Austen, Austen, and more Austen!

I don't think I need to explain my love for Jane Austen. Mansfield Park aside (he is her cousin and it is creepy!), I super love all of her books. I often say that my favorite Jane Austen is Persuasion, but oddly enough, one of my favorite books of all time is Pride and Prejudice. What does this mean? I do not know. But I do know that I don't really trust anyone who doesn't like Jane Austen.

In my current Austen celebration, I've been taking super scientific and edumacational quizzes that determine which Austen heroine I am. The results? Mixed. It turns out that I'm either Elizabeth Bennet or Elinor Dashwood. They're pretty different from each other, but I like them both!

I've also been listening to Pride and Prejudice in my car lately. And it has really held up. I just want to hug Austen, and then name all of my kids after her. She's just that great.

In closing I'd like to leave you with this awesome version of P&P done with emoticons, as well as my favorite line from the LDS version of P&P. Mr. Collins, talking about Lizzy rejecting his proposal from the pulpit in church, says, "I had a kind of... funny... encounter with a girl in this congregation, who will remain anonymous, but for the sake of the story, let's call her... Elizabeth B. No, E. Bennett." Good times.

Nostalgia takes a hit!

It's true. I took the plunge and rewatched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (BBC '80s version). Gah. In no particular order, some thoughts I had while watching this movie:

No wonder Edmund is such a little jerk. He's bitter about being an uggo!

Well, then why is Lucy so chipper? She is also an unfortunate looking child. Someone get that child some braces! And a different hair cut. And a longer dress.

Susan's cute. But still a little boring. I bet that's why she became lame in the books. Her character was dull, and she was sick of it! She wants lipstick!

Why are all of these kids the same height? Are they quadruplets? All I can say is, Lucy doesn't seem all cute and innocent when she's just as big as everyone else. She seems slow.

Seriously, Turkish Delight? Is gross. How on earth can this be what Edmund wants? This has always bothered me, actually.

Augh! The Beavers! Run away! I can't believe this didn't give me nightmares as a kid.

Edmund is schizophrenic! That's it! And his other personality is a buzzkill!

Well, okay. I don't see the point in switching from an actual wolf to a person in a (totally freaky) wolf costume, but considering the other special effects in this movie, that was pretty nifty!

Gee, White Witch. You look hungry. Would you like more scenery to chew?

Is that a full sized lion puppet? Or a lion costume? Either way, I want one.

Gosh, BBC, you couldn't even spring for one "lion's roar" sound effect? I could make a more realistic sounding lion's roar than that.

It's a good thing that the White Witch's army is totally incompetent. I could defeat Peter and his minions with a water gun!

Wait, when you become a king or queen of Narnia, you wear a night gown? Rip-off! but hey, at least Peter isn't wearing those awful shorts anymore.

I guess that's it. I'll not lie. I still enjoyed it immensely. It's hilarious! And I can see why I liked it as a kid. But it's no 2000s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. And it's certainly no original written masterpiece. I do have to wonder about the grownups who made this movie though. I know why I liked it. I was little! I didn't know any better! And I realize that there were limitations of price and technology, but some of those special effects hurt me a little bit. And the beavers? C'mon. That's just wrong.