"Do not site the Deep Magic to me witch. I was there when it was written." This line is so cold, and it gets me every time. Chronicles of Narnia is so underrated as both a book and movie series. CS Lewis was a great writer.
I work in casinos. We had a young pup of a dice dealer, almost fresh out of school, who tried to correct one of the old farts about a procedure or something. Old fart says, “Kid, I’ve been on break longer than you’ve been alive.” I think the kid is still smoldering wherever he is.
Fun fact: lucy's reaction to seeing narnia for the first time was genuine, the director chose to film the actresses first time seeing the set and used it for the film
8:05 I relate to this so much. I once was in the hospital for a week then had to take two months off of work to recover. I came back, nobody even asked like “where were you” “are you okay” 😅😢 i was relieved they didn’t ask questions but also… yeah
Also, I love how Edmund has the best arc throughout these movies. He went from not believing Lucy to being the first one to stand by her side when she sees something. He was caught up with the White Queen and being disloyal to being one of the most loyal people in the future films. And his trauma from the White Queen still haunts this poor kid. And Skander’s (the actor) performance was chef’s kiss to me.
I love Edmund's arc. He says in The Horse and His Boy, "A traitor can mend. I know one who did." People who only know the story of the first book/movie do him dirty.
I 100% agree. Deeply broken people who find healing often experience the deepest life change. Susan is my big sad because I loved her character in the early books. But even though she was older when she first encountered Narnia and spent just as much time ruling there as the others, she got distracted and let herself believe it was all a childish game. She’s a great demonstration of “seeing is not always believing”
If you guys didnt know it’s a Christian movie. Aslan is Jesus and the witch is Satan. This is why they’re called Adam’s sons and Eva’s daughters. It’s basically a short version of the Bible 💖💖
@ i knew that. Didn’t feel I needed to explain that in my post. Sorry. But do appreciate he was able to incorporate humanity with the Christian themes and I feel the books and films did it in a way where they weren’t pandering to the audience. I noticed non-Christians love these books and films. It didn’t alienate anyone, in my opinion.
@@carrielafflin7163 It is a bummer about Susan since as the oldest girl who had to take care of her siblings there's probably a lot of character development to be had there. And that's not even getting into how the series ends.
Fun fact. The ending is meant to symbolize the shock of returning from war. The children are thrown back into this world after years in Narnia - just as soldiers are thrown back into society after years in war conditions. The reader is meant to think about what it must have been like to go back to being children.
The first two books in the series are kinda crazy and nothing like the rest. Starts with interdimensional puddles in the space between worlds, then dips into magic rings and the birth and deaths of worlds. You see Narnia's creation and the whole thing is just insane levels or world building creation myth.
@@Orthien That's why my parents insisted on a different reading order than the "chronological" one. They prefer the publishing order so readers can see how the worldbuilding grows with Lewis's writing. I'll put both orders below. Chronological order: Magician's Nephew; Lion Witch Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy (though technically to be TRULY chronological you'd stop LWW when the kids are grown, read this, and then go back to LWW); Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle Publishing order: Lion Witch Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew; The Last Battle
Character ages vs actor ages: Peter, 13, played by a 17 year old. Susan, 12, played by a 16 year old. Edmund, 10, played by a 13 year old. Lucy, 8, played by a 10 year old.
Funny thing is, in the last book Susan actually attributes Narnia to her imagination during war, and goes away. So the way she's portrayed in the movie as this "I'm a big girl and you should shut up" older sister to Lucy in the beginning, it makes a lotta sense.
The ending is SO depressing. They'd have to send me to the mad house, because I'd be devastated to go from magical royalty back to war-torn land of rain and vitamin D deficiency.
THIS!! I watched this as a kid and once i rewatched it as a teenager i was BAFFLED at how depressingly fucked up that ending actually is. I, as a viewer, wasnt able to just wrap my head around the fact that they lived there like kings and queens for 20 freaking years AND THEN CAME BACK AS KIDS. Cannot fathom how are they like “oops guess we are back🤪” after falling from a wardrobe 20 years back in time in another universe. I actually did some research and it was like the longer they stayed in narnia the more they forgot about their old lives. So the lamp in the woods is merely familiar as they no longer even remember their past. The same way, after they came back from narnia for the last time, they gradually lost their memories from all of their time in there. Thats 20+ years worth of LIFE forgotten!!!! Its absolutely crazy and utterly depressing how this all ended them living and growing old in england like nothing ever happened. I think like only susan remembers? But im not sure dont quote me on that. Shes also the only one who doesnt go to afterlife in narnia after her death. The whole ending to this story has me fucked up for years now.
the ending is a whole metaphor for war and how it forces kids to grow up--the kids do all this fantasy magical war stuff, and after all that grow and mature into adults who've all but forgotten where they come from, but you're forced to remember that they are still kids in wartime. the books nails it in better, but the movies don't do such a good job, especially the sequels that lean further into the fantasy. Its mostly about the kids who are old enough to go but don't return the same, if at all.
I think it's meant to represent soilders, How they go trough so much in warzones and when they're back, they're expected to keep living as if nothing happened
Fun fact: the lil girl who plays Lucy hadnt seen the snowy set yet. Her reaction when she first saw Narnia was genuine, as she was happily surprised to see the set.
I loved this franchise, it's so slept on, and barely brought up in discussion about classic adventure franchises. Aslan dying always drove me to tears, despite it being temporary.
sadly, the third movie bored the shit out of me i can't even remember it or if it was even good, maybe i didnt like it because it didnt have th OG characters if i remember correctly, which i don't because like i said i found it boring, first two were pretty sick
I think it's been slept on because it never got a full adaptation unlike something like Harry Potter. It definitely had the potential become mainstream.
9:20 Okay, here's the thing. Edmund has been living on rations in a family of 5 since the start of the war. He hasnt tasted sugar or chocolate, or anything remotely delicious in a LONG time... and Turkish delights are PURE SUGAR. Of course he went mad for it. We all would have when we were his age!!! I mean seriously, look at some of the wartime recipes in England. It got pretty grim here 😅
As a scholar of the second world war, I agree. As a kid, I simply thought it was a child’s obsession with candy. But the wartime rationing gives it a whole Nother depth to the scene.
“Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” -CS Lewis On Three Ways of Writing for Children One of my favorite book series as a kid, now my kids enjoy them too. Thanks for reviewing!
I love it, because Lewis had a legit reason to work in Santa Claus into the story. Meanwhile, in LOTR, Tom Bombadil is an all-powerful immortal being possibly older than time itself, and he's just _there_ and can't be bothered at all to help the mortals of the realm with the evil ring that he's completely immune to.
I love that the actor for Santa, James Cosmos, went on to do Game of Thrones and he played Jeor Mormont. Lord Commander of the Nights Watch. And in it he takes a sleigh into the frozen north. Doesn't end the same way but its still funny
Tilda Swinton was perfectly chilling as the White Witch. We're constantly told that light and beauty equal goodness, but she subverted expectations with her effectively understated performance, even when it becomes apparent that she's manipulating Edmund.
I liked how they made her taller than usual as I believe she was around seven feet in the books. And yea, her beauty is radiant yet her eyes says it all.
Going into the film having read all the books, she was the stuff of nightmares. She gave a performance that was waaaaay scarier than my child brain was capable of imagining the character to be 😂😂😂
Enormous love to the beautiful friend who played their mom in those opening scenes. She lost her battle with cancer last week, and there is both joy and sadness in seeing this video come out today.
This was my SHIT as a kid. I had a framed Narnia painting and no one could tell me SHIT. I bought analyztion books and I had all versions of it. The book series, the old bbc series on vhs, the animated version, and these early 2000s version. You could not pry Narnia out of my cold dead hands if you tried. To this day I still love the series, it helped me through a rough time in my life where I had no one to rely on. I used to pretend to be Edmund or Caspian because they were my favorites.
Edmund and Caspian are my favorites as well! Edmund has one of the best written redemption arcs I’ve ever read, and Caspian has such an interesting arc of being thrust into a world he thought was myth and having to adapt. Adore Narnia.
The witch looks like that at the start of the war because 1. Her ice crown slowly melted off over the course of the movie as her power dwindled; thus the gold and 2. She's Wearing Aslan's Mane to assert dominance
@ethansolorzano5989 they do recall their time as rulers in the book bc they do a lot of reminiscing when they come back in Prince Caspian, but idt Lewis was truly aware of what kind of mental toll it would have for adults, who after living well past their formative years and growing into adults of their own agency and unique authority, suddenly regressing back to childhood, and in a place where they lost all of that. Or, if Lewis was aware, idt he was interested in exploring it in the series bc the themes would be too adult (I think he hinted at this aspect with Susan's story).
As I recall discussed marrying for political gain. They were the only humans in Narnia but not in that world. There was at least one other kingdom to the south (I believe) that was founded by pirates who came through a portal previously. The novel the horse and his boy is set there and focuses on their escape to Narnia. I believe Susan was potentially going to marry the prince of that kingdom but it's been decades since I read the books.
