Episode 62: Out with Izzard; In with Nighy
Four of the council-members go into a heated debate about whether the casting decision about Reepicheep is a good or bad thing. Rather than criticize Nighy, most of us debated (rather fiercly at times) whether Eddie Izzard’s performance did the character justice. This is one of the most heated debates we’ve had in a while, so enjoy!
Note: The poll mentioned in the podcast referred more to the overall casting decision and not Izzard. As of now, the Izzard poll says that 47% say Izzard was “Great” and 26% saying good. Only 3% say he was Bad and another 3% just above that.
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What I actually said was "Reep knows he is cute, and he HATES it."
Once again, we are confusing Izzard's performance with the script. Two different issues. I think your issue here is with the script. Could you give some specific examples of Reep being sarcastic that you didn't like?
I agree that the thing that makes Reep funny is he doesn't quite acknowledge the irony in the fact that he is a warrior mouse, though he cannot help being reminded of it every now and then (In the last chapter of PC, he forbids anyone from mentioning things like cheese or traps). This was brilliantly captured in the film. The best example of this is probably the scene where he meets Peter. He tells him "our hearts and swords are at your service." Peter can't help but smile, and Lucy says "he is so cute." To which Reep responds, "Who said that?!" Reep sensed disrespect and pulled out his sword as response. Big mistake, Lucy. Reep's values his honor more than his own life.
I really like what you said about a two foot bundle of fur acting like a FEARED knight. This was also brilliantly captured in the film. The best example is his introduction, and the way he addresses Caspian. He triumphantly tells Caspian to choose his last words carefully, and is then disappointed to find that Caspian is merely preoccupied with the fact that he is a mouse. In the book, when Caspian meets Reep, he has to try very hard not to laugh.
Please defend anything you say about Reep with specific examples from the PRINCE CASPIAN book/movie.
Very interesting that it seems the majority of NWebbers are not commenting. According to the current poll, 74% of NWebbers liked Izzard's performance.
I predict that the Izzard-haters will love Reep in VDT, and say they gave him more depth and was more like the book. The reality, however, is that the filmmakers will do exactly what Lewis did: Loosely establish just the concept of Reep in PC, and then develop him more in VDT. What we saw in PC is just a small piece of the puzzle that is Reepicheep.
glumPuddle,
One need to go from one extreme to another. You are right—he wouldn't be crying or praying over the dead bodies of the Telmarines he killed. And he IS fearless, something I made sure to emphasize in my points above. However, dreaming of forlorn hopes of battle charges is not quite the same as actually killing. It's fairly obvious to me that when he dreams that (in VDT) he's glorifying the situation to himself, and not thinking about the bloody details. My point about Reep is not that he's a wimp and nice as a hero can be—it's that he is NOT bloodthirsty. He's glory-thirsty. And while in reality Reep does his utmost to be the embodiment of heroism, we all know that Caspian holds him back from fighting a dragon for good reason. He'd be fried in an instant.
You can have the "comical" point. I never laughed once during either Narnia films, so it probably says something about me more than it does about the PC movie Reep.
I like the term "glory-thirsty," but still think you're being incredibly nit-picky. You're talking like they completely butchered the character.
What did you think about his introducton, where he refuses to "fight an unarmed man"? What did you think about the way he addresses Peter when he first meets him? What did you think about his reaction to Lucy calling him cute? How about the scene in the How where they are making plans for the final battle, and Reep puts his sword over his heart and says "for Aslan"?
Was Reep a 100% perfect replication of the character in the book? Well, if we pull out a microscope and look very very closely at every little thing, and question every tiny thing he says and does… then no. But they get the main idea. And that is all Lewis did in PC. Established the basic idea of Reep, and then developed and explained him more in VDT. I expect the filmmakers to do the same thing.
Out of curiosity, I emailed a friend who had seen the movies, but had not read any of the books, and asked her to describe Reepicheep's character in a paragraph. She has seen the PC movie twice, but her last viewing was over a year ago on DVD. (She thought the movie was okay, but not as good as LWW)
MY EMAIL: ""As an unbiased non-reader, could you do me a favor and summarize the character of Reepicheep in a paragraph? Describe him like you would to someone who is totally unfamiliar with Narnia. What is he like? What is he all about?""
HER RESPONSE: ""Honestly, if I were going to try and explain him to someone who had neither seen the movie nor read the book I would compare him to Puss in Boots from Shrek II. The fact that he's so small, but can take down people and creatures hundreds of times his size is pretty cool. Regarding his personality, I'd describe him as chivalrous (in the knightly sense of the word.)""
Sounds to me like she pretty much got the right idea. The point I'm trying to make here is that you can put Reep under a microscope and find things that don't line up 100% with the book… but, at the end of the day, when people walk out of the theater, they had an accurate impression of who Reep is.
Hmm… Honestly, I liked the representation of Reep throughout PC. I didn't like how they did Peter, Caspian, or a handful of other characters, but they GOT Reep with only one out-of-character moment ("Shut up!" I laughed at that in the theater, sorry). Overall, they did a great job with him, and I don't see what some of you guys are complaining about.
About the shift from Izzard to Nighy… I've heard so many renditions of Reep's voice–from the FotF version to the BBC–and each of them has grown on me over time. I'm not siding with anyone, I'm just gonna wait for the film. It's my hope that they raise Nighy's pitch a bit, as that would go with Lewis' description of Reep's voice, but I'm neutral. Just call me Switzerland. lol
I can't believe they did that, I hope their new Reepicheep has a great voice and can sound right for the part. Why did the change the actors in the place? They need Eddie Izzard back to his rightful place. Oh please don't change Reepicheep too much if they do I will be not a happy camper.