Caspian Loses His Accent for VDT
BenBarnesFan was sent a scan yesterday of an interview between Kingston University’s student magazine, ‘Mouth’ and Ben Barnes.
Mouth Magazine: How did it feel reprising your role as (the now) King Caspian?
Ben Barnes: It was a great experience reprising the role. It’s a different take on the character with a new director and new studio invovled. We decided that Caspian and the Telmarines will no longer have European accents, as they felt CS Lewis is a quintessentially an English writer. The story is my favourite of the seven books and it has a feel of a roving, mythical, adventure tale.
The Telmarine accent in Prince Caspian got a lot of mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. As the accent has now been removed for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it should be interesting to see how everybody reacts.
Thanks to ‘Cass’, ‘Sir Jack’, and ‘bkey’ for the information!
Sounds cool; It will be fun to see what he sounds like.
Seriously? Wow… Actually I'm kind of glad. I expected most of the other 'Telmarine' characters to lose their accents, but I thought Caspian would still have it, at least a little bit. That's interesting.
wow! I want the accent! but oh well…..
I was confused in the second movie , the movie just didn't seem to flow right and the story line was not clear . I was not fond of the accent of the telmarines , but removing it is inconsistent and confusing .
the accent didn't bother me, nor did I love it. I will definitely be interesting to see how he sounds now. Hopefully it's for the better- and I hope it's not a distraction. Keeping positive though. =)
So in the space of three years an entire country losses its accent. Interesting. Well I never thought Caspian had the best accents so I don't really mind. But looking at the series it will be kind of interesting. Keep the story of Aslan alive!!!
W00T!
Hmmmm… I didn't mind some of the accents in PC, it's just that they were inconsistent with Italian, Mexican and some Spanish. I guess I'm happy overall.
One could argue that since the Telmarines have been in Narnia for many generations that it is possible for the accent o change and become a little muttled.
Interesting point… it does seem to be a bit of a stretch, but I know someone who moved to a region where the accent was different and picked up the new accent fairly quickly. Perhaps, since Narnia has a much more "Narnian" (British English) influence following Prince Caspian, Caspian himself will have started to adapt. I'm still not crazy about the idea, but this might work…
I think it could. The Telmarines hadn't had any contact with the real Narnians (British accents) since they forced them out. Now that the Narnians are back, their accents would influence the Telmarines' accents. It's just like someone from America moving to England for a year or so. When they come back they sometimes have a hint of British accent!
Not sure how I feel about this. I have a thick accent very much along the lines of what the Telmarines are represented as in the PC movie.
Interesting. I thought the accent was a little weird.
Although the concept was not executed perfectly, i felt the addition of the accent in Prince Caspian was a brilliant idea and one which really added a lot of depth and subtext to the tale of conflict in Prince Caspian. I would of loved to have seen them keep it for VDT, as i think they could of developed it to add an interesting dynamic to the mixed Narnian and Telmarine of the ship – but i can see the logic in what Ben Barnes says there, and it might ultimately prove to be for the best.
No! His accent was hilariously enjoyable, I was looking forward to hearing it again.
So they all lose their accent in 8 year? Oh well.. It's not a loss, the accent was ridiculous..
YES! I am so happy, lol.
What!!!??? Make's no sense. The accent Ben did for PC was perfect for the role IMO. Everyone I know who saw the film were impressed when I told them that he don't actually speak like that.
I didn't mind the accent in Prince Caspian, but this is totally inconsistent! VDT had better turn out okay…
Score! 🙂
I prefer to simply pretend the accent never happened. It really did not work at all. Some pulled it off better than others. Course, I still have to get used to the beard…
ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I LOVED THE ACCENT. TO ME LEWIS JUST MADE EVERY KINGDOM (EXCEPT CALORMEN) BRITISH!!! I THOUGHT IT WAS A NICE CHANGE. IT'S GOING TO BE WEIRD FOR ME NOT TO HEAR THE TELMARINES WITH SPANISH ACCENTS
I'm a little bit 'in the middle' here.
