From the article:
The Wonderful World of 'Narnia'
By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY
The haughty White Witch doesn't
cast a spell on a princess.
And the stately wardrobe, with a
secret passageway that leads into an enchanted kingdom,
doesn't break into a jaunty chorus of Be Our Guest.
When the first trailer for The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe makes its U.S. premiere Saturday night
during ABC's showing of Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets— airing at the same time in 30-plus
countries — viewers are apt to gaze in wonder. And be
taken aback.
The TV audience may feel as
disoriented as the tale's four young siblings — curious
Lucy, disgruntled Edmund, smart Susan and sensible Peter
— after they enter the wooden closet and suddenly
stumble into Narnia, a frozen paradise terrorized by a
power-mad sorceress. Before their eyes, the snow-globe
fantasy land of the most popular book in C.S. Lewis'
treasured literary collection comes to swirling life
with mythic beasts, snarling wolves and white vistas
punctuated by a thunderous roar.
No cutesy creatures. No
anachronistic wisecracks. What rushes by is like
flipping through a picture book full of rich images.
Those who catch the preview of the epic adventure due
out Dec. 9, either on TV or when a longer version is
attached to the May 19 arrival of the Star Wars
finale Revenge of the Sith, may ask themselves,
"Can this be Disney?"
Yes, says Dick Cook, the studio
chairman and 34-year Disney veteran, about the PG-rated
co-production with Walden Media (Holes,
Because of Winn-Dixie) whose cost has been estimated
as high as $150 million. "This is, without question, one
of the most ambitious projects we have been a part of,"
he says. "Our desire is to raise our level of
storytelling and filmmaking."
The same Disney that wouldn't
foot the bill for its Miramax label to do three films
based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
trilogy (New Line Cinema did it, instead) is hoping to
launch a seven-part franchise culled from the vivid
writings of one of Tolkien's colleagues. As a result,
Wardrobe is a lavish spectacle that aims to reach
heights of sophistication and scope that haven't been
seen in non-animated Disney family films since Mary
Poppins floated onto the big screen in 1964.
"This is mature family
entertainment," says Narnia producer Mark
Johnson, who has overseen such films as The Alamo
and The Notebook. He and director Andrew Adamson,
responsible for much of the wit and heart found in the
Shrek computer-animated comedies, insisted that
the digitally rendered animals would push the limits of
photo-realism. As Johnson says, "It would be a big
mistake if the creatures appear to be cuddly stuffed
animals on a little girl's bed."
Just as The Little Mermaid
rescued Disney animation from going off the deep end in
1989, Narnia aspires to restore the studio's
legacy as the leading maker of all-ages, live-action
escapism. And in the nick of time. With its house-brand
animation in decline and its partnership with Pixar (The
Incredibles) in disrepair, Disney's family
entertainment crown has lost its luster.
Meanwhile, DreamWorks (Shrek 1
and 2, Shark Tale) and 20th Century Fox (Ice
Age, Robots) have happily taken up the 'toon
slack. And studios such as Warner Bros. (the Harry
Potter series, The Polar Express), Paramount
(Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
and Universal (How the Grinch Stole Christmas,
The Cat in the Hat) continue to push the
dark-and-edgy envelope of family fun.
Disney used to be the only game
in town," says Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker
Exhibitor Relations. "They were the gold standard of
family films, but the rest of the world has gotten more
competitive. A big prestige picture could boost the
entire studio."
Narnia, which has sold 85
million copies in 29 languages since Wardrobe was
published in 1950, carries a built-in core audience that
crosses generations, much like The Lord of the Rings.
But fervid fans tend to be sticklers. One sign of
Disney's commitment: the casting of such semi-famous but
skillful actors as Tilda Swinton as the Witch. The
Scottish actress known for her androgynous looks and
offbeat screen roles (Constantine, The Deep End)
is about as far as you can get from the music-hall
warmth of Julie Andrews.
"I've never made a children's
film," says Swinton, 44, about personifying the most
famous wicked witch in literature since The Wizard of
Oz. "I've never made a film my children can see. I'm
not even sure if they're going to see this one. I don't
want them backing away from me for the rest of my life."
Disney has been tight-lipped
about specific Narnia details, save for the
controlled release of general information that appears
on the film's primary independent online site,
narniaweb.com.
Instead, early press has been
content to focus on what is being painted as a huge
marketing test for the studio. That's because Narnia
is no mere bedtime fable.
Lewis invested his adventures
with more than such whimsical beings as Mr. Tumnus, a
gentle faun forced to do the Witch's bidding, and Mr.
and Mrs. Beaver, talking animals that aid the children
in their quest.
The tales also are infused with
Christian allegory, and the heroic Aslan is meant as a
Christ figure, a redeemer who resurrects in triumph. The
challenge: to attract the spiritual-minded moviegoer
without turning off the secular crowd.
Disney, along with other studios,
has often courted the so-called faith community when the
appropriate movie comes along, including such
religious-themed comedies as Sister Act or
uplifting sports dramas like The Rookie. But
since the advent of box-office sensation The Passion
of the Christ, such wooing has become a science. For
that reason, Disney and Walden have hired Motive
Marketing, the company that oversaw The Passion's
outreach program, to assist them.
"It is natural that the press
will manufacture more importance
about the religious
significance than is our intent," says Dennis Rice, the
studio's vice president of publicity. "We are not going
to reach out to one group over the expense of another,
but embrace and acknowledge the fans of a very important
piece of literature."
Yes, the filmmakers hosted
representatives of more than 30 faith-based and
educational groups at a preview held at Disney's
Burbank, Calif., headquarters earlier this year. But,
Rice says, "we're also at Comic-Con in July," referring
to the annual San Diego fantasy, sci-fi and comic-book
convention.
Mixing commerce and religion
could be risky. But David Koenig, author of Mouse
Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation and Theme Parks,suggests
otherwise. "Left Behind would have been risky,"
he says, referring to the evangelical sci-fi book
series. "Narnia isn't risky. It's the safest way
for Disney to reconnect with a large section of its core
audience that it has alienated over the last decade."
That includes religious boycotts over gay-friendly
policies at theme parks, as well as the
often-controversial content of Miramax films.
Faithfulness to the source will
likely be of higher importance than faith itself. That
is where Adamson comes in. Much as director and fellow
New Zealander Peter Jackson used his own love of Tolkien
as a guide to bring the Rings trilogy to the
screen, Adamson, 38, is relying on the good-vs.-evil
battle that unfolded in his imagination as he read the
books as an 8-year-old.
"You ultimately can only make
something that appeals to your own sensibilities," says
Auckland-born Adamson, whose parents were both associate
missionaries in Papua New Guinea. "I am not making
religion an issue one way or another. It's a story about
family. People should take from it what they want to
take from it."
Douglas Gresham, Lewis' stepson
who controls the estate and is a co-producer on the
film, has wanted to make a movie of Narnia for
decades. Lack of the technological tools relegated
adaptations to TV versions up until now.
Still, Lewis himself had a
love-hate relationship with Hollywood, says Terry
Lindvall, who will teach a Christian theology and film
course at the College of William & Mary this fall and is
author of Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of
C.S. Lewis. "He believed there was death in the
camera. Meaning, when you translate word to image, the
imagination dies."
But if anyone could do justice to
Lewis' words, Lindvall believes the man who injected
such hilarity into a sour green ogre is the chosen one.
"Adamson is the perfect director for this. Lewis was
never as somber as Tolkien. He was playful."
Besides, Lewis believed in
translating faith into the vernacular. And, as Lindvall
puts it, "The vernacular of our age is movies."
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