I recently found a copy of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and opening it up was an experience. My 10 year old sister had written *"White Witch Edition"* on the first page. The entire book was full with what I can only describe as "White Witch propaganda". She'd renamed every single chapter (I remember her naming the chapter where Aslan dies "My Favorite Chapter") and annotated half of the book. She called out inconsistencies in the plot, called the beavers "racists" because they thought only humans could rule, and beneath Father Christmas' infamous "Lucy you must not go, for battles are ugly when women fight" she'd written down "now I understand why the White Queen prohibited Christmas." Every time the witch herself appeared she commented something along the lines of "slay", and I remember her calling Edmund a "good boy". I think it's because she had previously read His Dark Materials (it shall make thy kids Satanists). Regardless, the "White Witch Edition" is the most hilarious annotated book I've ever read. Thanks sis.
The beavers would be speciesist, not racist. And it's stupid to call them that for thinking only humans can rule. That is literally what they were taught. It's not like they came to that conclusion on their own.
The interesting part about why only humans can rule is the reason behind it. It’s because it was humans who brought evil into Narnia in the first place, in the very beginning. So it is up to humans to save it as well because they have to make up for that. I love Narnia lore.
@@englishatheart Just wondering, did you overlook the part, where the sister, who made those annotations, is 10? I think it is ok for her to not know the difference between racism and speciesism. If you want to educate people, I am sure you don't need to be rude or resort to name-calling.
My sister is a high school English teacher. Every year she does a unit on Chronicles of Narnia. It's focused on "the hero's journey" for each of the Pevensie children. Her kids love it.
The few of the fist books were magical. But at least based on what I remember from reading them as a kid, the later ones unfortunately didn't really hold up.
I think the best real life story about the Chronicles of Narnia is that CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were huge friendly rivals in a group called the Inklings and they were always challenging each other to writing challenges. They both challenged each other to write a work of fiction set in their own worlds. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. Both of them agree the LOTR was superior but that the Chronicles of Narnia was the second best work of English fiction ever. Imagine being alive when this was happening.
Every time I hear about them two together, I keep repeating a famous line from ERB: "CS Lewis and I were both just discussing how you and John Snow both know nothing" 😂
@@pdxcorgidad Fun fact, while absolutely talented, Shakespear was considered incredibly low brow writing in his era. It was part of why he never really received acolades for his writing until after his death.
fun fact: the actress who plays their mum was my high school drama teacher and because she was in the movie we would watch it for fun and ended up doing a play version- I played mrs beaver lmao
Genuinely so sad that Walden disappeared, they made such good movies! But like yeah, imagine those kids didn’t grow up so fast we’d have had a whole series for alk the books. These three movies will always have a special place in my heart
You know whats crazy. I grew up watching and rewatching this movie. I just now realized. When the White Witch is riding into battle, she is literally wearing the tufts of fur cut off Aslan. I cant believe I never noticed that before. I just thought she was wearing some gaudy fur coat like had been mentioned in scenes prior.
I think its worth mentioning. The white witch is also canonically 7 feet tall in the books. Another thing that makes her even more terrifying On top of killing all life in her previous home world before she escaped into narnia when it was created.
4:45-ish. When they shot the scene when Lucy first finds Narina, they put a blindfold on her and carried her on set! So it would be a genuine reaction. 5:09 that was a genuine scream, she didn’t expect to see the actor all in makeup like that. lol, she actually said the actor’s name (sorry can’t remember his name). Also the frozen waterfall/ lake scene. I think they had a big pool and the actors on a floating platform. They had a dumpster size container filled with water that they released behind them. I think it, could have just been a weird dream that I remembered, but it honestly felt so real
@@kyonkyon9950 I really thought with the lore drop about the wardrobe that Alex was going to mention that the food the White Witch gave Edmond was magically compelling him to follow her orders.
So fun fact about the Narnia books, it's pretty well known that C.S. Lewis was best friends with J.R.R. Tolkien and both of them lived through the Great War (WW1) and WW2 and both of them worked their experiences from that into their books. In Lewis's case, he wrote about how soldiers were treated and reacted when they came home. You had young men that had just spent several months or even years in a warzone that were coming home and were expected to just go to work and live like normal men in spite of the hell on earth they had experienced. That's why time moves so much faster in Narnia and why when they return to the real world the kids go back to being children in the end.
ngl as a Jew, though it was clear the beginning of the book/movie was supposed to be sad cuz the children were being sent away for their safety, that one meme of Mariah Carey saying "that sucks"
Lewis served in WW1 and was part of the HomeGuard in WW2. He wove Christian theology throughout the Narnia series both intentionally and unintentionally at some points. There’s nothing about the symbolism being related to soldiers coming home from war.
I remember being so devastated when they went back through the wardrobe. I'm 28 now, and thinking about suddenly being dropped back into my like 10-year-old self/life is such a horrifying thought. Imagine everything and everyone you would lose 😩
Listen, I'm 32, and having my 10 y/o body back don't sound too bad. Sure, kids have no autonomy, but they can sleep folded like a pretzel and wake up completely fine. And the metabolism of a child, ugh, I miss it.
The casting, the music, these movies were so chef's kiss wonder and Disney did us dirty with never finishing the series. I sincerely hope we at least see the 4 original Pevensies make an appearance in the new Narnia series via plating the adult versions of themselves. I feel like this would give some closure and a nod to this first beautifully done round of the series
I watched this movie since I was a baby. During that time I lived in Alaska. I can still remember how snow days felt like I was stepping into Narnia; I almost expected Mr. Tumnus to appear from the woods! As a little kid, I'd play in our coat closets and clothes racks at Walmart like they were the wardrobe, and that I would step into Narnia. Seeing life through the lens of whimsy and adventure played a huge part of my childhood.
I Actualy live near the areas where some of the snowy scenes were filmed: Tisá and bohemian switzerland (google pravcicka brana x narnia). So every winter when theres alot of snow we like to ventrure into those forrests and it feels like litteraly walking in narnia, I loved doing this when I was a child, we watched the movie like the evening before so it would feel cool to recognize some of the places from the movie.
How dare UA-cam keep this video away from me for 29 seconds? Btw...chronciles of Narnia is such a nostalgic book and movie. I Remember as a kid i used to literally imagine me being with the characters and joining them in adventures, good ol times.
Everyone thinks being Metal wasn't a thing until the 70s and 80s. In actuality, a bunch of mild mannered British book nerds got together in the 30s and casually invented the whole damn genre over tea and crumpets at the pub. These guys created and destroyed entire realities for the fun of it like a coked up teenager playing Civilization. Absolutely legendary.
Idc what anyone says, the final battle in the first narnia movie is the best fantasy battle EVER It doesn’t have the same designs of its warriors on either side and you can tell everything apart. Each fight in the background is interesting. Tiger fighting a bear, centaur battling 2 Minotaur, giant fighting 2 cheetahs etc And as for the “bad choreography” as many people say I always thought it was intentional. Peter was so beneath the white witch when it comes to dueling that she made exaggerated moves just to piss him off. She even gives him tons of breaks to let him adjust himself. She never took it seriously which is why it looked “goofy”
@@jackmanning1117 well I mean yeah but I’m just saying the final battle is better than all other fantasy battles. I still really enjoy narnia as a movie but I know it’s not the best in the world, it’s fights are
@@Dark-Wolf27 I’m talking specifically about the battle. The final battle in this movie is not as good as the Battle of Helms Deep of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
@@jackmanning1117 Or even the battle at the end of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and that's the real deal. I can't remember the battle in the first well and I haven't watched Narnia since the second film in the theater in mid-2008.
Half of the book/Movie is literally just Edmund getting emotionally and physically abused. The witch like…almost sacrificed him at one point, and my 8-year-old brain could NOT handle that
I absolutely adored the Narnia franchise as a kid and I feel its so painfully underrated so I always feel very happy whenevr anyone talks about it, it truly takes me back to my childhood being lost in the whimsical world, crying over Aslan and getting goosebumps whenver he showed! Also Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian was probably my first ever big time crush lmao I'm sure most fans of the series would agree that he was amazing🫶🏻 This video is making me wanna re watch them so bad
I was Pennywise for Halloween, and a child asked me "Why aren't you Billy the Puppet? He punishes people with traps and games!" and I literally told him "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written."
I love that the author used the turkish word for lion for aslan since I am turkish It was really weird watching it as child. It's like naming nemo "fish".
Skandar Keynes, the actor who played Edmund, later quit acting to become a political advisor. All of the Penesvie siblings were perfectly cast, especially him, as the aloof, brooding Edmund.
its funny that i feel like lucy was the best actor there LOL, usually child actors are a gamble especially the younger they are but there the youngest did a great job, peter on the other hand.. well, he looked the part wouldnt have it any other way
A professor at my university that teaches a class solely on cs lewis came by to the observatory with his students where I work and he brought us turkish delights. I didn’t think anything of it but now it all makes sense. I now know that is one cool professor
I was today years old and I JUST realized while watching this that the Witch wore ASLAN'S FUR when she went into the final battle! How did I miss this detail all these years...
