Friday Creature Feature - Fledge

I debated for a while about which spotlight to do for Year of the Horse. I haven’t been consistent at featuring each year of the Chinese zodiac—mostly citing Disney dragons, dogs, tigers in the years I remembered to do it. Instead of Disney horses, I’m going with a creature feature from one of my favorite fandoms: Narnia. I could have easily gone with Narnian horses as a whole (Phillip, Bree, Hwin, Jewel, etc) but I wanted to look at the first powerful steed in Narnia’s history. 

Born to a cavalry horse, Fledge was called Strawberry by Frank, the cabby who owned him. Neither felt at home in the city and longed for the country life. So when Jadis commandeered the horse, it was providence that the pair was pulled into Narnia with Diggory, Polly, Uncle Andrew, and the Witch. 

As the creation of Narnia proceeded, Strawberry was turned into a talking horse by Aslan. He held vague memories of his life as a dumb animal. At least enough to trust Frank and carry the kids to the Lion, his final task as “Strawberry”.

When Diggory was tasked with protecting the new land of Narnia from Jadis, Aslan turned Strawberry in the winged horse named Fledge. And as the newly christened steed, he bonded with Polly and Diggory as they retrieved the fruit that would help protect Narnia for hundreds of years. 

I think it’s safe to assume that Fledge remained loyal to King Frank and Queen Helen as they reigned over Narnia. A majestic steed that was transformed by grandeur personified—or lion-ified. 

Unlike my “Mistaken Identity” posts, Fledge is a story of transformation. Though born a dumb horse, Strawberry became the majestic Fledge. Aslan’s power changed him into something that Strawberry couldn’t have imagined on his own. Taken in a gospel light, it’s not unlike how Jesus Christ transforms us through the power and grace of His atoning sacrifice. 

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.” Just as Aslan turned Strawberry into the powerful and magical Fledge, Jesus Christ will turn each of us into miraculous and eternal beings as we turn our lives to Him. 

Why Magician's Nephew Would Make a Poor Movie

I recently finished rereading The Magician’s Nephew as I work my way through Narnia again. Ever since seeing the trilogy produced by Walden Media (which was my introduction to the franchise) I’ve wanted to see the other four books adapted into movies like the others. However, like I’ve said about the Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader adaptations, which we’ll get to after I reread those books, some of the Narnia books would have made poor movies without some artistic liberties. As my first example, let’s look at Magician’s Nephew. 

The biggest issue is that there are so few action scenes. Some of the most exciting scenes of the Narnia movies were action/battle scenes—and some of those had the most artistic liberties. However, for Magician’s Nephew, the escape from Charn and scuffle in London were probably the most action this book had. So unless those action scenes were expanded, the actio aspect of Magician’s Nephew would be almost non-existent. I’m not even sure where they could insert a battle or action scene contrived specifically for the movie, like they did in Prince Caspian. It’s not exactly like there’s even a battle scene in the book to begin with. Maybe flashbacks to the destruction of Charn, I suppose?

To compensate for the lack of action, you’d have to make this movie more about the emotions. Diggory felt neglected by his family, Polly felt hurt and bullied by Diggory, and Frank felt claustrophobic and trapped in the city. You’d have to amplify these emotional ordeals to make the conflict strong enough to get viewers invested. Maybe some flashbacks to Diggory’s father or Frank’s childhood with the right music to underscore the feelings? I’d love to see Diggory facing the Witch, knowing he’d chosen to not save his mother… heart breaking. I guess besides that scene, I’m not sure how you’d draw in viewers and get them invested in the movie. It’s different than in a book. 

All of that being said, it would be visually stunning, with the birth of Narnia and death of Charn. CGI has improved so much since the trilogy of movies came out about 15 years ago—though we should all be impressed by the CGI of the mythical creatures, especially Aslan. To see Charn fall apart with some despairing score or to see Narnia grow out of the Earth with a majestic soundtrack, I’d probably end up crying. 

Comment on our Facebook or Instagram. Let me know how you’d make Magician’s Nephew engaging and entertaining. Or maybe you’d disagree and you think it would adapt well. Maybe we’ll get to see it in live action. I can only hope. 

Pokemon Nicknames: Narnia

Like with her older sister before her, I've been making a point of reading from The Chronicles of Narnia to my unborn daughter. As I'm reading and watching/playing Pokemon, I've had some thoughts pop into my mind about another series of Pokemon nicknames. This time, we're going through the Poke-Wardrobe to see what we've got in Poke-Narnia.

Raticate as Reepicheep

Rapidash as Bree (or Hwin)

Dragonite as Eustace

Murkrow as Sallowpad

Ursaring as Bulgy Bear

Linoone as Trufflehunter

Lombre as Puddleglum

Gardevoir as Jadis

Jirachi as Ramandu

For Narnia and For Aslan!

