Just tonight, I started introducing my husband to Redwall. We started out with the animated version, just watching a couple episodes, as it was a quicker way to get him introduced, but now he is downloading the audiobook. He wanted to comment after I explained a little more of what happens in the book per each scene, that he is SHOCKED at how brutal the series is so far. This was after I explained exactly what happened to Sela and Chickenhound, the rivalry between Cheesethief and Scragg, and the various other deaths that have occurred in tandem with the tv show and in the novel. He says he's interested now for sure. I'm having a hard time holding back overwhelming him with it all. My self-restraint is being tested.
What sort of experiences have you had with introducing your friends to the Redwall books? Anything that you would recommend when doing so?
I haven't really introduced my friends to it. They either have read it already or aren't interested in this sort of literature.
Can't say I would recommend it, but I got my brother to read Redwall by reading the first chapter aloud, and because he hates leaving a book unfinished he ended up reading the rest.
He hasn't read any more, though. . .
I kind of forced my best friend to read Redwall and Mossflower.
And I got my other friend to read all of them up 'till Salamandastron.
Neither of them went further to my knowledge.
A couple weeks ago I got a friend to read Mossflower, he's on Redwall now, and he says he really likes it ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
A couple years back I got a friend to read all the way up to Mattimeo but then I left that school and haven't seen him since so I don't know what ended up happening with that. shrug
I've got a lot of friends to try Redwall but none of them other than the two listed above really showed any interest. One of my friends even made this (https://images.discordapp.net/.eJwVzNsNwyAMAMBdGAC7EF7ZBhFEqEKNsPsVdfe2N8Dd6r0utatTZPIOcHQutA7NQiu3qhtRu2qenXWhAVkkl3PUlzAY7wy6n2AeIQVvLVg0KVpEjMEnjG7boI9_85xNfb6_WiHP.QCybvxD94Rem_ISdK1R5HgTltZU?width=423&height=410)
Heresy!
Yeah, problem is, Redwall is such a different book compared to the others that it can be a hard thing to get into if you're not already interested in the series through, perhaps, the animated version.
Al, that meme is great.
@alexandre That meme is hilarious. I love that you talk about it so much.
So my husband finished watching the first season and is curious enough to continue watching! WOO!
Sweet!
I always suggest Redwall to people, but hardly anyone ever takes it up.
One of my roommates and I watched the TV show together, and she liked the show but I'm not sure if she wants to read the books.
My other roommate, I gave her a copy of The Long Patrol. Not entirely sure why, but in my head I was like "She would like this". She read it and did enjoy it, though I'm not sure if she'll continue on to any of the others.
I have told all of my friends about Redwall but I am not sure how many have read it.
I feel like one of the most common ways this series was introduced to the younger generation was through the animated series. From there, if there is interest, they will find the source material and already have a good opinion of it, driving them to read one, then seeing there are more, and going on until all the books are read.
You're probably right. Which is tough because while I love the animated series, I do recognize that it wasn't the best quality and it definitely was made for children.
Want to feel old? The animated series aired back in 2000. That's right, 17 years ago.
Quote from: NovaNocturne on June 20, 2017, 01:52:19 AM
You're probably right. Which is tough because while I love the animated series, I do recognize that it wasn't the best quality and it definitely was made for children.
I think it would be more difficult to get an adult or older teenager, who has no prior connection/knowledge/experience of Redwall interested in the series or books. As both the series and the books are geared towards children. Don't get me wrong I think Redwall, the series and the books, is awesome but if I hadn't watched it as a kid and then subsequently read the books I don't think I would be particularly interested to take it up now- nostalgia is also part of the reason I still like it so much...
As the others have said though the series probably got a lot of people interested in the books- the fact that it no longer airs on t.v. ( at least not on any channel in Canada that I know of) probably plays a role in the lack of "new blood". Which is a shame considering that there is more than enough material to have made many more seasons...
