Controversies In The Book World: Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Adaptation

This past weekend I did a post about the biggest concern I have with Greta Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation which you can read by clicking this link https://booknotions.com/the-narnia-change-that-concerns-me-the-most-the-timeline-of-the-magicians-nephew/ . We will go into depth about all the changes Greta is making with Narnia, The Magicians Nephew, and why several of us who enjoy Narnia are concerned.

Meryl Streep voicing Aslan

In the Narnia novels that C.S. Lewis wrote, he describes Aslan as a male lion. Not to mention that Lewis was very clear that in this world Aslan is Jesus Christ. While Meryl Streep is a good actress, her voicing a male character whose supposed to be Jesus Christ in the world of Narnia, is going to be rather distracting. Greta Gerwig’s reasoning for casting Meryl Streep as Aslan was this “I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness,” Gerwig said. “Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight. I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it.” Here is the article discussing it  https://ew.com/greta-gerwig-explains-why-she-cast-meryl-streep-as-aslan-in-narnia-12126437  I can understand being picky about the right actor to portray Aslan, and if Greta didn’t want to bring Liam Neeson back, that’s fine. At the same time, there are several great male actors’ voices that could have been a more suitable choice. If I were the director of the Narnia books becoming movies or a show, I would have cast Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons or even Charles Dance from Game of Thrones. Their voices are very distinct and you know what? Jeremy Irons after all portrayed Scar in the Lion King.

Rock Music Being Played & Visually doesn’t look like Narnia  

If you’ve read The Magicians Nephew, Digory Kirke & Polly Plummer witness Aslan singing Narnia to life. The period for where The Magicians Nephew takes place is in Edwardian England in the early 1900s, and Aslan is singing a world into creation. Greta had rock music playing in the trailer and teased that Narnia would become a rock opera. The later Narnia novels would take place during World War II and after. As someone who is a fan of rock music, rock would not be the right pick for a movie like this.  I think the musical score should be more classical. Visually looking at The Magicians Nephew trailer, it doesn’t look like something that would remind you of Narnia. It looks like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss adaptation mixed with Willy Wonka. If this was an original story Greta Gerwig came up with and she wanted to go with these visuals, while it wouldn’t be my favorite, I would be more accepting of it. The visuals just don’t fit.  

The Timeline Change

I know I spoke about the timeline change in my first article, but I feel like it must be discussed again. In the novel The Magicians Nephew, Digory Kirke’s childhood takes place in 1900s Edwardian England. By the time the events of The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe happen, Digory is an old man living in the countryside. The Pevensie children come to stay with him during World War II and it is there that Lucy found the wardrobe in Digory’s home that would lead to Narnia. For the movie, Greta made a huge error with the timeline by moving Digory’s timeline from the 1900s to 1950. Why this is a huge problem is World War II is what forces the Pevensie children and the Professor to meet and for Lucy to find the wardrobe leading to Narnia. 1950, the war is already over. By the time Digory is an elderly man, it’ll be decades since the second World War II happened. So, it’ll be hard to find a way to bring Digory and the Pevensie children together. If The Magicians Nephew were to do well enough, then Greta Gerwig is going to have a difficult time arranging how the Pevensies and Digory meet even if she moves the Pevensies timeline to the modern day.

Conclusion

As much as I do enjoy Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, I don’t think she should have taken on Narnia. There seems to be a theme going on in Hollywood in recent years where directors adapt something they either don’t like, or they’ve never read the original work and even sometimes they’ve read it but missed the point of why readers enjoy the story and the symbolism & moral behind it. I understand some changes need to be made due to not fitting everything in or for entertainment purposes, but when core things of an author’s work are changed, that’s going to wreck the author’s vision.