I love this movie so much! The Christian undertones are incredible. Even when Aslan is going “do not recite the laws to me, I was there when they were written” is a tribute to Jesus going “I am the law of Moses”. The resurrection, the prophesy of the messiah (+ the disciples) was so well done without feeling too pushy. One of my favourites xz
Pretty sure it's because the writer did actually write the Chronicles of Narnia to tell the story of Jesus and the Bible 😊 so yes that is correct! Also realised that so many parallels can still be spotted even in this vid, which I missed when I was younger. The 2 ladies being the first at Aslan (Jesus') tomb - Mary and Martha. Aslan stating he was "there when the laws were written" - Jesus present at creation (John 1:1-2).
@@NickNui Clearly the above commenter is thinking of The Chosen. Jesus does claim to be the fulfillment of The Law of Moses and does claim "I am", but yes you're correct Jesus never said those specific words
The Chronicles of Narnia are so clearly christian it's insane. They had a sacrifice myself for your sins scene (I'm not religious), and kid me knew immediately. I've actually read the books, and there are more christian themes in them.
You've gotta remember, CS Lewis(the writer of the Narnia books of course) was a very devout Christian; it makes sense why the movie did what it did. If you haven't, you definitely should read the books!
Kinda why I feel like Netflix is going to start a war with Christianity over their adaptations... cause they're gonna be like "Chistian's? Eww... The White Witch is a victim of Aslans masculinity"... I only sorta kid.. But it's rather likely they'll make a demon, abuser, murderer and gaslighter the main character and be completely uninteresting with it... Just looking a certain colleague's of Lewis' work from Amazon...
@@scottjs5207Greta Gerwig grew up Catholic so she more than likely won’t remove the heavily Christian themes. The only confirmed change is the ending to Susan’s specific arc
16:45 Literally when the petal lady formed, I said "Hear me out." Then you said the same thing I burst out laughing!! LOLLOL! Narnia is one of my favorites movies.
BTW Alex gave the more tame version of the witches backstory. She is actually a half djinn half giant from a destroyed dimension (which she destroyed) who was awoken by the Professor when he visited Narnia back when he was a kid. Which in turn is nothing compared to Aslans backstory who is actually the living god of narnia from a higher plane who roared the universe into being at the start of time and exists in all paralel worlds of the multiverse having canonically been Jesus on earth, and comes from a higher plane called "aslans country".
Small note, she wasn't from Narnia but another world. She then came to earth but was taken back to the woods between and then they all went to Narnia when Ashlan was starting to create it.
I mean, it's an explanation, but it doesn't make sense per se. It's a bootstrap paradox, as someone must have gone to Narnia with basically no good reason, to bring back the first item that would make the first somewhat logical means to travel there. So technically any random means of getting there make as much sense as items brought back from that world used to form entry points. As none of them would exist, if it wasn't for that first guy going there at random.
@@ikrIkarusi’m pretty sure in the prequel book (the magician’s nephew), the professor’s uncle was attempting to figure out magic and traveling between different worlds, so he forces the professor and his friend to be used as an experiment, and they eventually round up in narnia and shenanigans occur before they escape in a plot point, the professor was able to bring back a magical apple from narnia which healed his mother, and used the seed to grow a tree and cut it down in order to use the wood to make the silly goofy wardrobe
@@ikrIkarus traumatizes two children by sending them to several different and foreign worlds where they almost die on several occasions with wizard powers!11!!1
We used to study about this in our primary shool. But we are not english speakers and it was one of our english chapter, i understand a little. But little me was still enchanted by the story. My parents probably never heard of it. So a few years passed. One day, during our middle school summer holidays, i was sick. I could not go to the river and so i was watching cable tv (no internet back then). Lo and behold... this movie title appeared. I was so excited. I watched the whole thing (with long ass ads in between). For me, this movie came at a perfect time and it holds a special place in my heart. It kindled my love for fantasy genre.
Watching the first movie was absolute magic as a child. I truly felt the wonder as Lucy stepped through the wardrobe. I actually can't believe her actress is older than me, because even then, she seemed so young with her childlike wonder.
I remember when I was small, I absolutely loved the movies. We lived in Prag, Czech Republik at that time and my mom used to go to hotel spas and gyms. She took me along often and one of those times, I noticed a girl that looked a lot like Susan standing by the reception with us. I remember staring, but deciding it couldn’t be her because she had a lot of pimples. I didn’t understand how such stuff worked then. When we arrived at the gym, we saw that out in the adjacent garden the actors of Peter and Edmund were practicing stunts with their coordinator. I was extremely exited but shy, so my mom sat me outside on a sun lounger, so I could watch them practice their fights. They noticed and seemed a lil amused. Afterwards my mom encouraged me to say hello, which I did, hiding half behind her. Peter’s actor was really nice and sunny, while Edmund’s was quite shy and just smiled, before heading to the treadmill. We didn’t ask for pictures, as mom didn’t want to further invade their privacy, but it remains one of the cooler moments in my childhood.
The lack of the official soundtrack was so jarring. Maybe its because that is probably in my top 15 best soundtracks of all time, and I listen to it regularly.
I never thought I'll see you cover Narnia, but I'm so happy you did !! This movie is definitely one the best out there & I've read the books so much times...😻😻
Remember when Jadis threw a broken lamp post at Aslan's head to try to stop him from singing Narnia into existence? 😂 The lamp post "grew" from the place it landed, as anything planted in the virgin soil of new Narnia would grow! (Diggory, who later became the Professor in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, planted a piece of toffee in new Narnia and a toffee tree grew! Sad that the tree never became part of the stories later on. It would have been funny if a Narnian mentioned it to the Pevensie kids at some point).
I don't want to ruin anything for you, but Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe something like 5 years before the Magician's Nephew. For the most part he just created a fascinating and interesting world, and then wrote a prequel to explain some details
@@HartyBiker I don’t think that would ruin anything! I just like to think of The Magician’s Nephew as a prequel. And it’s a pretty common theme of prequels, that writing/gamemaking/art get better with practice and more immersion in the world
There are many Christian references in Narnia, from Aslan sacrificing himself for the human and resurrecting at sunrise, Susan and Lucy witness Aslan’s death and resurrection like the two Marys with Jesus, calling the kids sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, the witch representing the devil, to Aslan and the Witch sides fighting a great battle to restore the splendor of Narnia like the Battle of Armageddon and the New Earth in the Bible.
I'm glad Alex finally did a video about this movie. This series was literally one of my favorite books. I loved Aslan and all the characters, and even had a crush on Susan. Edit: I love how Alex also has my views in how Aslan and Jesus share similarities due to their sacrifice and how both of the people the trusted and protected both just sold them out, but also how due to something magical and angelic they were brought back to life .
Well C.S. Lewis did write these as an allegory so you would be correct. And yes he was a believer so they are heavily tied to the Bible. Alan was a depiction of Jesus the deep magic is God the Father. Btw Christ is God (part of the Trinity) so it wasn’t angels that brought him back he had the power all his own. I would recommend reading my the Bible to get the truth. 😊 I would recommend reading all of Lewis’ works to be honest. They aren’t all children’s books like Narnia but they are very good.
Aslan and Jesus share similarities because both are the Son, or Second Person of the Trinity, incarnated into two different worlds, Narnia and ours. So basically they are the same person. As a devout Christian, CS Lewis was intrigued by the idea that, if there are other worlds or dimensions, maybe God will also have incarnated into them. He even wrote a story about a world where there was no Fall and therefore no need for salvation.
This is the first film that I have the memory of watching as a child. I remember that I watched this and got absolutely mesmerized. Narnia-The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe will always be special to me.
There was a whole period in my childhood where popular childrens books would be adapted into movies. I do miss that time where I'd read a book, then hear about some studio planning to turn it into a movie, and get so excited. Chronicles of Narnia was definitely one of those. The Hunger Games, Eragon, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Charlotte's Web, etc etc. I suppose Harry Potter was the crown jewel of that category. I remember the insufferable kids who thought they were special for reading the most popular book at the time before its movie adaptation came out, and hitting everyone with the "The book was so much better" line. Reminds me of those who see concerts, hear a song on a radio, and spout out "Eh, they're much better live." But those movies were special. They were an absolute event. Totally understandable how they made so much money.
There's a reason people say "the book was so much better" so often. Because 9 times out of 10, they are. For various reasons, of course. Could be budget, a lack of passion for the IP, or more and more commonly, a writer has an idea for an original story, but production companies don't want to risk investing on a new IP, and especially if it's from a new writer, so these writers agree to adapt a book, with the intention of reskinning their original story.
