Chronicles of Narnia

[Momzilla59]

I have always loved these books. Is anyone else out there looking forwards to the release of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"? There have been some Very bad adaptations of this first book. This one looks like a winner.
It seems Disney plans on releasing movies of all 7 books. Mega-serials seem to be in vogue now (thinking of Harry Potter, Star Wars, LOTR). I can't wait to see a series of well done movies based on these books. They are full of fantasy. Each book is short and a self contained story, there wouldn't need to be such cutting and slashing of the plots.
Yes, these are considered to be childrens books with a decided Christian bent, but the themes are universal - love, honor, trust, betrayal and redemption. Some of the characters are decidedly pagan - the satyrs and centaurs. C.S. Lewis was a contemporary and friend of Tolkien. The Chronicles have the same epic feel as the LOTR books.

Narnia.com has a lot of official info, about the books as well as about the movie - from the looks of things, this movie would make a Spectacular dark ride!

[robotpirates]

I grew up reading The Chronicles of Narnia. What I especially loved as a child was its parallel with Christianity, the most prominent in Wardrobe. What's funny is that CS Lewis, despite his many writings about Christianity, was an athiest!

Anyway, I digress, I really can't wait for this movie. When I first saw the posters online last year, I freaked. And WETA is involved! And Tilda Swinton! Squeeee!!

[Momzilla59]

Check out some of the making of the movie! It takes a bit to load up (several minutes with broadband), but it really whets the appetite!

[dramaqueen]

C.S. Lewis was an athiest? That seeems a little fishy to me.......

[Nephythys]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

C.S. Lewis was an athiest? That seeems a little fishy to me.......

He wasn't. I have never heard that anywhere, and I grew up on his books. Someone would need to find something far more definitive than a post on a Disney board to sell me on that.

[Club 33]

I read the book. I think it will be cool, just depends. I'm mostly waiting for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie.

[Gwyren]

The books were an interesting read, for sure. As for the films...well, I have not been able to get excited for any film release of late. My standard for "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is the animated version, which I hold in fond regard.

[Momzilla59]

Originally Posted by robotpirates

What's funny is that CS Lewis, despite his many writings about Christianity, was an athiest!

C.S. Lewis was referred to by many at the 20th century Christian Knight.
From The Great Apologist:
"Lewis was a self-described agnostic as a teenager. In his autobiographical work Surprised By Joy, Lewis remarked on the profound influence Chesterton’s Everlasting Man had on him while he was still an agnostic. After many months spent wrestling with intellectual doubts and deep anxieties, Lewis came to the point of decision. One night in 1929, as Lewis later described, “I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and relunctant convert in all England.”
Lewis’s most famous work is probably the classic Mere Christianity, originally heard on the radio in a series of broadcasts that Lewis gave during World War II. "

He may have started life as an agnostic, but he was a very sincere convert.

[Nephythys]

Thank you Momzilla

[MegarooFifi]

I can't wait for these movies to come out. I read the whole set of books several times when I was younger and loved the BBC movies that were done several years ago. I love these types of books, so I'm sure that if the movies are well done, I'll love them as well.

[Hector]

Originally Posted by robotpirates

Anyway, I digress, I really can't wait for this movie. When I first saw the posters online last year, I freaked. And WETA is involved! And Tilda Swinton! Squeeee!!

yup

[robotpirates]

Yeah, sorry about the misinformation; it was mentioned in passing during one of the specials on the LOTR:Extended edition (The Two Towers, in fact).

[Momzilla59]

Originally Posted by robotpirates

Yeah, sorry about the misinformation; it was mentioned in passing during one of the specials on the LOTR:Extended edition (The Two Towers, in fact).

Tolkien and Lewis were friends as well as contemporaries. I wish they would use facts and not factoids in those commentaries.

Do you realize that Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame is the director? WhooHoo!

I'm looking forwards to the whole series!

[robotpirates]

Originally Posted by Momzilla59

Do you realize that Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame is the director? WhooHoo!

I know! I was watching Behind the Scene special with my mom and I thought that was awesome. I think it's funny htat someone who directed a movie with so many jokes towards Disney would actually be directing a Disney movie!

When is this supposed to come out? This Christmas or next?

[Momzilla59]

"(the movie is) scheduled to be released Christmas, 2005, by Walt Disney Pictures. The agreement allows for the continuation of the partnership for future films in the series."

Yeah! I can't wait to see the special effects after previewing them at the website. I'm So glad they went for live action and not CG. Not that I have anything against CG pics but Narnia needed something as rich as LOTR. It looks like this Christmas season is shaping up for movie goers.