starts from the Magician's Nephew, and covers all 7 books
Same! Hoping Netflix gives it the love it deserves
I read da book
Gainggg le film je l'ai saigner dans mn enfance ❤️❤️
Merci, même !!
This...1000%
I know I’m in the minority on this,
but in my opinion I find this to be one of those rare book adaptations where the movie is better.
Actually I would agree to disagree with you on this one because with this what they should've done is that I kinda think that they done it in the same vain as the hobbit trilogy with the ambiance of the epic score and the direction of the adaption of the story based on the direction of the style of it like other fantasy like say warcraft and also the hobbit alongside with the huntsman movies but with the pacing I would disagree with you on that also if you did your math or as you guys call it across the pond maths the run time should've been more like 3 or 4 hours because you got with most of these fantasy movies they can drag on for a long time you know like the lord of the rings or even the hobbit movies
The first Narnia was good but what came later......
As a Narnia fan, I was disappointed with this adaption. I’m hoping Netflix can do the Narnia world justice.
it was a decent adaptation... but I still prefer the low budget charm of the BBC series from the 80s lol