Thing is when you read the books first it's easy to find the adaptations bad. It's not about trashing something popular for the sake of it. I read all seven Narnia books as a kid when I didn't even knew there were movies of it (maybe there weren't at the time). When I finally watched the movies I loved the first one, but the second and third ones stray too far from the source, the romance between Caspian and Susan was added entirely and so unnecessary and the whole climax of the third movie is two separate chapters in the book that aren't even that important blown up into a big bad. Don't blame us for being disappointed
Eh, I mean, adaptations, especially live adaptations, tend to have a lot of limits to how much they can adapt. So, it's often that adaptations tend to leave out key points or favorite elements from the original source, which fans of the original source are not going to miss and are likely to feel disappointed by the adaptation bc of it. Just saying, I can understand the sentiment of "the book was better". But that doesn't mean adaptations can't have their own charm or can't be better than the original.
@@PyroOfZen Well yeh, there's typically a lot more detail within a book, is more thought out and realized. Movies have to crunch a lot down, so I get the statement. I'm not saying they're wrong. It's just a weird thing to say, is what I'm getting at. Just an unnecessary statement that has nothing to do with the movie. Even if a movie is a masterpiece, and actually improves upon a book, you'll still have people saying "The book is better" because there's this book elitism that spreads around. I just really really don't care if someone prefers a book over a movie.
@@em5522 I think I just have an easier time separating the movie from the source material. I expect a lot will be left out, wont be as good, but am excited I get to experience the story in a new way. Another example being Marley & Me. Loved the book, and the movie wasn't as good as the connection I felt with the book, but I still enjoyed the experience. I just care if the movie is good, and feel comparing it to the book is goofy and setting yourself up for disappointment.
9:21 every time nobody gets that the food is enchanted. It’s literally meant to be addictive and to put Edmund under her spell. I mean he’s still a little stinker but the food didn’t help.
Tbh I'm glad the movie left some stuff out of the book. It also said Lucy's healing potion magically healed Edmund's personality and made him not a little sht. That felt kinda dumb to me
I think the reason Edmund asks for Turkish Delight is the wartime rationing. Sugary treats were hard to come buy so the chance to have some was too good to pass up. I'm not sure why he picked that specifically, though.
"Do not site the Deep Magic to me witch. I was there when it was written."
This line is so cold, and it gets me every time. Chronicles of Narnia is so underrated as both a book and movie series. CS Lewis was a great writer.
*cite
❤
I work in casinos. We had a young pup of a dice dealer, almost fresh out of school, who tried to correct one of the old farts about a procedure or something. Old fart says, “Kid, I’ve been on break longer than you’ve been alive.”
I think the kid is still smoldering wherever he is.
I really wish that line was in the original book, cause it goes hard.
The Magician's Nephew is such a phenomenal prequel. I just recently started rereading the entire series with my son.
And he literally was as well. He sung Narnia into existence. (Yea, the books are even wilder)
Fun fact: lucy's reaction to seeing narnia for the first time was genuine, the director chose to film the actresses first time seeing the set and used it for the film
8:05 I relate to this so much. I once was in the hospital for a week then had to take two months off of work to recover. I came back, nobody even asked like “where were you” “are you okay” 😅😢 i was relieved they didn’t ask questions but also… yeah
Now that is awesome I didn't know that
Now that is awesome I didn't know that
ahhhh, yeah... when they hired people who knew what the heck they were doing.
he even did it for showing mr tumnus's pretrified form. poor georgie didn't trust the director again.
16:51 The White Witch is actually wearing Aslan's mane to the battle... which is a nice touch and pretty dang metal.
🤯 I actually gasped out loud reading your comment. How had I never picked up on this detail?!
I was grasping at this. Holy sheet that’s messed up!!
@@realrickyshea I did too!! I've never put that together
Hmm...something in common with Thragg, of all characters...
Damn, i was today years old, I love this movie. Thank u for this discovery. Metal Indeed
Also, I love how Edmund has the best arc throughout these movies.
He went from not believing Lucy to being the first one to stand by her side when she sees something. He was caught up with the White Queen and being disloyal to being one of the most loyal people in the future films.
And his trauma from the White Queen still haunts this poor kid.
And Skander’s (the actor) performance was chef’s kiss to me.
I love Edmund's arc. He says in The Horse and His Boy, "A traitor can mend. I know one who did." People who only know the story of the first book/movie do him dirty.
I 100% agree. Deeply broken people who find healing often experience the deepest life change.
Susan is my big sad because I loved her character in the early books. But even though she was older when she first encountered Narnia and spent just as much time ruling there as the others, she got distracted and let herself believe it was all a childish game. She’s a great demonstration of “seeing is not always believing”
If you guys didnt know it’s a Christian movie. Aslan is Jesus and the witch is Satan.
This is why they’re called Adam’s sons and Eva’s daughters.
It’s basically a short version of the Bible 💖💖
@ i knew that. Didn’t feel I needed to explain that in my post. Sorry.
But do appreciate he was able to incorporate humanity with the Christian themes and I feel the books and films did it in a way where they weren’t pandering to the audience.
I noticed non-Christians love these books and films. It didn’t alienate anyone, in my opinion.
@@carrielafflin7163 It is a bummer about Susan since as the oldest girl who had to take care of her siblings there's probably a lot of character development to be had there. And that's not even getting into how the series ends.
Fun fact. The ending is meant to symbolize the shock of returning from war. The children are thrown back into this world after years in Narnia - just as soldiers are thrown back into society after years in war conditions.
The reader is meant to think about what it must have been like to go back to being children.
Let's be honest - we ALL wanted to find a hidden world inside a wardrobe. ☃️ Also I love that you knew the lore behind the wardrobe - that's epic!
My granny had a similar wardrobe when I was a child so you better believe you’d catch me in there waiting for it to appear😭😭.
Bro this series had me walking into my closet hoping I'd suddenly be in Narnia
I tried it a few times as a kid, but believing in a magical portal that will whisk you to a world of fantasy just .... isn't enough to make it true.
The first two books in the series are kinda crazy and nothing like the rest. Starts with interdimensional puddles in the space between worlds, then dips into magic rings and the birth and deaths of worlds. You see Narnia's creation and the whole thing is just insane levels or world building creation myth.
@@Orthien That's why my parents insisted on a different reading order than the "chronological" one. They prefer the publishing order so readers can see how the worldbuilding grows with Lewis's writing. I'll put both orders below.
Chronological order: Magician's Nephew; Lion Witch Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy (though technically to be TRULY chronological you'd stop LWW when the kids are grown, read this, and then go back to LWW); Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle
Publishing order: Lion Witch Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew; The Last Battle
"Guess who disney owns now."
"Everybody"
I'm already laughing 😂
i was laughing mad hard until i realized its true af
Did you?….. like did you really?
@CallmeBlu_Editz If that was addressed to me, yes, I did. His delivery was great.
@@zotriademaj6531 oh ok ☺️
Come on Alex. Hold out. They'll surely offer you more eventually
How does Aslan still look so realistic but still be more expressive than the lions in 2019 Lion King?
True 😂
Exactly!
Lots of parts are actually done with props and not full CGI.
Stylization in art direction. They were willing to give him human expressions. Not so much for Lion King.
or the new upcoming 2024 Lion King
Character ages vs actor ages:
Peter, 13, played by a 17 year old.
Susan, 12, played by a 16 year old.
Edmund, 10, played by a 13 year old.
Lucy, 8, played by a 10 year old.
Funny thing is, in the last book Susan actually attributes Narnia to her imagination during war, and goes away.
So the way she's portrayed in the movie as this "I'm a big girl and you should shut up" older sister to Lucy in the beginning, it makes a lotta sense.
The ending is SO depressing. They'd have to send me to the mad house, because I'd be devastated to go from magical royalty back to war-torn land of rain and vitamin D deficiency.
Not to mention having to go through puberty a second time
THIS!! I watched this as a kid and once i rewatched it as a teenager i was BAFFLED at how depressingly fucked up that ending actually is. I, as a viewer, wasnt able to just wrap my head around the fact that they lived there like kings and queens for 20 freaking years AND THEN CAME BACK AS KIDS. Cannot fathom how are they like “oops guess we are back🤪” after falling from a wardrobe 20 years back in time in another universe.
I actually did some research and it was like the longer they stayed in narnia the more they forgot about their old lives. So the lamp in the woods is merely familiar as they no longer even remember their past. The same way, after they came back from narnia for the last time, they gradually lost their memories from all of their time in there. Thats 20+ years worth of LIFE forgotten!!!! Its absolutely crazy and utterly depressing how this all ended them living and growing old in england like nothing ever happened.
I think like only susan remembers? But im not sure dont quote me on that. Shes also the only one who doesnt go to afterlife in narnia after her death. The whole ending to this story has me fucked up for years now.
the ending is a whole metaphor for war and how it forces kids to grow up--the kids do all this fantasy magical war stuff, and after all that grow and mature into adults who've all but forgotten where they come from, but you're forced to remember that they are still kids in wartime. the books nails it in better, but the movies don't do such a good job, especially the sequels that lean further into the fantasy. Its mostly about the kids who are old enough to go but don't return the same, if at all.
