Michael Apted on “the heart of this film”

MovieWeb has posted their report on the footage screened in New York and Los Angeles this week. There isn’t anything new as far as spoilers, but this report includes some interesting quotes from Director Michael Apted. Here are a couple highlights:

“Another of the big challenges was to really honor the book because the book has a spiritual quality to it that I feel is important. Hopefully it is a spiritual thing that is accessible to everyone.”
[…]
“It’s a story that has English roots but its relatable to every child on the planet because its about growing up, finding yourself, coming to terms with yourself and knowing what your values are, that is really the heart of this film.”

MovieWeb writes:

One of the best parts of the footage that we saw, besides the incredibly real looking dragon, was the relationship between the unlikable Eustace and Reepicheep.

Read the whole report (The Apted quotes began in the fourth paragraph down)

Elsewhere, UGO has posted “6 Realizations After Watching New Narnia: Dawn Treader Footage.” We’ll summarize them here, but be sure to read the entire report.

1. Narnia’s Gone Back to the Magic: UGO believes the first two films were passable Lord of the Rings cash-ins, but Dawn Treader has a much more magical feel.

2. Michael Apted Thinks Talking Animals Are Ridiculous and He’s Right: Apted said making a minotaur not look goofy was a challenge, but UGO says he has pulled it off.

3. The Movie May Contain Actual Performances: UGO writes, “Yes, it’s still about the kids wandering around going ‘ooh’ and ‘aah,’ but it’s done with a confidence that the previous two films were missing.”

4. Dawn Treader Scales Back the Visuals to Its Own Benefit: UGO believes VDT has a less ‘epic’ feel than Prince Caspian. “It’s about a crew setting forth on an adventure, not the entire world congregating for the biggest battle of all time.”

5. The Film Looks British-ier: The look of the film reminded UGO of BBC’s Narnia production. “British television and film has a certain grainy quality you don’t find in America and […] I noticed the aesthetic carrying over to Dawn Treader, moreso than the original films.”

6. Sailing the High Sees Looks Fun!: “It looks like a rousing adventure with likeable leads and plenty of surprises.”

The reports from New York and Los Angeles just keeping pouring in, so keep your eyes peeled for more!

129 Responses

  1. Annabeth says:

    yeah, that's actually my EXACT theory. In my opinon, Lucy's way prettier than Susan

  2. Annabeth says:

    I think that the films were pretty good in the spiritual content. In the first one, it actually included Aslan's death and resurection, which was pretty awesome in my opinon. In PC, it wasn't AS obvious, but it was still there. After all, C.S Lewis said that the spirtuality in the books was "supposed". I think that sometimes people overlook the Christianity of the books and just see them as a "classic children's series". That could explain why Apted doesn't quite get the picture.

  3. Queen Elizabeth says:

    ^^ completely agree

  4. coracle says:

    Not forgetting that Apted was already a successsful director when Adamson was born!!!
    This man does know his stuff. That's why they asked him to direct at such a crucial time.

  5. Clodsley Mole says:

    Peepi, you said "Please come back Andrew and finish this movie that’s what I want to say to him."

    Not sure what you mean. The movie is being finished by its own director and technical team. Are you suggesting he would swoop in and change it? Not going to happen sorry.

  6. always narnian says:

    Gandalf's Beard,
    I'd have to disagree. Aslan is in Prince Caspian almost more than any other book. He allows them to follow him in the woods, he meets Lucy, he meets the group before they go into the mound, he takes Lucy, Susan, and all the others through all the towns, finds Caspian's old nurse, releases the river god, etc. and he sends them back home in the end.

  7. Aunt Letty says:

    Yes, I agree that they were positive and certainly did their best to uphold the "spiritual" nature of the stories. The films were a far cry better than most of what comes out in the theaters. They just didn't hit the same chords with me as the books. I would have been astonished if they did.

  8. Bookwyrm says:

    This is why I'm so upset over the WW coming back. It lessens Aslan's power. If God ganked someone, they'd stay dead unless he let them come back. The same should apply to Aslan. Having the witch come back to life over and over makes her Aslan's equal.

  9. sachin says:

    AMERICAN IS COOL british is boring and crap