What the Narnia Films Got Right That A Wrinkle in Time Didn’t

(This post contains massive SPOILERS)

The recent film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time left much to be desired. While it stuck relatively close to the book, the places where it diverged seemed pointless. Having a diverse cast was nice, but reinventing the story seemed so much of a focal point that the rest of the film suffered as a result. Despite a heavy reliance upon set and CGI, it failed to create the sense of awe and wonder that was intended. As a Christian children’s book series with similar themes and a strong sense of imagination, it invites comparison to The Chronicles of Narnia. They both feature a sibling who has fallen under the control of an antagonist whose influence is ultimately broken by the power of love (Charles Wallace from IT’s mind control and Edmund from the White Witch’s Turkish Delight spell). The stories also have been previously adapted for TV before getting a theatrical release (Narnia on BBC and Wrinkle on ABC). Even the Youtube channel CinemaSins, which usually posts videos relating to the big theatrical release of each week, posted their “Everything Wrong With” Narnia 1 the day before A Wrinkle in Time’s wide release. It is my belief that the filmmakers might have taken more inspiration from my favorite movies of all time, the Narnia series (without imitating them, of course). This blog post examines some of the ways the Narnia films succeeded while A Wrinkle in Time did not. Both A Wrinkle in Time and the Narnia films (except Prince Caspian) begin on Earth, painting broad brush strokes which reveal the characters’ normal lives before being disrupted by their respective adventures. For The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW), the film adds breadth to the published version’s introduction, adding scenes of the WWII blitzkrieg for historical context, which caused the exodus of city-dwelling children to the relative safety of the country, setting the scene for the launching of their otherworldly adventures. Prince Caspian (PC) takes further liberties in showing more of the psychological effects on the Pevensies’ having grown up in Narnia, then reverting to childhood in England again, something the printed tale never fully addresses. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (VDT) doesn’t expand too much on the British portion of the book, only adding a shade of foreshadowing for Edmund and Lucy’s character arcs before introducing Eustace. In Wrinkle, the same device is employed, beginning with backstory before diving into the dark and stormy night, a necessary option for the adaptation. The movie deserves credit for evincing Meg’s frustrations and love for her father, but her bond with her brother, Charles Wallace, is not as well-established as it ought to be and the addition of the character of Veronica seems cliche. I understand wanting to give Wrinkle a modern setting, but it felt like mostly wasted effort since it doesn’t add anything. Even the producers of the first Narnia film considered setting it in modern day, which wouldn’t have worked. For Narnia, the time period is essential to the inciting incident, whereas the setting of Wrinkle isn’t as important. However, it’s in traveling to other worlds where Narnia outpaces Wrinkle. Narnia’s use of a mixture of CGI and practical effects conspire to create an otherworldly effect that is breathtaking. LWW takes its time establishing this, starting with Lucy entering Narnia. When all four Pevenisies arrive together, they each take a moment to enjoy the scenery (with the exception of Edmund since he was under a spell), providing a brief respite from the darker parts of the film. It feels genuine, not forced. In PC, the magical elements of the fantasy world are deliberately toned down, which is evident in Lucy’s vision where she is reunited with Aslan, but there are moments, such as the scene on the beach, where the Pevensies’ relief and wonderment about arriving in Narnia is palpable. The filmmakers relied more heavily on CGI in VDT, but in my opinion, it worked fine, since each island is supposed to seem increasingly fantastical as they approach the End of the World. However, for Wrinkle, the scenes taking place on the planets failed to inspire amazement, as would have been expected. The CGI-heavy scenery has been compared to a screen-saver, not a planet that might organically exist. The characters’ sense of awe was rather unconvincing, especially that of the children. For instance, on the planet of Uriel, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who conveyed more delight than the youths. Granted, Meg lacks the childlike wonder of Lucy Pevensie, so she doesn’t have to appear overwhelmed, but a bigger reaction from Calvin and Charles Wallace would have been expected. Uriel, a pleasant stop on their journey, stands in stark contrast to the darker places to which they must travel. By failing to include the planet of Ixchel where Aunt Beast lives, the film missed another opportunity to provide viewers with a respite from the prevalent darkness. Even Rotten Tomatoes agrees with this comparison, citing the first Narnia film as “more magical than A Wrinkle in Time.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