@@nessap2706 it was WAY WORSE in the book
I think it's meant to represent soilders, How they go trough so much in warzones and when they're back, they're expected to keep living as if nothing happened
Fun fact: the lil girl who plays Lucy hadnt seen the snowy set yet. Her reaction when she first saw Narnia was genuine, as she was happily surprised to see the set.
That's a great wholesome fact. Have a nice day😊😊
her scream after seeing Mr Tumnus was genuine because they had never practised with that costume so she was a bit shocked.
I loved this franchise, it's so slept on, and barely brought up in discussion about classic adventure franchises. Aslan dying always drove me to tears, despite it being temporary.
I read that as “Asian”
sadly, the third movie bored the shit out of me i can't even remember it or if it was even good, maybe i didnt like it because it didnt have th OG characters if i remember correctly, which i don't because like i said i found it boring, first two were pretty sick
I think it's been slept on because it never got a full adaptation unlike something like Harry Potter. It definitely had the potential become mainstream.
My favorite book series of all time.
Because they flopped hard on Caspian. And don't get me started on Dawn Treader
9:20 Okay, here's the thing. Edmund has been living on rations in a family of 5 since the start of the war. He hasnt tasted sugar or chocolate, or anything remotely delicious in a LONG time... and Turkish delights are PURE SUGAR. Of course he went mad for it. We all would have when we were his age!!! I mean seriously, look at some of the wartime recipes in England. It got pretty grim here 😅
As a scholar of the second world war, I agree. As a kid, I simply thought it was a child’s obsession with candy. But the wartime rationing gives it a whole Nother depth to the scene.
Also Aslan means lion in turkish, maybe the writer thought it would be interesting to include turkish stuff here and there
@ that’s just a name of a popular treat during the war but he did indeed enjoy Turkish culture.
Also those sweets were made from magic so Edmund was probably under the influence of magic
“Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
-CS Lewis On Three Ways of Writing for Children
One of my favorite book series as a kid, now my kids enjoy them too. Thanks for reviewing!
C.S. LOUIS adding SANTA CLAUSE just to tick off J.R.R.Tolkien was hilarious!
"Where the FRICK did the talking beavers get marmalade!?"
"Santa Claus :) "
I love it, because Lewis had a legit reason to work in Santa Claus into the story.
Meanwhile, in LOTR, Tom Bombadil is an all-powerful immortal being possibly older than time itself, and he's just _there_ and can't be bothered at all to help the mortals of the realm with the evil ring that he's completely immune to.
@@JayTohab They got it from their good friend Paddington
I love that the actor for Santa, James Cosmos, went on to do Game of Thrones and he played Jeor Mormont. Lord Commander of the Nights Watch. And in it he takes a sleigh into the frozen north. Doesn't end the same way but its still funny
@@DWargs Excellent point.
Tilda Swinton was perfectly chilling as the White Witch. We're constantly told that light and beauty equal goodness, but she subverted expectations with her effectively understated performance, even when it becomes apparent that she's manipulating Edmund.
I liked how they made her taller than usual as I believe she was around seven feet in the books. And yea, her beauty is radiant yet her eyes says it all.
@@Ironica82Yes and she comes across as even taller because of how regal and overpowering and terrifying she is.
Going into the film having read all the books, she was the stuff of nightmares. She gave a performance that was waaaaay scarier than my child brain was capable of imagining the character to be 😂😂😂
Goodness*
Undermined later with considering _freckles_ a deal-breaker...
Enormous love to the beautiful friend who played their mom in those opening scenes. She lost her battle with cancer last week, and there is both joy and sadness in seeing this video come out today.
My condolences to you and her family ❤
Not to be rude, but source?
@@Gashahn24 Oh, so blatantly being rude?
That’s sad condolences to you and her family
💜
The blockbusters of the 2000s had a damned perfect balance of CGI and practical effects, which is why so many of them hold up so well even today.
okay i love how you didnt change Lucy's "valiant" title like the others lmao, bc shes precious and we love her
This was my SHIT as a kid. I had a framed Narnia painting and no one could tell me SHIT. I bought analyztion books and I had all versions of it. The book series, the old bbc series on vhs, the animated version, and these early 2000s version. You could not pry Narnia out of my cold dead hands if you tried. To this day I still love the series, it helped me through a rough time in my life where I had no one to rely on. I used to pretend to be Edmund or Caspian because they were my favorites.
Edmund and Caspian are my favorites as well! Edmund has one of the best written redemption arcs I’ve ever read, and Caspian has such an interesting arc of being thrust into a world he thought was myth and having to adapt. Adore Narnia.
bro same the bbc show was so ass tho
The witch looks like that at the start of the war because 1. Her ice crown slowly melted off over the course of the movie as her power dwindled; thus the gold and 2. She's Wearing Aslan's Mane to assert dominance
Oh my goodness, I had never realized those details before!
I didn't realise her crown melted, that's so cool!
18:30 You know how terrible it must have been for them to realize in that moment that they have to go through puberty all over again
According to book lore idk I can’t remember they actually forget their memories of being adults. Idk don’t quote me
I thought you were gonna talk about how incredibly gently they tumbled out of the wardrobe 😂
@ethansolorzano5989
they do recall their time as rulers in the book bc they do a lot of reminiscing when they come back in Prince Caspian, but idt Lewis was truly aware of what kind of mental toll it would have for adults, who after living well past their formative years and growing into adults of their own agency and unique authority, suddenly regressing back to childhood, and in a place where they lost all of that.
Or, if Lewis was aware, idt he was interested in exploring it in the series bc the themes would be too adult (I think he hinted at this aspect with Susan's story).
So then if they were the only humans in Narnia what did they do when they all got to 16??
As I recall discussed marrying for political gain. They were the only humans in Narnia but not in that world. There was at least one other kingdom to the south (I believe) that was founded by pirates who came through a portal previously. The novel the horse and his boy is set there and focuses on their escape to Narnia. I believe Susan was potentially going to marry the prince of that kingdom but it's been decades since I read the books.
I recently found a copy of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and opening it up was an experience. My 10 year old sister had written *"White Witch Edition"* on the first page. The entire book was full with what I can only describe as "White Witch propaganda".
She'd renamed every single chapter (I remember her naming the chapter where Aslan dies "My Favorite Chapter") and annotated half of the book.
She called out inconsistencies in the plot, called the beavers "racists" because they thought only humans could rule, and beneath Father Christmas' infamous "Lucy you must not go, for battles are ugly when women fight" she'd written down "now I understand why the White Queen prohibited Christmas."
Every time the witch herself appeared she commented something along the lines of "slay", and I remember her calling Edmund a "good boy".
I think it's because she had previously read His Dark Materials (it shall make thy kids Satanists). Regardless, the "White Witch Edition" is the most hilarious annotated book I've ever read. Thanks sis.
Oh god. "slay". I shouldn't be laughing this hard.
"Now I understand why the white queen prohibited christmas" damn, that's cold. Pun not intended.
The beavers would be speciesist, not racist. And it's stupid to call them that for thinking only humans can rule. That is literally what they were taught. It's not like they came to that conclusion on their own.
The interesting part about why only humans can rule is the reason behind it. It’s because it was humans who brought evil into Narnia in the first place, in the very beginning. So it is up to humans to save it as well because they have to make up for that. I love Narnia lore.
@@englishatheart Just wondering, did you overlook the part, where the sister, who made those annotations, is 10? I think it is ok for her to not know the difference between racism and speciesism. If you want to educate people, I am sure you don't need to be rude or resort to name-calling.
My sister is a high school English teacher. Every year she does a unit on Chronicles of Narnia. It's focused on "the hero's journey" for each of the Pevensie children. Her kids love it.
You can tell Alex is a legit fan because he knows all of the lore not stated in the movie. Narnia really was a masterpiece.
Yes!!! Could tell he at least was a fan in childhood. Made his usual jokes, but at least used to be a fan ☺️
The few of the fist books were magical. But at least based on what I remember from reading them as a kid, the later ones unfortunately didn't really hold up.
I think the best real life story about the Chronicles of Narnia is that CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were huge friendly rivals in a group called the Inklings and they were always challenging each other to writing challenges. They both challenged each other to write a work of fiction set in their own worlds. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. Both of them agree the LOTR was superior but that the Chronicles of Narnia was the second best work of English fiction ever. Imagine being alive when this was happening.
Every time I hear about them two together, I keep repeating a famous line from ERB:
"CS Lewis and I were both just discussing how you and John Snow both know nothing" 😂
Shakespeare sitting over here like.....best ever you say?
@@pdxcorgidad Fun fact, while absolutely talented, Shakespear was considered incredibly low brow writing in his era. It was part of why he never really received acolades for his writing until after his death.
fun fact: the actress who plays their mum was my high school drama teacher and because she was in the movie we would watch it for fun and ended up doing a play version- I played mrs beaver lmao
That is SO COOL!!
That's awesome
Aww that's so sweet!
