What are your thoughts on a new Redwall Movie?

[Log-a-Log]

I agree with the ones who feel that Animal Logic would be the ideal company to design Redwall.  Their recent work with LOTG was amazingly realistic for animation.  What I think they need to be careful is NOT do what happened to LOTG--one too many changes from the books because the Redwall fans won't put up with that!    A ton of blood goes too far, no matter how partial I am to Watership Down as well...that does turn people away, so keep the blood at a minimum, but don't cut back on violence and I'd say they have a happy medium that will please most film goers.

What is LOTG?

[Osu]

Legend of the Guardians.

I dunno, I suppose I wouldn't mind too many changes such as the kind made in the TV show... as long as the spirit of the books remains the same.

[Skalrag of Marshank]

I agree. I like how they made the TV series more "kid friendly" by cutting down on the violence and having little or no blood. I like some violence, but not too much blood and guts. If they were to make a movie, I would want it to be PG at the most.

Although I don't wanna see any more tickling to death.

[Folgrimeo]

My policy has changed from "movie adaptations are bad" to "I'm okay with it as long as you don't screw it up". Just about everyone in the world hated the animated film adaptation of "Trumpet of the Swan", and I was especially protective over the book, but bizarrely I loved it. I'm not kidding, I even wrote up a review showing my changing opinion as the movie went on. What made it work for me? That despite the movie changing parts of the timeline, the spirit of the book stayed intact. I've also become quite fond of the "Viva Pinata" cartoon, another thing that people hate.

I would like the idea of a Redwall movie, but at this point I'd want it to be on a book that hasn't been adapted yet. "Redwall" has been done as a graphic novel, a TV show, and a cut-even-further "movie" which I've never seen. I was generally disappointed with how Redwall was handled as a cartoon. It had promise and Cluny and Basil were in fine form, but something about it didn't click. Then came along Season 2 "Mattimeo" to show how a Redwall adaptation should be done, and Season 3 "Martin the Warrior" was also amazing. The TV series may be long, but it's not really something that can be shortened. A BIG part of what kept me glued to the book series were the characters and their relationships, which build over time. "Martin the Warrior" is particularly famous for providing a punch to the gut in its tragic finale, which wouldn't be as good if you didn't care for the characters. Surprisingly, I thought the TV series did a better job at its ending than the book did. Come to think of it, the one thing the show did consistently was pitch-perfect endings to each season. Given how much the show influenced what I imagined the characters to look like (after all, they have my favorite rendition of Martin), I'd want that same company to do an actual movie if the opportunity ever came up. ...provided they tighten things up so we don't have any Pallum cross-eyed animation goofs.

Regarding how violence was handled, it was distracting at times how they shied away from it. You had some moments of blood, but in other moments a character would die just offscreen. At the same time, I wouldn't want a "Watership Down" level of blood and gore. I want something in between the two extremes. There's no denying the books are violent, look at "Rakkety Tam" or "Rogue Crew", so maybe in some cases I'd be okay with upping the violence... but please, not by much. Sadly, I don't think an animated film with that level of violence can air in America anymore unless it's anime, and I fear a CGI Redwall film would be too realistic or goofy-looking for its own good. I don't recall blood being shown in a CGI kid's film. I have no doubt it can be done, but it might be distracting.

If I had my choice of Redwall book to adapt and how to adapt it, it'd be "Taggerung". It's long been my favorite of the series, two lovable lead characters, lots of adventure so there can be shots of pretty scenery, some surprisingly dramatic moments, and it's so long that it'd pretty much have to be a TV series. We may complain of movies being too long, but we don't think about the longer time commitment that TV series provide. We eat those up don't we? And they do seem to go by faster than a solo 3-hour movie does. I'd have it animated in the same style as the three seasons of the cartoon, and not have it shy away from violence. From what I recall, when it does go violent, they're few and far between. And with the characters being as interesting as they are, I'd much rather focus on character development than battles or time at the Abbey.

"The Legend of Luke" would also be a good choice for adaptation as Luke's story is contained in one of three acts, so by page-count number it's likely to be the shortest of any of the stories, being the best bet for staying in the comfortable time constraints of a movie. Which means less stuff cut out to stay at a reasonable timeframe.

[Log-a-Log]

I always thought Mossflower would be the best one for a movie

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

I always thought doing a tv show rendition of most books would be best, as it provides a better flow, and a much longer one.

[Lutra]

If we're looking for a Redwall movie, then we need to accept cuts (some drastic) will be made.  Which book can you cut large chunks out of and still have a coherent story?  Like I said earlier, don't go the LOTG route and try to fit two stories in 90 minutes.  One story, but which one can withstand cuts?

The more I think about it, the less and less I like Mossflower.  Why? It requires the moviegoer to know a lot about Redwall before you even watch it.  You need to know about Salamandastron and badger lords, the backstory of Martin from the northlands, the idea behind the good and evil creatures.  I don't think it'll be a coherent story when all is said and done.  The one that could suvive a movie-like adaptation is probably what's already been done - Martin the Warrior because you don't need to know anything of Redwall outside of what is presented and therefore you needn't make cuts that leave you wondering "why did they have to go there and who are these guys...?"

My two gold pieces worth.

[DanielofRedwall]

One Guardians of Ga'Hoole book doesn't have enough in it to make a whole movie, that's why they had 3 in one.

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

The more I think about it, the less and less I like Mossflower.  Why? It requires the moviegoer to know a lot about Redwall before you even watch it.  You need to know about Salamandastron and badger lords, the backstory of Martin from the northlands, the idea behind the good and evil creatures.  I don't think it'll be a coherent story when all is said and done. 

And how would you personally compare that with reading the book, not knowing those things either? I'm asking out of curiousity, to better understand your point in the matter.

And on a different note, the majority of Redwall fans I know read Mossflower first. The rest mostly read Redwall first.

[HeadInAnotherGalaxy]

While ah, on the other paw, read Redwall zecond tae lazt...

[Matthias720]

I read Redwall first, Mattimeo second, and Mossflower third.

[Storm]

I was completely random in my order. I started with Mariel of Redwall. Next I read The Long Patrol because I liked the Long Patrol in Mariel. Then I found out that my school library had them and I read at will. As for a movie, I think that they would just cut too many things and probably add, ugg, romance. The director might be scared to have a sad ending and have Rose stay alive or something along those lines.

[Skalrag of Marshank]

I liked the TV series of Martin the Warrior better than the book. I don't know why. Well, aside from Skalrag's rather... ah...INTERESTING death. That was a bit over the top...

[sabretache5611]

I liked the book better than the TV series.  I thought the TV series rendition of Redwall and Martin the Warrior too childish.  I liked the darker Mattimeo rendition though.

If they did a TV series Narnia style with a Redwall book I would love that.  The book I would want them to do would be either Mossflower (Most epic storyline EVER) or Pearls of Lutra (To wrap up the Matthias descendants era since they already did Redwall and Mattimeo and for the sea voyage and corsairs).

[Tiria Wildlough]

I would personally love to make a Redwall movie, but I know absolutely nothing about movie making 
Still, I would love to see one, but they would most likely add romance.