With Easter coming up just a week away, I wanted to throwback to one of my favorite series, Narnia. This series won my heart back when I was a freshman in college and it never let go. So as we look forward to Easter, I want to talk about quotes by Aslan, Narnia’s representation of the Savior. 

“If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the deep magic differently. That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery, is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack, and even death itself would turn backwards.” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, 2005 Movie)

I wrote about this one a couple years ago. The White Witch was conceited enough to think that Aslan could be defeated in the name of the “deep magic” holding Narnia together. It makes me wonder how the adversary can believe he has an edge against us in mortality. Satan thought he had won our souls when Jesus Christ died, but he must have overlooked just how powerful the Atonement would be in saving the sons and daughters of God.

“Oh, Adam's son, how cleverly you defend yourself against all that might do you good!” (The Magician’s Nephew)

Isn’t this true of human nature? It’s easy to disregard counsel and advice when it’s hard to do. We fight against people who have different opinions from our own and we get defensive. Maybe this is why Jesus Christ said that the meek would inherit the Earth. If it’s our pride that gets in the way of listening to God’s word, then it’s meekness and humility that enables us to turn to God to transform us into our best selves.

“To know what would have happened, child? No. Nobody is ever told that.” (Prince Caspian)

It would be impossible for me to tell you how much time I’ve wasted on the “what if” game. What if I had changed my career path sooner? What if I had mended bridges with that friend sooner? What if I’d held my tongue instead of losing my cool? It’s a beautiful thing to learn from the past, but when I let myself live there, it only brings me down. In the movie version, Aslan says that we can’t know what would have happened, but “what will happen is another matter.” So let’s learn from our mistakes and use it to better the future.

“I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the horses the new strength of fear for the last mill so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.” (The Horse and His Boy)

I’ve written about this one as well. I remember during my first reading this book I was struck by these moments. It was a hard time in my life and this quote gave me comfort. Despite all the things weighing on my heart, I could tell the Savior was watching over me. Through friends, through family, through strangers. Despite how alone I felt, I was never alone. 

“But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

Here’s a good one to end on. John Piper is quoted as saying “All heroes are shadows of Christ.” It’s a bit more explicit in Narnia than in other series, but wherever there is good, you can find the attribute of Jesus Christ. Of course there is no better place than scripture to find those Christ-like attributes. So as we head towards Easter, let’s take some extra time to search and learn of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.

He Likes to Be Asked

This past week I finished up reading "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew".  So spoiler alert to anyone who hasn't read this (though it's been out for quite a few years now).

I mark up my Narnia books at times when I find a certain part particularly spiritually insightful. This time, the part I marked was during Diggory, Polly, and Fledge's quest to get the apple that would grow into a tree to protect Narnia from the Witch.

Polly, Diggory, and Fledge stop for the night and they realize they didn't have anything to eat for dinner. And this is the exchange that happened:

“Well I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,” said Diggory.

“I’m sure Aslan would have, if you’d asked him,” said Fledge.

“Wouldn’t he know without being asked?” said Polly.

“I’ve no doubt he would,” said the Horse (still with his mouth full). “But I’ve a sort of idea he likes to be asked.”

For those familiar with Narnia, you know that Aslan is representative of Christ (and at times of God). Knowing the wisdom and the character of Aslan, I'm sure Fledge was right and Aslan would have known to provide the trio with food. However, I think Fledge was also right in his second comment: Aslan likes to be asked. And I believe God is the same way.

The scriptures say, "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." (Matthew 6:8) And in the Bible Dictionary under prayer it says "The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them."

Sometimes I think that's what I'm doing wrong. I'm not asking for what I need. And accordingly, maybe I'm being too vague. I'm beginning to believe more and more that the more specifically I ask for blessings the more specifically the Lord can bless me (I wonder if there's a quote on that).

I guess the preliminary part to that is to know specifically what I need. It's something I've been working on in my interpersonal relationships already. What do I need from a friend? When I'm upset and I talk to a friend, do I need to release frustration or do I need advice? If I need a listening ear and my friend starts spouting advice, I just get more frustrated. And sometimes it takes a lot of introspection for me to know what I really need.

The same thing applies with God. What do I need from Him? Maybe that's why prayer and meditation often go together. Meditation helps me know what I need and prayer enables me to ask. It takes practice, getting myself to understand and tune in with myself to know what I need. But I can see how it has helped me, so I keep working on it.

I know that as I focus on my prayers and my relationship with my Heavenly Father I tend to be happier; I have bad days but I feel more firm. The more connected I feel to my Heavenly Father, the less I am "carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14). When I have that connection, I feel safe and I feel loved, no matter what happens.