Let’s continue looking at the differences between the book and movie versions of The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that I began earlier. In this installment, I’ll look at a number of scenes from the book that do not appear in the movie at all or are revised and shortened. Strangely, much of the physical comedy has been eliminated. I would have thought that much of it would work on screen.
- The tail of Tumnus (Not a scene, but a minor detail. Still sad to lose.)
- The children chase the robin and get lost — there’s no going back (This is important in myth. Would avoid all the “sending you home” stuff.)
- Fishing with Mr. Beaver, and the meal (perhaps fun to watch, but easily cut)
- The stone lion and dwarf (arguably there, but different.)
- The thaw — spring arrives (This is hinted at in the movie, but I would have liked to see more of the snow melting and flowers. The ice break scene added to the movie conveys the opposite effect: the children should enjoy the thaw, not fear it.)
- Witch prepares to kill Edmund (This shows her cruelty and how evil wants to destroy us.)
- Witch and dwarf become invisible (The book includes an important line from Aslan about evil only being able to deceive.)
- Beruna fording and march (This could have been an impressive journey, but may have just been slow.)
- The romp after Aslan’s resurrection (Shows he is full of life and the joy of living.)
- The giant Rumblebuffin and Lucy’s handkerchee (Fun physical comedy, but may have been cliche)
- Hunting for Mr. Tumnus in stone (I can see that given the lack of the lion and dwarf scene, there needs to be someone to care about. Still, it seems there was very little of the emptying of “hell’s depths”.)
- The giant breaks down the gates of the witch’s castle (breaking down hell’s gates)
- Us Lions (Which leads to a potential problem with how lions would be treated in Narnia. Perhaps better off left out. This might be revisited if they ever make a film version of The Last Battle.)
Note: I found this post in my drafts folder. Not sure how it never got published, so publishing it a dozen years late (December 30, 2017). Thanks for your patience.