Land Comparisons

The direction seemed also to try too hard to evoke a sense of awe without earning it or making it relevant to the plot. The pages of the Narnia stories elaborated on how the children revel in the wonders of that other world, yet the films correctly downplayed those sequences to keep the pace from dragging. Establishing fantasy worlds on film that captivate an audience will color the viewers’ sense of both the magic and tragic events which occur there. In the Wrinkle book, they visit Uriel to show the children the Black Thing, but in the movie, they go there solely because they think Mr. Murry was there. They just happen to be right, but then they coincidentally encounter the Black Thing, combined with the brain-like character IT, transformed to now simply be The IT. This change casts the Mrs. Ws in an unflattering light by appearing less informed and wise than in the written tale, and as a result, they cannot be compared to Aslan in terms of his benevolence and knowledge. Both Narnia and Wrinkle include venues where evil lurks, but Camazotz in the latter, with its ever-changing landscape and absence of real people and creatures, was frankly confusing. Even though Uriel isn’t under immediate threat, in keeping with the published version, the audience should sense the threat that the planet could fall victim to the Black Thing/IT. Miraz’s castle in PC is purposefully not as magical as Cair Paravel before it was in ruins, but is impressive to look at, and the White Witch’s castle in LWW makes a wickedly awesome statement.

Comparison of Villain Locations

As mentioned before, Wrinkle feels too CGI-heavy. Aesthetically, it looks more like VDT than the other two Narnia movies. Both movies depict a transformation: Eustace turns into a dragon, while Mrs. Whatsit becomes a weird leaf-creature (instead of the centaur-like creature that’s in the written volume, as if trying to distance themselves from Narnia comparisons). However, the dragon Eustace somewhat resembles actor Will Poulter, while the lettuce Mrs. Whatsit looks nothing like Reese Witherspoon.