On a kind of unrelated note- given the fact that the Redwall series definitely had "darker" themes and not so subtle deaths for a series rated C8+ in Canada, it maybe part of the reason it wouldn't even be aired anymore. Society has become more pc... Again I'm going off topic here but at the same time that Redwall aired on Teletoon (1999) another series I also liked called Cybersix also aired the same year for only one season though unfortunately... It was also dark, and I really think that, unlike Redwall, it would have done better as an "adult" series rather than a children's anime. Anyway I digress to much...
If I was any younger than I was when I started reading the books, I would have been blatantly freaked out by certain things.
My book store places Redwall books in the young adult section, away from the children's' books.
Perhaps I am desensitized. I got into the series when I was VERY young. The violence never hit me too hard. is that terrible to say? Granted I've become more sensitive to it as I have gotten older, so I can see how it might be more of a young adult series versus a childrens book.
I've actually got desensitized.
Quote from: Matthias720 on June 20, 2017, 03:39:22 AM
Want to feel old? The animated series aired back in 2000. That's right, 17 years ago.
I don't want to feel old.
When you're younger than the show and thus don't feel old.
I was two or three. Wow.
My grandmother taped the series off the television and we still have the tape with almost all the episodes. (And when I saw the ones that weren't on there I am glad they weren't.) It also had the full-length movie, so that was cool.
Quote from: Matthias720 on June 20, 2017, 03:39:22 AM
Want to feel old? The animated series aired back in 2000. That's right, 17 years ago.
ugh.
So, I watched the third series of the tv series with a few of my sisters last week, among other things, and one of them, previously not into Redwall, is now watching the first series, working forward. Which is cool, and watching the series with them was fun.
What?
Quote from: Ashleg on October 01, 2017, 07:19:48 PM
What?
sorry, i was modifying my post, and then had connection issues. fixed now.
Oh. That's cool she likes it.
Although I don't think the series is a good way to get into the books, whatever.
Well, that's how Amber, Russa, and I got into the books.
And me!
Yeah, my family wouldn't have gotten into the books if it weren't for the show.
The show sets the bar so low.
Hahaha.
I don't think I've introduced anybody to the books per se. I have mentioned to a few about it and they've said 'ooh, I used to read that, blah blah', though.
Kinda the same situation with me.
I think another great way to introduce Redwall is with the audio books--especially if the person doesn't really like to read. My sister really struggled with learning to read and she really got into the Redwall audio books that we got from our library. They're really well done and very entertaining. Plus these were stories that Brian originally read aloud to blind children iirc, so it's kind of like experiencing Redwall the way it was originally intended.
Personally, I read aloud so I can hear how the story would sound in my mind.
Interesting.
Do you read with other people?
Yeah, we pick characters and we read their lines. It gets hilarious.
Last year I picked random lines said by Gabool and made my friend read them aloud, out of context. It was hilarious.
The funny thing was when we try singing (we're not all in tune.)
Quote from: Krantor the Brutal on October 09, 2017, 06:47:46 PM
Yeah, we pick characters and we read their lines. It gets hilarious.
I want to try that. But I have no friends to do so.
Ooh, the accents would be so fun to try to do. That's one of the unique things about Redwall, the accents.
A few years ago, my husband watched the cartoon with me when the whole thing was on Netflix. Other times, I remember a long time ago, I gave my cousin a Redwall book as a gift and I've told various people about it over the years.
Yeah, the cartoon is a great gateway for the book series. Plus if you are trying to explain it and your friends are confused you can just say "oh, did you ever see that tv show with all those British animals and, like, a snake?" and there's a chance they'll know what you're talking about.
The thing with the cartoon, some things are different, which would confuse you, if you read the book later.
Not really. I mean, everyone knows that movies and shows differ from the source material. I think that it'd be pretty easy to separate the two in your mind.
It was refreshing, for me, to see the difference between the show and the book when I first read it. I liked the book a lot, even after seeing the show.