I did enjoy Caspian's accent, it was pretty sweet!
But also, I know he has an awsome voice, so go for it!
Ditto!
*laughing*
Do you remember the Telmarine in PC that had one line?
"But you're a…you're a mouse!"
He had a flat out American accent! That was even worse than the spanish/italian/mexican one…
i dont remeber that part. i thought it was "you're a mouse"
That guy was one of the guys who animated Reepicheep. They let him have a short role as a treat.
Ditto! 😀
I have to say I'm happy about this. I didn't mind the accent too much in PC, and I would tolerate it in VDT for consistency, but I like Ben Barnes' English voice better, and I think I'll be able to concentrate on his character more instead of his fake accent. 😉 I think it will make him seem more real to me, for some reason. It will also be interesting to hear the Telmerines without Spanish accents. I think I'll be able to understand them better the first time.
So I'm pretty positive about this. Wheee! I can't wait for the movie! 😀
Yeah. While I would have been perfectly fine with a decision to maintain Englishness earlier on, the lack of continuity is a problem.
Well, I'll tell you what, after one week of staying in a bunk room that contained three Americans, I had definately started picking up their accent (lol). I think it's perfectly acceptable to believe that when you live amongst people with a stronger accent than you, you will start picking it up. So if the "Narnian" accent is supposed to be stronger than the "Telmarine" accent, it is quite likely that the Telmarines would start to speak with less Spanish inflection and more British inflection.
Uh-oh, not good… lack of continuity, plus I sort of got attached of it… bash me all you like, but I liked the accent, it gave a nice finishing touch 🙂
Well… maybe they will blame it on Caspian mingling mostly with Narnians and losing the accent thusly, though still I don't like the lack of continuity, a bit illogical…
But what matters most to me, is that most likely I'll enjoy the film immensely anyway, as it's looking better and better 🙂
I never cared too much about the accent, but now… I think they shouldn't have removed it. Lack of continuity. Blergh. 😛
I'm glad. The accent was rather inconsistent/awkward anyways, and it makes sense that he would lose it after a while.
They really don't seemed to be too worried about continuity for this film, do they? I actually quite liked the accent, but ho hum. This certainly more lewis-esque, so is a good direction for the film.
As long as they are consistent from now on, I don't think it will matter. They probably found that a lot of non-Narnia fans didn't like the accents or were confusing.
Anyway, it will be interesting when they get to those stories with a siginificant Calormene presence. But even in VDT there are a few… 😀
I like that they got rid of the accent, but won't people other than me notice. (I won't notice, unless it obvious and even sometimes I won't notice, I probably won't notice that Reepicheep's voice even changed.)
YAY!!!!
I love the Spanish accent! He won't sound as cool without it, I'm sure. Especially since he has a beard now. Who knows?
Sad to hear… I actually thought that it was a very creative idea in Prince Caspian because it helped to establish that the Telmarines were a different "race." I don't know that it's an essential element to the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but I feel like it makes the series lose a bit of consistency. Perhaps it won't be that bad, as long as they have kept some of the other things (like costumes and armor) consistent…
It is interesting though that their reasoning is because C. S. Lewis was a British author… I think he would have been creative enough to be okay with one race of his characters having a different accent. Sorry, I guess for me, the accent just made Prince Caspian a little more "real."
I agree with you a 100%
I wonder if the Calormen will have an British accent based on this reasoning.
I feel the same as you do. The accent and the creative liberties taken with the Telmarines brought the story to life for me. When I read the books I see a cast entirely of Anglo-British characters, excluding the Calormenes of course, and that feels less enjoyable to me. When I view Narnia with these creative touches it's more fun.
His accent may be gone, but it's still his voice.
Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about this…I mean, I love his English accent, and I am aware of the fact that accents can change over a period of time, but to change from a Spanish accent to a full blown English accent in a span of only three years seems like a bit of a stretch…well, I'm sure if wont make the movie any better or worse!
I didn't think the accent worked very well in the first place. Although it did give the telmarines their own dialect, which was great and all, but it just won't work for VDT. 🙂
Actually, I'm kind of glad. In PC it was a little distracting and it seemed to "come and go" quite a bit.
