Favorite Failed Fantasy Franchise - Blu-ray Forum

The Mad Kiwi · 07-11-2010, 06:31 PM

All right, so with the success of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings back in 2001, filmmakers have been trying over and over again to nab the next big fantasy-book-turned-film series. The only one that's gotten sequels is The Chronicles of Narnia (and Twilight, I guess, if you want to label that fantasy). All of the other ones have had initial installments that weren't successful enough to continue with follow-ups. Which of these films is your favorite? Note that I'm only including first films in a potential series, so one-off films like Bridge to Terabithia and The Spiderwick Chronicles that weren't designed for sequels don't count. Oh, and I realize calling A Series of Unfortunate Events a fantasy is a bit of a stretch, but it's such a heightened sense of reality that I'm including it here.

For me, it would have to be The Golden Compass. I realize it's a mess of a film, but my problems with it stem mostly from the editing, which was New Line's doing. Judging by what actually made it into the film, I love what I see; it just needs more of it to smoothen out the pacing and fill in the gaps. Sadly, Chris Weitz said his original three-hour version may never be released as it would cost about another $17 million to finish the effects, something New Line wouldn't find profitable enough in the long run. Shame.

View Poll Results: Favorite initial installment of a doomed fantasy franchise?
A Series of Unfortunate Events	26	31.33%
Eragon	6	7.23%
The Seeker: The Dark is Rising	0	0%
The Golden Compass	19	22.89%
City of Ember	8	9.64%
Inkheart	6	7.23%
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief	10	12.05%
Something else I missed entirely	8	9.64%
Voters: 83. You may not vote on this poll

07-11-2010, 06:31 PM	#1
The Mad Kiwi Power Member Top contributor Member since:Jun 2010 Location:Florida 4K collection:199 Blu-ray collection:902 DVD collection:128 Digital collection:16	Favorite Failed Fantasy Franchise All right, so with the success of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings back in 2001, filmmakers have been trying over and over again to nab the next big fantasy-book-turned-film series. The only one that's gotten sequels is The Chronicles of Narnia (and Twilight, I guess, if you want to label that fantasy). All of the other ones have had initial installments that weren't successful enough to continue with follow-ups. Which of these films is your favorite? Note that I'm only including first films in a potential series, so one-off films like Bridge to Terabithia and The Spiderwick Chronicles that weren't designed for sequels don't count. Oh, and I realize calling A Series of Unfortunate Events a fantasy is a bit of a stretch, but it's such a heightened sense of reality that I'm including it here. For me, it would have to be The Golden Compass. I realize it's a mess of a film, but my problems with it stem mostly from the editing, which was New Line's doing. Judging by what actually made it into the film, I love what I see; it just needs more of it to smoothen out the pacing and fill in the gaps. Sadly, Chris Weitz said his original three-hour version may never be released as it would cost about another $17 million to finish the effects, something New Line wouldn't find profitable enough in the long run. Shame. Last edited by The Mad Kiwi; 07-11-2010 at 06:35 PM.

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