Leaf Creature/Reese Witherspoon Comparison

Dragon/Will Poulter Comparison Granted, with seven books, the world of Narnia is more well-defined than the planets that only appear in the first volume of the Time Quintet. But by the attention to detail shown in production design, costumes and special effects, the Narnia films succeeded in elaborating on the stories’ lore, creating a unique environment. While A Wrinkle in Time doesn’t provide much detailed world-building outside of Camazotz, the filmmakers could have gone the extra mile and made Uriel and the planet where the Happy Medium is more visually distinct, giving the appearance that they have their own history independent of the plot. The Narnia films’ scores, melodically rich and memorable, weave a layer of emotion into the action on screen. Even VDT, while featuring mostly new music, incorporated the main theme from LWW and PC often enough to keep a sense of continuity. The Wrinkle soundtrack is neither very memorable nor distinctive but does try, maybe a little too hard, though, incorporating weird musical montages featuring pop songs. The resulting tonal dissonance removes the audience from the sensation of being on a different planet to the dreariness of everyday life back home. In the Star Wars films, pop music is not used because it would disconnect the audience from the galaxy far, far away a long time ago. For the Star Trek films, pop music is only used for referencing the past (and in turn, making their vision of the future feel more probable), such as the use of the Beastie Boys song in Star Trek Beyond. The Narnia movies reserve pop songs mostly for the credits, with a few exceptions. Interposing the World War II-era pop song, “Oh Johnny” over the hide-and-seek game in LWW establishes the time period, its echo reverberating in suspense once the wardrobe is found. VDT also uses “In the Mood” during a vision that partially takes place back on Earth. The music of the “Evacuating London” piece, with lyrics that are indecipherable without Google, was written for LWW and is repeated later in that film and also upon their return to Narnia in PC. But since it augments the wonderment of entering a new world, it’s not jarring. The only exception is the use of “The Call” at the very end of PC, but its lyrics and tone fit the moment so well, that it doesn’t feel out of place like the songs in Wrinkle. It doesn’t help as well that the number of pop songs in Wrinkle increases as the characters go farther away from Earth. “Sweet Dreams” works in the first two trailers, but the pop song in the final trailer seemed to warn that the music of choice would not assimilate tonally. Besides technical problems, what A Wrinkle in Time lacks most is emotional weight, which is a shame because the climax depends on it. The fact that Charles Wallace is Meg’s adopted brother adds an interesting dynamic that’s not fully exploited beyond a simple message of diversity. Eustace and Reepicheep have a more obvious friendship in VDT than the love between siblings Meg and Charles Wallace, and for the former, Eustace is a dragon and is mute during most of the bonding. For Wrinkle, I was left wanting, even though the moment when Charles Wallace lays down next to his unconscious sister did leave a small emotional impact. In VDT, if I’m not crying by the time Eustace says goodbye to Reepicheep, then that is the moment that brings on the tears. It’s a friendship that I wish I could see more of, especially since it’s already much deeper than in the novel, but I’m completely satisfied with what I got. In fact, the movie does a better job in painting the range of feelings Eustace struggles through to arrive at the new experience of deeply caring about someone else. In Wrinkle, I also did not feel the film conveyed enough urgency in the journey to find Meg’s father. While the backstory revealed their close relationship before his disappearance, and the reunion showed some tenderness, it could have done more. As previously mentioned, changing the story so that the Mrs. Ws didn’t know Mr. Murry’s whereabouts and sent the children to Camazotz only because Meg overtook the tesseract somehow, detracted from the sense of urgency conveyed in the written version. In comparison, the Pevensies’ drive to rescue Edmund from the White Witch in LWW comparatively outshines the quest to rescue Mr. Murry or even Charles Wallace. The Narnia films and A Wrinkle in Time both deviate from their published volumes in some places. For PC and VDT, several alterations were required to help the story translate to a cinematic format. PC, for instance, condenses four chapters of an extended flashback in the book, not only to help the film’s pacing but to tie in some events with the children’s character arcs. VDT adds some things (more on that later), rearranging the order of their visits to some of the islands, forging the episodic nature of the novel into more of a throughline, a change I appreciate the more I learn about screenplay structure. In A Wrinkle in Time, however, while the order of events is the same (with the omission of the entire Aunt Beast plotline and the addition of the tornado on Camazotz), the events serve different purposes. The story therefore has an impromptu feeling, instead of the clearly planned journey the Mrs. Ws plotted for the safety of three children traveling across the universe. They only remain in Camazotz after Meg somehow took over the tesseract and left them stuck there. While the writing covering the encounter with IT would be challenging to translate onto the screen, perhaps some creative ways should have been explored. Taking a cue from the scene in which Rey first shows off her force abilities by reading Kylo Ren’s mind in The Force Awakens conveys a similar idea, using a combination of effective acting, directing and sound effects. The Narnia movies successfully translate odd happenings to the screen, especially the transitions to the other world, while Wrinkle could have improved in that area. For that film, elements added seem to promote diversity and girl power more than adding to the lore of the novel. Some elements of the production design have inspired lighthearted comparisons online. Both movies have action sequences not mentioned in the books; Narnia’s battle and action sequences expound on references from the source material and are expanded in the films, helping build character (such as Peter struggling with his new gifts and responsibility in the waterfall scene in LWW) or taking the place of less visually interesting action (such as the battle at Narrowhaven in VDT). For Wrinkle, the action scenes, such as Calvin falling from the transformed Mrs. Whatsit, or Calvin and Meg dealing with a sudden tornado just for the purpose of showcasing her scientific skills (which were already revealed earlier), have no basis in the book and fill time, adding spectacle where it isn’t needed. Both stories feature impossible transportation to another world or planet. For LWW, the straightforward method of conveyance through the wardrobe is kept, but for PC and VDT, the filmmakers took