Genuinely so sad that Walden disappeared, they made such good movies!
But like yeah, imagine those kids didn’t grow up so fast we’d have had a whole series for alk the books. These three movies will always have a special place in my heart
You know whats crazy. I grew up watching and rewatching this movie.
I just now realized. When the White Witch is riding into battle, she is literally wearing the tufts of fur cut off Aslan. I cant believe I never noticed that before. I just thought she was wearing some gaudy fur coat like had been mentioned in scenes prior.
I think its worth mentioning. The white witch is also canonically 7 feet tall in the books. Another thing that makes her even more terrifying On top of killing all life in her previous home world before she escaped into narnia when it was created.
I mean who hasn't had an emo phase where we killed all life in our home dimension by dropping the ultimate f-bomb...
Terrifying? I think you mean hot
@@goldenfiberwheat238both true
I love that you referenced the Magician's Nephew!!!
Alex has definitely read all the books
@ fs
@BeanMan-The-bean They are really good
btw fun thing that I discover on my last review of the saga, they actually namedropped Jill Pole
SAME! It was so nice to hear the books and backstory explained.
When? Time stamp?
Goddammit, I knew the bad flute/recorder was coming, but I still can't stop laughing 😂😂
That really caught me off guard. And I know I shouldn't be surpirsed but it did!
Shitty flute FTW xD
he did it the first time and i was like "i woulda gone with the recorder jurassic park one myself" only to have that one come up a minute later
4:45-ish. When they shot the scene when Lucy first finds Narina, they put a blindfold on her and carried her on set! So it would be a genuine reaction.
5:09 that was a genuine scream, she didn’t expect to see the actor all in makeup like that. lol, she actually said the actor’s name (sorry can’t remember his name).
Also the frozen waterfall/ lake scene. I think they had a big pool and the actors on a floating platform. They had a dumpster size container filled with water that they released behind them. I think it, could have just been a weird dream that I remembered, but it honestly felt so real
This man actually explained why the wardrobe works and why it's so special in like two sentences. That's beautiful that is.
Alex's portrayal of his frustration with Edmund is exactly how I feel
SAME
Why's everyone coming after my man😭
@@kyonkyon9950 I really thought with the lore drop about the wardrobe that Alex was going to mention that the food the White Witch gave Edmond was magically compelling him to follow her orders.
@commandoepsilon4664 tbf it's never actually explained in the movies only in the books
@commandoepsilon4664 tbf it's never actually explained in the movies only in the books
So fun fact about the Narnia books, it's pretty well known that C.S. Lewis was best friends with J.R.R. Tolkien and both of them lived through the Great War (WW1) and WW2 and both of them worked their experiences from that into their books. In Lewis's case, he wrote about how soldiers were treated and reacted when they came home. You had young men that had just spent several months or even years in a warzone that were coming home and were expected to just go to work and live like normal men in spite of the hell on earth they had experienced. That's why time moves so much faster in Narnia and why when they return to the real world the kids go back to being children in the end.
I never knew that! Thanks for sharing!!
ngl as a Jew, though it was clear the beginning of the book/movie was supposed to be sad cuz the children were being sent away for their safety, that one meme of Mariah Carey saying "that sucks"
That's not a fact, that's an interpretation, and one I'm not sure Lewis would entirely approve of.
Lewis served in WW1 and was part of the HomeGuard in WW2. He wove Christian theology throughout the Narnia series both intentionally and unintentionally at some points. There’s nothing about the symbolism being related to soldiers coming home from war.
I remember being so devastated when they went back through the wardrobe. I'm 28 now, and thinking about suddenly being dropped back into my like 10-year-old self/life is such a horrifying thought. Imagine everything and everyone you would lose 😩
That's how I felt as a kid when I read the books....
_AND_ its during _ww2_
@@airacummins5076 Omg you're right 😩
Listen, I'm 32, and having my 10 y/o body back don't sound too bad.
Sure, kids have no autonomy, but they can sleep folded like a pretzel and wake up completely fine. And the metabolism of a child, ugh, I miss it.
And then they had to deal with the consequences of their choice a year later as if they weren’t still kids😭 and everyone blamed them for leaving
15:20 THAT'S WHERE THAT'S FROM? MAN I know more quotes from this than I thought, I gotta watch these movies one of these days!
The casting, the music, these movies were so chef's kiss wonder and Disney did us dirty with never finishing the series. I sincerely hope we at least see the 4 original Pevensies make an appearance in the new Narnia series via plating the adult versions of themselves. I feel like this would give some closure and a nod to this first beautifully done round of the series
I'm horrified about how they'll botch the new series. They said it's a new take and "rock and roll" whatever that means.
I watched this movie since I was a baby. During that time I lived in Alaska. I can still remember how snow days felt like I was stepping into Narnia; I almost expected Mr. Tumnus to appear from the woods! As a little kid, I'd play in our coat closets and clothes racks at Walmart like they were the wardrobe, and that I would step into Narnia. Seeing life through the lens of whimsy and adventure played a huge part of my childhood.
that's so cool!
I Actualy live near the areas where some of the snowy scenes were filmed: Tisá and bohemian switzerland (google pravcicka brana x narnia). So every winter when theres alot of snow we like to ventrure into those forrests and it feels like litteraly walking in narnia, I loved doing this when I was a child, we watched the movie like the evening before so it would feel cool to recognize some of the places from the movie.
How dare UA-cam keep this video away from me for 29 seconds? Btw...chronciles of Narnia is such a nostalgic book and movie. I Remember as a kid i used to literally imagine me being with the characters and joining them in adventures, good ol times.
Oh yeah I got 12 minutes
I got it 15 mins later.....
I got it at 20 minutes
The algorithm Kept it from me for15 minutes 🙃 also technically it’s a Christian story
The algorithm Kept it from me for15 minutes 🙃 also technically it’s a Christian story
5:30 i don't know what's funnier the joke about Magneto or Alex trying to say the joke but wheezing the first 3 times
I couldn't even make out what the joke was supposed to be through the wheezing 😂
6:42 I will say, the Narnian Lullaby is hauntingly beautiful.
Everyone thinks being Metal wasn't a thing until the 70s and 80s. In actuality, a bunch of mild mannered British book nerds got together in the 30s and casually invented the whole damn genre over tea and crumpets at the pub. These guys created and destroyed entire realities for the fun of it like a coked up teenager playing Civilization. Absolutely legendary.
Idc what anyone says, the final battle in the first narnia movie is the best fantasy battle EVER
It doesn’t have the same designs of its warriors on either side and you can tell everything apart. Each fight in the background is interesting. Tiger fighting a bear, centaur battling 2 Minotaur, giant fighting 2 cheetahs etc
And as for the “bad choreography” as many people say I always thought it was intentional. Peter was so beneath the white witch when it comes to dueling that she made exaggerated moves just to piss him off. She even gives him tons of breaks to let him adjust himself. She never took it seriously which is why it looked “goofy”
Yep she's toying with Peter.
It’s great for a kids movie but like come on, it’s no Helms Deep or Pelennor Fields
@@jackmanning1117 well I mean yeah but I’m just saying the final battle is better than all other fantasy battles. I still really enjoy narnia as a movie but I know it’s not the best in the world, it’s fights are
@@Dark-Wolf27 I’m talking specifically about the battle. The final battle in this movie is not as good as the Battle of Helms Deep of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
@@jackmanning1117 Or even the battle at the end of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and that's the real deal. I can't remember the battle in the first well and I haven't watched Narnia since the second film in the theater in mid-2008.
As a "Narnia Kid" and still a fan as an adult, this video made me so happy! Thanks for the nostalgia trip and laughs Alex!
I didn't discover the books until I was an adult but I don't think I will ever stop being a fan. They are just so good.
Half of the book/Movie is literally just Edmund getting emotionally and physically abused.
The witch like…almost sacrificed him at one point, and my 8-year-old brain could NOT handle that
I absolutely adored the Narnia franchise as a kid and I feel its so painfully underrated so I always feel very happy whenevr anyone talks about it, it truly takes me back to my childhood being lost in the whimsical world, crying over Aslan and getting goosebumps whenver he showed! Also Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian was probably my first ever big time crush lmao I'm sure most fans of the series would agree that he was amazing🫶🏻 This video is making me wanna re watch them so bad
I AM CRYING!!! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS FOR AGES, THANK OU, THANK YOU, THANK YOUUU
I was Pennywise for Halloween, and a child asked me "Why aren't you Billy the Puppet? He punishes people with traps and games!" and I literally told him "Do not cite the deep magic to me, witch. I was there when it was written."
Who the HELL is Billy the Puppet?
@@Bloomkyaaa Assuming you aren't being sarcastic, it's the puppet John Kramer aka Jigsaw uses from the Saw film franchise.
@@hiromitailor8075 I have NEVER seen any of the Saw movies, sorry. LOL 😅
@@Bloomkyaaathe puppet from saw
I love that the author used the turkish word for lion for aslan since I am turkish It was really weird watching it as child. It's like naming nemo "fish".