Hmmm….didn't see that one coming. But okay, to tell you the truth, I sort of like him better without the accent. It'll show how the Telmarines have sort of become Narnian.
ditto!
I have to agree with you Silver The Wanderer, it will be strange. 🙂
This is beginning to look suspicious…nautical theme, dark hair and beard, and now an English accent? Sounds like Will Turner to me, not King Caspian!
Hey Ranger Girl that's exactly what I was thinking! Please people! Lets have Narnia not POTC!
Yes! I anticipate sitting in the movie theater and hearing Ben Barnes' real voice!
So begins the continuity errors.
So much for all that Telmarines descented from Spanish pirates deal in the last movie. I kind of liked it… It added some depth to a flat story.
totally agree. Adamson had said that in the PC book Aslan had said himself that the telmarines had descended from pirates, which is where the spanish influence came from. i thought it was very clever, and yes gave the story much more depth, by having the telmarines have a spanish influence. with the accent and dark skin, it gave the telmarines a uniqueness, and it seperated them from the rest of the narnians, making them their own kind of people with their own ways and style. im going to really miss all that now. who said the characters FROM Narnia had to be british? the kids are british because they're from Britain, but Lewis didnt specify that the Narnians were british. now i just think making them all british will just make the story more flat with no color. having all the characters sound the same and act the same will make it boring. i do wish they would keep some difference in the characters, then it would make every character more orginal!
What about LOTR movies? I always felt (and not to mention Tolkien and Lewis were friends) that Lewis and Tolkien had created similar worlds in their fantasy stories. Yes, Lewis was definately more mythological, but still similar. The LOTR movies had everyone with British or semi British accents. I didn't feel that made it flat in any way. So I don't see how it would make Narnia seem "boring" if everyone spoke in a similar way…
elanor, I disagree with your statement that "Lewis is more mythological than Tolkien". Tolkien is actually far more mythological than Lewis, he just disguises it better. Also, Tolkien's mythology is not Greek, it's based on Northern legends (Norse, Germanic, Saxon, Goth, Finnish etc.). Anything that's not based on those legends is Tolkien's own mythology. The mythology in Narnia is more obvious because it's Greek creatures (Fauns, Centaurs, Satyrs, Naiads, Dryads etc.) with on the Carlomen side of things some Arabian legends. There are dwarves and one mention of King Arthur, but other than that, there is not much northern mythology in Narnia.
To address your other statement elanor: the LOTR movies had everyone speaking with slightly different accents. The thing about LOTR is that everyone has their native language (Elvish, Dwarvish, Rohirrim, Entish, Mordor Speech etc.) but they all speak the "Commom Tongue" to each other. If you are listening you can hear the different accents (for instance: the Hobbits sound far more rural, the Orcs have very harsh accents, The Elves have very pure voices vs. the Men of Rohan and Gondor who sound a bit rougher. The Dunadain Rangers, aka Aragorn, have a far more "Americanized" accent than the other characters although that is probably to do with Viggo's own accent). But anyway, the cast did have accent training and there is variance in the different species/people's accents.
Very interesting you guys. Tolkien also says that his books, most especially LOTR, represented the Catholic Faith, its history, and part of Revelation, and its people. He says that fantasy must in some(from a prolouge in "The Silmarillion")way very closely related to religion, meaning the Catholic Faith, but not so explicitly. Being a Catholic, and a harcore Tolkien & LoTR fan, we or I already know, and can guess who and what in his stories represent in the Catholic Faith. Like Sauron & Morgoth are Satan, the Elves are the Angels or "humans" who were not born of original sin, because if Adam & Eve have not have sinned then we would be immortal,etc. Lembas is the Holy Eucharist, Elbereth Gilthoniel(Star Queen), & Galadriel are both similar to God's mother, Mary, for the Elves, and some humans and other respectful creatures revere both of them. A Note: We Catholics do not worship Mary as you Christians think; we simply pray to her in a lesser manner (praying in a lesser way is simply speaking in an reverent way, not worshiping, adoring.) asking her to pray to God for us. 'Coz u know God loves her dearly then any of us weaklings, 'coz she's free of Adam's sin, 'coz Jesus did not want to be born of an imperfect human. Anyhoo, don't mind me if being very random. Just making a few pointers.