liberties, creating methods that, while not precisely adhering to the published narrative, fashion a visual spectacle of which I’m sure C.S. Lewis would approve. For Wrinkle, the bending of the space around them is cool upon first viewing, as was the actual tessering once they were inside the tesseract. However, on second viewing, it becomes evident that, with a higher level of creativity, a more dazzling flair would have been more in line with the written description. The warping of space looks cool, but it’s the transition between locations within the warped environment that could be improved. Even at the end, when Meg supposedly can see what tessering is really like, it’s more bizarre than amazing. In addition, the Narnia movies reference other stories in the Chronicles; for example, LWW alludes to Professor Kirke’s adventures in The Magician’s Nephew. While not as strongly linked narratively, Wrinkle not only omits Sandy and Dennys, the protagonists of the fourth volume in the Time Quintet, Many Waters, but also does nothing to draw from the other books, not even as fun little Easter eggs. At its heart, A Wrinkle in Time suffers most acutely from the deletion of all faith-based elements imbedded in the original novel. Granted, the Wrinkle novel isn’t considered quite as grounded in these components as Narnia, with its semi-allegorical (or more accurately suppositional) narrative of Christ’s death and resurrection, but it does quote the Bible and mentions Jesus amongst the heroes from Earth. Lewis’s books never outright reference Christianity, yet most of these themes and allegorical elements translate well onto the screen. The Wrinkle movie could not be expected to include all the book’s references, but I had hoped that the themes would have been adapted, even if slightly changed. Instead, a generalized, vaguely spiritual “good vs. evil” message prevails. The scene with the Happy Medium seemed to pay homage to Eastern meditation standards, and while the novel mentions Buddha, the screen version seemed to be purposefully diverting away from its inherent references to Christianity. While subtle, these are definitely there, which is why it is disappointing that the path of political correctness prevails cinematically, ignoring them completely. The resulting blandness undercuts the audience’s own takeaway. Even the Honest Trailer from Youtube points out how ridiculous some of these lines are by making them motivational Instagram posts read in a Matthew McConaughey voice (https://youtu.be/VJGYEVFGrDc?t=155). Screenwriter Jennifer Lee’s response to this charge was to state the movie’s purpose: “It’s about evoking that weird, wonderful universe, not trying to literally recreate the singularity that was L’Engle’s way in.” As a Christian, I can’t help but feel slightly offended by this comment, since it seems to imply that the author’s Christian viewpoint is no longer applicable today. In its second weekend, the faith-based film I Can Only Imagine beat A Wrinkle in Time at the box office, which, as IndieWire points outs, makes you wonder if Wrinkle would have fared better if the Christian components had remained intact. I understand toning them down, but it appears that deleting them completely might have done damage in the long run. After all, Disney did produce the first two Narnia films, so it’s not as if making secular faith-based films is incompatible with the company’s motto or history. (IndieWire) In the Narnia franchise, Aslan is supposed to represent Jesus, and the films keep these comparisons, from his resurrection in LWW to his “I have another name” line that was thankfully kept in the screen version of VDT. The books drive home this point by describing him as the son of the Emperor Beyond the Sea. The movies never address this, but the implication is still clear, giving the audience all we need to know about him. The Mrs. Ws in the novel are essentially angels (Mrs. Whatsit being a star who sacrificed herself to fight the Black Thing (not just IT as put forth in the film!)) and are credited as being messengers of God. The theatrical release never truly explains who or what they are, retaining their mystery, yet diminishing their intrigue. Deleting the mention of stars also undercuts the hope that viewers may have early on, that the Black Thing can be fought. In addition to retaining the Christian messages, the Narnia movies, in some cases, enlarge them. A Wrinkle in Time doesn’t come close to doing this. It could have expanded on the idea that evil wears different masks in the way the film treated Camazotz as an ever-changing landscape with many faces, but the result was more confusing than intriguing, so it didn’t add anything. PC and LWW’s changes stick with the Christian themes of the source material. Even the Green Mist in VDT addresses the theme of temptation that appears repeatedly throughout the original work and heightens it, as well as potentially connecting it to The Silver Chair. Which leads to one of the more frustrating things about A Wrinkle in Time - the climax. As a fan of the book, I found myself noticing inconsistencies in the film. When Mr. Murry started tessering and Meg found herself alone with only Charles Wallace and the IT, the film lost me. For one, I had been looking forward to seeing how Aunt Beast would be portrayed and secondly, I found it jarring that Calvin and Mr. Murry disappeared, just to suddenly reappear at the end. Meg never seems to work through her anger and disappointments with her father, while also never learning from the Mrs. Ws that she has something that IT doesn’t have. While I disliked the climatic scene at first, on second viewing, I find it is actually one of the better ones and a good example of creative adaptation. However, because of the rest of the film, it doesn’t feel earned, and it began to remind me strongly of VDT, so much so, that it seems that like Wrinkle was ripping off Narnia 3 by the end. Not the book, the movie. Ironically, VDT was the only film in the trilogy not produced by Disney. It’s also ironic that both Wrinkle and VDT feature two boys and one girl taken on an adventure. The baffling change in which the Mrs. Ws don’t know where Mr. Murry is, departs from the novel, producing a quest that doesn’t feel like one, and parallels the search for the seven lost lords in VDT, something which the film emphasizes more than the book. The IT’s fluid motions, which are not characteristic of the Black Thing, which the published version describes as simply a cold, dark shadow, are reminiscent of the Green Mist, with its snake-like movements. Even the sound effects are similar. And while Dark Island is the origin of the Green Mist, Camazotz is considered the source of the IT in the film, instead of merely a dark planet taken over by the Black Thing. The IT’s description is as an “evil energy” that’s “faster than light” and places within them “jealousy and judgment, pain and despair,” as well as fear, whereas Dark Island and the Green Mist “can make your darkest dreams come true” and “seeks to corrupt all goodness, to steal the light from this world.”