It's similar to just calling a monotheistic god, God. We're just referring to him as 'the Lion' (capitak letter intended) the whole tome.
That’s such a wonderful little piece of trivia
Thank you for sharing 😂❤
@@demo2823I mean, Aslan is meant to be an allegory for Christ. He is literally sacrificed and resurrected in the movie.
@@fallenkingdom-zd8xh Aslan is jesus in real world confirmed by 3rd movie
@@fallenkingdom-zd8xh
He is not an allegory, he canonically IS Jesus.
Skandar Keynes, the actor who played Edmund, later quit acting to become a political advisor. All of the Penesvie siblings were perfectly cast, especially him, as the aloof, brooding Edmund.
great casting fs. very magical movies
Hopefully he is "Just.:
its funny that i feel like lucy was the best actor there LOL, usually child actors are a gamble especially the younger they are but there the youngest did a great job, peter on the other hand.. well, he looked the part wouldnt have it any other way
A professor at my university that teaches a class solely on cs lewis came by to the observatory with his students where I work and he brought us turkish delights. I didn’t think anything of it but now it all makes sense. I now know that is one cool professor
You should read the books. They’re fascinating. The films are great, too, at least the first one.
How is dude becoming more funny and more relatable by each video😂
Aslan was animated better than the Lion King live action despite being far older.
And waaaayyy more expressive while still looking very much like a Lion... funny that...
Aslan was better animated in 2004 than BOTH the modern lions
15 years before Lion King, and 20 years before Mufasa
Bro even Paddington had more emotions than the Lions
I remember that comparison when it came out. So true!
@@AniMariBro”better animated in 2005,” not 2004.
Fun fact, the actor for lucy hadnt seen how james looked like in costume so her screaming was genuine since that was her first time seeing it
will poulter in the dawn treader is still one of my favorite comedic performances to this date
fr every time i see his face i'm like "THAT'S EUSTACE SCRUBB"
"There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." One of my favorite opening lines.
My sister and I love talking shit about Eustace. Talk about a character you just love to hate.
My sister and I refer to the actor as “eyebrows”
@TheLooocie wait me too😭
YOU ARE TOO FUNNY - had me cracking up so much with this one and the animations/sound effects were perfect
The first Narnia movie was one of my fave movies growing up, I had the biggest crush on Peter
I can't be the only one who's amazed that some movies from the mid 2000's to early 2010s still look amazing
It’s a shame that you couldn’t include the score cause the music in the movie is PHENOMENAL! 🙌🏻
Have you heard the music from the BBC Narnia? It's old, but beautiful. It's on UA-cam.
The Narnia soundtrack is my favorite film score.
@@talithakoum3922Tiss near the top for me (probably number three behind LOTR:Fellowship and Tron Legacy).
OMG YES
Agree. It’s one of my absolute favorite film scores ever. Harry Gregson Williams delivered a 10/10 with this film.
Fun fact: the actor who played Edmund ended up becoming a UK ambassador of sorts
Aye yo WHAT
HUH
Being born a part of the upper class is a free ticket to almost anything here, but especially politics.
His great great grandfather was also a really famous scientist
@@MycontentdeletedCharles Darwin I think
fun fact. The Walden Media movies were not the first time Narnia was put as a movie. The old ones even cover more of the books like the Silver Chair
I was today years old and I JUST realized while watching this that the Witch wore ASLAN'S FUR when she went into the final battle! How did I miss this detail all these years...
I love this movie so much! The Christian undertones are incredible. Even when Aslan is going “do not recite the laws to me, I was there when they were written” is a tribute to Jesus going “I am the law of Moses”. The resurrection, the prophesy of the messiah (+ the disciples) was so well done without feeling too pushy. One of my favourites xz
Jesus never said "I am the law of Moses" in the Bible.
Pretty sure it's because the writer did actually write the Chronicles of Narnia to tell the story of Jesus and the Bible 😊 so yes that is correct! Also realised that so many parallels can still be spotted even in this vid, which I missed when I was younger. The 2 ladies being the first at Aslan (Jesus') tomb - Mary and Martha. Aslan stating he was "there when the laws were written" - Jesus present at creation (John 1:1-2).
@@chloecinnamonnyeah except it isn't Mary and Martha in all the Gospels.
@@NickNui Clearly the above commenter is thinking of The Chosen. Jesus does claim to be the fulfillment of The Law of Moses and does claim "I am", but yes you're correct Jesus never said those specific words
The Chronicles of Narnia are so clearly christian it's insane. They had a sacrifice myself for your sins scene (I'm not religious), and kid me knew immediately. I've actually read the books, and there are more christian themes in them.
6:19
Naw you did the lullaby dirty!! 😂
Btw love the movie and LOVED the vid, laughed the entire time!
Alex: Lucy goes through the wardrobe and find a forest covered with asbestos. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
12:18 "I gift to you a machine gun" had me dead💀
as an AVID narnia nerd i love this. i love that you knew the lore behind the wardrobe too. shows you did good research
You've gotta remember, CS Lewis(the writer of the Narnia books of course) was a very devout Christian; it makes sense why the movie did what it did. If you haven't, you definitely should read the books!
It’s so much better when you look at it from a Christian perspective
@@ElizabethCarterB As a Christian myself, I can confirm 100%
Oohhh, so that's why he ended The Last Battle like that
Kinda why I feel like Netflix is going to start a war with Christianity over their adaptations... cause they're gonna be like "Chistian's? Eww... The White Witch is a victim of Aslans masculinity"... I only sorta kid.. But it's rather likely they'll make a demon, abuser, murderer and gaslighter the main character and be completely uninteresting with it... Just looking a certain colleague's of Lewis' work from Amazon...
@@scottjs5207Greta Gerwig grew up Catholic so she more than likely won’t remove the heavily Christian themes. The only confirmed change is the ending to Susan’s specific arc
16:45
Literally when the petal lady formed, I said "Hear me out."
Then you said the same thing I burst out laughing!! LOLLOL!
Narnia is one of my favorites movies.
Please do the 2nd and 3rd movies I love your channel I've been binge watching all of your videos the last week
I'm pretty sure he will whether or not he reads your comment bro. At least, I hope he does!
@CalMountain yeah I hope so, if he were to it would probably be in 2 weeks more or less
The 2nd movie goes hard as well. The battle scenes in my opinion get more serious and dark. And the story is just more bleak overall
Editing on this has been the best yet! The damn palm beach dialogue had me DEAD and the mario yahooo too! 🤣
Love how you used the shitty flute when Professor X plays his pan flute.
Also, Liam Neeson was THE PERFECT choice to voice Aslan
BTW Alex gave the more tame version of the witches backstory. She is actually a half djinn half giant from a destroyed dimension (which she destroyed) who was awoken by the Professor when he visited Narnia back when he was a kid. Which in turn is nothing compared to Aslans backstory who is actually the living god of narnia from a higher plane who roared the universe into being at the start of time and exists in all paralel worlds of the multiverse having canonically been Jesus on earth, and comes from a higher plane called "aslans country".
Small note, she wasn't from Narnia but another world. She then came to earth but was taken back to the woods between and then they all went to Narnia when Ashlan was starting to create it.
@ Yeah thats why i said she is from a destroyed dimension (that being the dimension of Charn).
4:53 im so glad you mentioned, this i was worried you would do a ‘duuuuuu, that doesnt make any sense, i didnt read the books, dhur dhur dhur’
wait fr?
I mean, it's an explanation, but it doesn't make sense per se. It's a bootstrap paradox, as someone must have gone to Narnia with basically no good reason, to bring back the first item that would make the first somewhat logical means to travel there. So technically any random means of getting there make as much sense as items brought back from that world used to form entry points. As none of them would exist, if it wasn't for that first guy going there at random.
@@ikrIkarusi’m pretty sure in the prequel book (the magician’s nephew), the professor’s uncle was attempting to figure out magic and traveling between different worlds, so he forces the professor and his friend to be used as an experiment, and they eventually round up in narnia and shenanigans occur before they escape
in a plot point, the professor was able to bring back a magical apple from narnia which healed his mother, and used the seed to grow a tree and cut it down in order to use the wood to make the silly goofy wardrobe
@@greathairs8199 I figured it would boil down to, "a wizard did it"
@@ikrIkarus traumatizes two children by sending them to several different and foreign worlds where they almost die on several occasions with wizard powers!11!!1
We used to study about this in our primary shool. But we are not english speakers and it was one of our english chapter, i understand a little. But little me was still enchanted by the story. My parents probably never heard of it. So a few years passed.
One day, during our middle school summer holidays, i was sick. I could not go to the river and so i was watching cable tv (no internet back then). Lo and behold... this movie title appeared. I was so excited. I watched the whole thing (with long ass ads in between).
For me, this movie came at a perfect time and it holds a special place in my heart. It kindled my love for fantasy genre.