Hi Elf Maiden Archer of Rivendell, I find what you have to say really interesting. Especially the part about Catholics, now I'm not looking at getting into a theological debate, but could you please explain a little bit more. What sin is Mary supposedly free of (I mean you said "Adam's Sin" but what is that)? Also were your 'Coz statements true or were you over exaggerating? When you said "You Christians" were you just meaning you non-catholics, because I thought that Catholicism was a branch of Christianity, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always thought that Catholics were Christians.
Thanks again
to Lillyput90: I'm sorry I didn't clarify what I meant by "mythological." I just meant Greek mythology (nyads and dryads, minataurs, the water god, and such…). And when I mentioned the "mostly british accents" in LOTR I meant that to a casual viewer watching the movies, most of the accents were similar to British accents and there were no wierd, funky accents that totally distracted you from the movie. And if you don't mind me butting into the conversation, 🙂 the "Adam's Sin" that Elf Maiden Archer of Rivendell was referring to was when Adam ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Because of that one act, all of mankind is affected. And the whole thing about Catholics being Christians is debatable. Catholics revere Mary as sinless (as I understand) and pray to her (even if it be in a lesser manner) while "Christians" do not pray in any way to Mary or believe she is sinless. I guess in that way, many Catholic doctrines make Catholicism and Christianity seem very far apart.
Sorry! That was long… 🙂
Hi guys! Sorry about the reply being VERY late, but got very busy with my new baby sister. Thanks to elanor for responding to Lillyput90 for me. Catholics called themselves Catholics after the Protestants (fallen away Catholics) started naming themselves Christians( which they are not because they choose what to believe in(heretics, other heretics include Muslims, Mormons, Albigensians,etc.) instead of what the Catholic Church teaches and interprets for us under the Holy Ghost, which is why it is infallible (go to reference.com). Ok, so before Jesus was born, the Jews were the Chosen people right? Not us Gentiles. Then when the Jews (the ones that did not follow Him) did not believe He was the Messiah, and hated Him, Jesus cursed them that they would not have peace until they would recognize him as the Messiah, and become Christians (Traditional Roman Catholics, not the "Catholics" nowadays, they're ecumenical, neither heretics, or schismatics. Catholic comes from Greek meaning whole, one, in unity. Then throughout the years, The Catholic Church has always been attacked by the devil, and people deceived him; i.e. heritics, Freemasons, Pagans, Jews,etc. But it shall always survive, and near the end of the world it is
prophesied that the Jews, and the whole world will be converted, and there will be real peace. Anyhoo, I gotta end this now, 'coz it's long. Thanks and long live Aslan and Elbereth Gilthoniel!
You never know they might actually give us a reason for why Caspian talks with a new accent. For example; the picture in the thumbnail? "Edmund, I'm so glad to have you on board!" "Yes, although you're talking funny, Caspian." "I know, now everyone can understand what I'm saying."
Whether they give him a reason or not will make or break continuity for me.
I didn't like the accent either, but the inconsistency bothers me more. *sigh*
Yes, this is wonderful news! His accent was very distracting in Prince Caspian.
I think I'm glad he's losing the accent but isn't it a bit weird that somebody's voice could totally change over just 3 years…?
