Old and the New

"Good," said Aslan, "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been a proof that you were not."

The first morning of spring break, my little brother asked me to put in a DVD for him to watch. "Renée," he said, "can you put in the DVD that says 'Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader'?" I took pause, confused. Then I realized he wasn't referring to the new movies, but to the old-school BBC DVDs. Do any of you remember those? Anyone? With the buck-toothed Lucy, the amazing '80's-esque hair, the 2D animated FX, and the Aslan who couldn't move his mouth? I have very fond memories of them. And to be perfectly frank, I greatly prefer them to the newer movies.

Objection: *scoff* "Renée! You can't be serious! I mean, just look: *points to the cartoon-like special effects* Need I say more?"

I won't argue. The newer Chronicles have production values that are astronomically better than the old BBC miniseries'. But I think amidst all the slick CGI images, and the state of the art visuals, something is lost. The new Chronicles of Narnia don't feel like the Chronicles that I read growing up. Some books you read are sensory experiences in the fullest sense of the word: not only do you see and hear the text, there are certain smells, locations, or foods that remind you of the books, or that you experience while reading the books. The Chronicles are like that for me-there are definitely certain feelings and images that remind me of the Narnia stories. And these are books that have a very definite, tangible aura about them, unlike any other I've experience in a book. Those books defined my childhood, and I think one of the most beautiful aspects of the books is their simple clarity and their gentle spirit mixed in with the epicness. The new movie have lost that simple "homeishness" of the books. I think the old movies capture that spirit beautifully. They've got the wistful magic of pipes playing the opening theme, rather ordinary young children playing the four siblings, a stiff, but somehow majestic and fatherly puppet-lion portraying Aslan. The countryside looks so familiar, yet strange and fairy-tale-ish nonetheless.

But the greatest difference between the old and the new struck me when I heard Aslan tell Caspian that "If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not." That line, so full of Lewis' cutting wisdom and deep insight. The new movies lack that essential Lewis-ness. They loose the Christian atmosphere of the Chronicles. Aslan is a weaker character-Father Christmas doesn't credit Aslan for the return of Christmas; the witch doesn't shake with dread at the mention of Aslan's name; Mr. Beaver's line about Aslan not being "safe" is cut, and when the witch cites the Deep Magic, Aslan snarls: "Don't tell me about the Deep Magic! I was there when it was written," as if He was a petulant teenager. They've diminished the majesty and the power of Aslan-they've weakened Him. And by weakening Christ in the story, the story is weakened. Part of the story is lost, and that's tragic.

In conclusion, I was so proud of my baby brother for putting in the old movie. Kickin' it old school. Like a champ. No school like the old school.