DUDE you just covered my favorite movie series EVER
thank you so much
Watching the first movie was absolute magic as a child. I truly felt the wonder as Lucy stepped through the wardrobe. I actually can't believe her actress is older than me, because even then, she seemed so young with her childlike wonder.
I remember when I was small, I absolutely loved the movies. We lived in Prag, Czech Republik at that time and my mom used to go to hotel spas and gyms. She took me along often and one of those times, I noticed a girl that looked a lot like Susan standing by the reception with us. I remember staring, but deciding it couldn’t be her because she had a lot of pimples. I didn’t understand how such stuff worked then.
When we arrived at the gym, we saw that out in the adjacent garden the actors of Peter and Edmund were practicing stunts with their coordinator. I was extremely exited but shy, so my mom sat me outside on a sun lounger, so I could watch them practice their fights.
They noticed and seemed a lil amused. Afterwards my mom encouraged me to say hello, which I did, hiding half behind her. Peter’s actor was really nice and sunny, while Edmund’s was quite shy and just smiled, before heading to the treadmill.
We didn’t ask for pictures, as mom didn’t want to further invade their privacy, but it remains one of the cooler moments in my childhood.
I get why Alex had to censor the music, but the soundtrack for this movie was beautiful, especially Tumnus' flute
The lack of the official soundtrack was so jarring. Maybe its because that is probably in my top 15 best soundtracks of all time, and I listen to it regularly.
9:09- Im literally on the floor LMAOO!
I never thought I'll see you cover Narnia, but I'm so happy you did !! This movie is definitely one the best out there & I've read the books so much times...😻😻
perfect timing, right in the middle of my unexplainable narnia obsessive deep dive
I had one of those when I was 9, you’ll recover eventually
Remember when Jadis threw a broken lamp post at Aslan's head to try to stop him from singing Narnia into existence? 😂 The lamp post "grew" from the place it landed, as anything planted in the virgin soil of new Narnia would grow! (Diggory, who later became the Professor in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, planted a piece of toffee in new Narnia and a toffee tree grew! Sad that the tree never became part of the stories later on. It would have been funny if a Narnian mentioned it to the Pevensie kids at some point).
So not only you're a Kingdom fan but also a Narnia fan ?! You're incredible ✨
@HomeTalesHomie Hello fellow kingme!! Who is your Kingdom bias? 😂
I don't want to ruin anything for you, but Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe something like 5 years before the Magician's Nephew. For the most part he just created a fascinating and interesting world, and then wrote a prequel to explain some details
@@HartyBiker I don’t think that would ruin anything! I just like to think of The Magician’s Nephew as a prequel. And it’s a pretty common theme of prequels, that writing/gamemaking/art get better with practice and more immersion in the world
I also think often about the coins that fell out of Uncle Andrew’s pockets and grew into silver and gold trees
There are many Christian references in Narnia, from Aslan sacrificing himself for the human and resurrecting at sunrise, Susan and Lucy witness Aslan’s death and resurrection like the two Marys with Jesus, calling the kids sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, the witch representing the devil, to Aslan and the Witch sides fighting a great battle to restore the splendor of Narnia like the Battle of Armageddon and the New Earth in the Bible.
It's less accurate to say that there are Christian references, and more accurate to say that the entire story arc is a Biblical allegory.
@@HartyBiker Sure, I didn’t know how to exactly phrase it since English is not my first language, but I agree.
This video should be called:
Alex yelling at Edmond for 19 mins straight lol
Guy just passes up the one of the best battles to ever exist in a Kids show!!! It was and is on another level!!!! Great video
I'm glad Alex finally did a video about this movie. This series was literally one of my favorite books. I loved Aslan and all the characters, and even had a crush on Susan. Edit: I love how Alex also has my views in how Aslan and Jesus share similarities due to their sacrifice and how both of the people the trusted and protected both just sold them out, but also how due to something magical and angelic they were brought back to life .
I mean, C.S. Lewis was a Christian and intentionally wrote those sort of references into most of his books.
@ Right.
Well C.S. Lewis did write these as an allegory so you would be correct. And yes he was a believer so they are heavily tied to the Bible. Alan was a depiction of Jesus the deep magic is God the Father. Btw Christ is God (part of the Trinity) so it wasn’t angels that brought him back he had the power all his own. I would recommend reading my the Bible to get the truth. 😊 I would recommend reading all of Lewis’ works to be honest. They aren’t all children’s books like Narnia but they are very good.
Aslan and Jesus share similarities because both are the Son, or Second Person of the Trinity, incarnated into two different worlds, Narnia and ours. So basically they are the same person. As a devout Christian, CS Lewis was intrigued by the idea that, if there are other worlds or dimensions, maybe God will also have incarnated into them. He even wrote a story about a world where there was no Fall and therefore no need for salvation.
The further you read into the books, the more Aslan is VERY obviously a Jesus allegory. Particularly in The Final Battle.
Honestly, the parallel of Jesus and Aslan hits really hard.
it is a biblical allegory
I mean it's CS Lewis. Dude only wrote religious stuff.
05:54 Honestly Kelsey...same
same
Same
YES same
i would hear out Kelsey on this no questions asked lol
@ but with James McAvoy’s face!
8:58 isn’t that the same lady from the first Doctor Strange movie lmao 😂
Yes, that is the Tilda Swinton, who contrary to popular belief is an actress who has played many roles and is also not bald
This is the first film that I have the memory of watching as a child. I remember that I watched this and got absolutely mesmerized. Narnia-The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe will always be special to me.
15:03 HELLO? Ninjago and Bionicle name-drop?? 🗣🗣🗣
Love that 👏
There was a whole period in my childhood where popular childrens books would be adapted into movies. I do miss that time where I'd read a book, then hear about some studio planning to turn it into a movie, and get so excited. Chronicles of Narnia was definitely one of those. The Hunger Games, Eragon, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Charlotte's Web, etc etc. I suppose Harry Potter was the crown jewel of that category.
I remember the insufferable kids who thought they were special for reading the most popular book at the time before its movie adaptation came out, and hitting everyone with the "The book was so much better" line. Reminds me of those who see concerts, hear a song on a radio, and spout out "Eh, they're much better live."
But those movies were special. They were an absolute event. Totally understandable how they made so much money.
There's a reason people say "the book was so much better" so often. Because 9 times out of 10, they are. For various reasons, of course. Could be budget, a lack of passion for the IP, or more and more commonly, a writer has an idea for an original story, but production companies don't want to risk investing on a new IP, and especially if it's from a new writer, so these writers agree to adapt a book, with the intention of reskinning their original story.
Thing is when you read the books first it's easy to find the adaptations bad. It's not about trashing something popular for the sake of it. I read all seven Narnia books as a kid when I didn't even knew there were movies of it (maybe there weren't at the time). When I finally watched the movies I loved the first one, but the second and third ones stray too far from the source, the romance between Caspian and Susan was added entirely and so unnecessary and the whole climax of the third movie is two separate chapters in the book that aren't even that important blown up into a big bad. Don't blame us for being disappointed
Eh, I mean, adaptations, especially live adaptations, tend to have a lot of limits to how much they can adapt. So, it's often that adaptations tend to leave out key points or favorite elements from the original source, which fans of the original source are not going to miss and are likely to feel disappointed by the adaptation bc of it.
Just saying, I can understand the sentiment of "the book was better". But that doesn't mean adaptations can't have their own charm or can't be better than the original.
@@PyroOfZen Well yeh, there's typically a lot more detail within a book, is more thought out and realized. Movies have to crunch a lot down, so I get the statement. I'm not saying they're wrong. It's just a weird thing to say, is what I'm getting at. Just an unnecessary statement that has nothing to do with the movie.
Even if a movie is a masterpiece, and actually improves upon a book, you'll still have people saying "The book is better" because there's this book elitism that spreads around.
I just really really don't care if someone prefers a book over a movie.
@@em5522 I think I just have an easier time separating the movie from the source material. I expect a lot will be left out, wont be as good, but am excited I get to experience the story in a new way. Another example being Marley & Me. Loved the book, and the movie wasn't as good as the connection I felt with the book, but I still enjoyed the experience.
I just care if the movie is good, and feel comparing it to the book is goofy and setting yourself up for disappointment.
9:21 every time nobody gets that the food is enchanted. It’s literally meant to be addictive and to put Edmund under her spell. I mean he’s still a little stinker but the food didn’t help.
Enchanted for gluttony, mixed with wartime rationing of all foods, mixed with a child’s natural love for sweets. Perfect temptation.
Tbh I'm glad the movie left some stuff out of the book. It also said Lucy's healing potion magically healed Edmund's personality and made him not a little sht. That felt kinda dumb to me
I think the reason Edmund asks for Turkish Delight is the wartime rationing. Sugary treats were hard to come buy so the chance to have some was too good to pass up. I'm not sure why he picked that specifically, though.
Loved that this brought back the memory of watching it the first time....and I don't recall how I managed to see it! thanks
I cant express how happy it makes me knowing that alex knows all the lore from the original books