Ending Comparison

The biggest similarities with VDT however, are after Meg refuses to return to Earth. She wakes up in the IT, and instead of being a giant brain, presumably because Disney didn’t want to repeat themselves after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it’s a weird, dark place that aesthetically resembles Dark Island in terms of lighting and color palate. The IT then proceeds to show Meg a “perfect” version of herself in order to have her give in, similar to how the Green Mist tempts the sailors with their fears personified, including the appearance of Caspian’s father, Jadis, and a sea serpent. The IT also attacks Meg physically, the same way the Mist physically pulls Eustace back from setting down the seventh sword. After Meg frees Charles Wallace, IT, unlike in the book, but also in the 2003 TV version, is defeated and starts to dissolve, which compares to when the clouds of the Dark Island begin to dissipate. If anything, this ending to Wrinkle makes me appreciate VDT’s much more, and to clarify, I love that movie. While I had been slightly shocked by how it departs from the novel during my first viewing, I did grow to love and appreciate it for what it was, and went on to see it five times in theaters

A Wrinkle in Time vs. Voyage of the Dawn Treader video essay In short, removing the Christian themes caused Wrinkle’s story to suffer, negatively effecting the tone. Many articles on the film say that it’s made for children and that demographic will enjoy it more than adults. That makes sense since it is based on a children’s book. But so is Narnia, and I enjoy those films (and books) just as much as an adult, if not more, than when I was a child. And after re-reading Wrinkle, I should have seen a film that adults enjoy just as much, if not more than the kids. I hope another adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book will be produced some day, and if anyone does, I’d suggest they approach it as they would a Narnia book. Stick to the main themes, keep the Christian influences, and take the audience on an emotional and fantastic adventure they’ll never forget. Articles Referenced: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/three-family-friendly-fantasy-films-that-are-more-magical-than-a-wrinkle-in-time/ http://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/i-can-only-imagine-box-office-surprise-hit-1201941040/ https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/7/17091370/wrinkle-in-time-review-oprah-witherspoon-kaling-reid-duvernay-madeleine-lengle-christian https://www.cbr.com/wrinkle-in-time-biggest-changes/ http://www.newsweek.com/wrinkle-time-book-vs-movie-changes-840672 http://www.thisisinsider.com/wrinkle-in-time-movie-changes-book-religion-christianity-ending-2018-3 https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/3/8/17090084/a-wrinkle-in-time-faith-christianity-movie-madeleine-lengle