Hurray! I always liked Ben Barnes' real accent much better! I wonder if they will use his or go for something more generic. I think the Spanish accents caused PC to loose some of the English charm that C.S. Lewis always included
ha ha ha ha…I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, but the fact that everybody (including myself, so don't freak on me) here is so starved for movie-details that we can rant and aruge back and forth about accents is hysterical. Anywho, I'm conflicted, after seeing the PC movie, I've always imagined, even when re-reading the books, Caspian with a spanish accent-I've even written fanfics where a lot of his speech patterns and stuff are based on the idea of his 'thick accent', but oh wells, so long as they're not trying to turn him into Will Tunner and they aren't going to do a Lucy/Caspian thing (Susan/Caspian was trouble enough, do we really need Lucian? stick with RD!) I guess I'm still happy. Sail on vdt! But one last thing, while his characters were most certianly british (the Pevensies, Eustace, Jill, etc..) I thought C.S. Lewis wasn't. I thought he was from belfast irland…
nope. he was british. i have a question though as to why would you imagine them doing a lucy/caspian thing? ewww! Lucy's like, 10 years younger than Caspian! now thats just crazy! sorry, but that the first i've seen someone wonder about that, and it just really bothered me. besides, Caspian has his romance with the Star's daughter, as it is in the book. (if they dont do that in the movie im gonna be mad)
In the pre-PC days, when Caspian was generally accepted to be 13 or so, Lucpian were quite the couple in many fanfictions. I think the trend mostly died with the introduction of Suspian.
And I believe C.S. Lewis was born in Ireland, but not raised there.
I'll be mad if they do it, too. The reason I brought it up is because there are a lot of fanfictions about Lucy/Caspian that are dawn treader themed and I was worried that fox was going to get the wrong idea…that we fans actually LIKE that…um, no, Ramandu's daughter/Caspian all the way, please!
Whether or not someone from Belfast would consider themselves to be "British" or "Irish" would be something of a controversial and complicated issue as far as the history of Northern Ireland is considered. Not sure whether there is a technically correct answer, but you could probably argue it either way.
Belfast is in the UK, thus he was British.
So glad to see another fic writer on here! I think changing the accent is a mistake too. Also you brought up something interesting, if CS Lewis being Irish is considered British then it should be fine if Caspian suddenly spits out the Irish accent Ben Barnes is using in Killing Bono or even Scottish. I bet that wouldn't sit right with the anti-Spanish accent crowd lol.
HURRAHHHHHH!!! YAYAH!!!
I seriously shouted with joy when I read this. Like, seriously seriously. Suddenly the hair and beard mattereth very little. I am content. Let's hope this is true. 😉
ROLL ON DAWN TREADER!!!!
Hm. Interesting decision. I didn't mind his accent, I thought he did it rather well, and I always end up wanting to imitate him. But I know a lot of others didn't like it. I really don't mind either way on this one.
While this film could end up being a continuity disaster, that may well be what is needed after the canon disaster of Prince Caspian.
awww… but i loved the mediterrranean accent! he sounded so cool! and besides, wont that be kind of wierd to have the same character suddenly change the way they talk. that'll sure be strange. darn, i really loved the accent. oh well, Ben still sounds really cool with his british accent, but still….*sigh*
I think I would like him to keep the Spanish accent if he did a better job on it. But I'm not going to freak out about it either.
Interesting, to say the least…
Aww too bad. I liked the accent!
yay!!!! the stupid accent is GONE!!!! 😀 (no offecnce)
Vary vary Interesting.
Hurray! No more lame Inigo Montoya wannabe accent! 😀
"Hello, my name is Caspian, I am suddenly britsh just like the kings and queens of old, prepare to die!" Hee hee, I couldn't help it!
So much for continuity. 🙁
Hmmm well i wasn't a big fan of it but wish they would just be consistent
Hmm this will be interesting. I love Ben's english accent so I will be fine with it but I am not sure how some other people are going to react to it.
YES! No more accent. I hated the accent in Prince Caspian. I am so happy that they decided to leave it out.
Uggghhhh…. Now its going to seem less Narnian. Not happy about this!
All my friends did not like Caspian's accent, so this is a relief for them…
I didn't have any problem with it, but I think other people did and it was a big reason for PC doing so poorly
I LOVED that Spanish accent! And I'm sure I will miss it terribly! Bother! oh well, it's just a movie, not the end of the world or anything…. 🙂
Yeah I guess continuity doesn't matter anymore.
Was this interview conducted on April Fool's Day? This makes no sense at all.