Question on The Chronicles of Narnia By C.S. Lewis

[yoda_four]

I saw LWW that the BBC did. It was adequate. I can only hope that Walden and Disney tell the story alot the better than the english mini-series.

[Grunches]

Yes. Those were ok, but I think Disney is going to do a lot better job at these movies then they did!

[wwwjim]

LWW was first published and then Lewis wrote a prequel to it being the Magician's Nephew. Chronilogically, Magician comes first then LWW, but most people read LWW first so that's why it's being made first. It's the more popular book, thus it will create more popularity in the "possible" series of movies instead of starting with Magician.

Think of it as Star Wars -- Episode 4 came first. Episode 1 was the fourth released but was a prequel. Years from now there will probably be a similar discussion about why Episode 4 was first.

[feedmelinguini]

Since HarperCollins aqquired the publishing rights, they have re-ordered the series chronologically "according to the original intent of the author." (yeah, right.)

Actually, C.S. Lewis locked horns with the original publisher. He wanted them to be reordered according to the books' chronology instead of the publication date. It wasn't until HarperCollins got the rights that the books were numbered according to the author's wishes. The quote you mentioned is not hyperbole, but the truth.

-Lon

[EarthX]

The original order in which the series was written and published is:

1) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2) Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
3) The Voyage of the <i>Dawn Treader</i>
4) The Silver Chair
5) The Horse and His Boy
6) The Magician's Nephew
7) The Last Battle

The whole point of "Nephew" is to explain the source of the magical wooden objects.
Definitely written with a retrospective "Here's the reason" sense, like the new 3 Star Wars movies, and not an initial prequel, like "The Hobbit."

[AwallaceUNC]

Agreed. If you read the series out of the order it was written, at least read Magician's Nephew 2nd.

-Aaron

[Joshua Clinard]

I am glad they are releasing these in the order that they were published. At least that is what has been rumored. I think this movie will be really good. I loved the books growing up. It's been far too long since I have read them though.

[wwwjim]

In an earlier post on this topic we had mentioned the 1970s CTW animated production of LWW. I found out this is available on DVD. It's available through Amazon marketplace. See here

(Luke -- I'm not sure how to format the link so you would get credit-- please modify the link if you can...)

I received mine in the mail today -- I'll let you guys know if there are any extras...

[Dumbobuzz]

Curious about one thing. Isn't Pixar's Cars supposed to come out Christmas time of 2005? Is Disney going to go head to head with the releases?

[Ludwig Von Drake]

I'm wondering how the animated one was. I thought that the BBC one was done very well.

[jambo*rafiki]

Curious about one thing. Isn't Pixar's Cars supposed to come out Christmas time of 2005? Is Disney going to go head to head with the releases?

Depends on the rating of Narnia. If it's PG-13, there won't be all that much competition, because it will be two completely different age brackets. If it's PG . . . that's weird. I think Cars was originally scheduled for that time, because it's always been advertised as such, and Christmas is a. Academy Awards nomination time and b. major film-going time so they probably figure it's a double bonus.

[Disney Guru]

Yeah LWW was written first but Magician's Nephew was a prequel!

[AwallaceUNC]

I think LWW will win the battle over Cars if it comes to it.

-Aaron

[Prince Adam]

I'm glad Nicole Kidman will be playing the witch-she isn't at all good-looking, but has an icy beauty.

Just like Snow White's stepmother.

[Jake Lipson]

Curious about one thing. Isn't Pixar's Cars supposed to come out Christmas time of 2005? Is Disney going to go head to head with the releases?

Cars currently occupies a November 2005 Thanksgiving slot, simmilar to all of the Pixar releases except Finding Nemo. My guess is that Cars will bow on the first Friday of November 2005, as has been the pattern with Monsters, Inc. in 2001 and The Incredibles this year. The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe is now Disney's Christmas 2005 tentpole. Thus, it won't really be competing with Cars directly, since Cars will have been out for a month or two by the time LWW comes out. As a Narnia fan, I've been following this production for a while, before it was ever attached to Disney, and I know that Walden Media was looking at a Christmas 2005 slot for it before they signed the deal with Disney. So I'm pretty sure they're kind of (contractulally?) obligated to release it then wheather they want to or not.

Each season, Disney has one to three tentpoles spread out over a few months, positioned so that they will all be big hits but also far enough away from each other to not hinder each other's business. Case in point, summer 2003.

At the end of May, Disney lost Nemo, found him, and found big profits, too. But they had placed their next blockbuster -- Pirates of the Caribbean -- in a prime, bonnafide summer July slot so that when/if audiences decided that they had found Nemo enough times, Jack Sparrow would start to bring in the loot. And in August they had a third tentpole Walt Disney Pictures release ready to give them a freaky little boost when Pirates started to dimisnish. That's how Hollywood works. And remember, no one expected Nemo or Pirates (especially Pirates) to have as much holding power as they had. Sure, they always knew Nemo woukd rock their box office boats plenty, but the sheer level and length of its legs took everybody at Disney by suprise. Which is why they needed (and continue to need) the other tentpoles there when the first release has had its day. Gone are the days of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King where all of Diisney's hopes for a perticular season could be carried on a single picture. Now, instead of a solo, it's more of a team effort to cover all the bases.

And that's why LWW is scheduled to open up a couple months post-Cars. Cars will open in November 2005 to huge boxoffice and critical and audience acclaim, another in Pixar's flawless lineup of classics worthy of adoration. But what of the other holiday season tentpole, Christmastime? By that time Cars will have been seen by billions of people worldwide, and while it may well have strong legs, people will also be eager to see something new. Which is where LWW comes in, as Disney's tentpole for the huge Christmas season.

So don't worry about it. Disney's not trying to kill their own picture. They're just trying to pack two punches in the later part of 2005 instead of just one.

[Jake Lipson]

I'm glad Nicole Kidman will be playing the witch.

Walden Media has now officially debunked that rumor. From ComingSoon.net:

Late last week it was reported that Nicole Kidman flew into Christchurch, New Zealand on a top secret visit to tour locations for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which Disney will distribute and is co-financing with Walden Media. Andrew Adamson will direct the adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel.

The star was said to have arrived early on Thursday morning and taken part in a whirlwind tour of Canterbury's high country in a helicopter. Speculation led as far as that Kidman may be up for the role of the White Witch, who in the story has used her dark powers to keep Narnia in winter for 100 years.

Walden Media issued a statement which denied the rumor that Kidman is part of the cast. "It's a project that we're all very excited about, but unfortunately this is just not true. Hopefully we'll have some exciting news soon," company spokeswoman Alison Lehrer said.

Lehrer added that filming would begin this year in New Zealand and the Czech Republic for a 2005 release.

[Dumbobuzz]

Thanks, Jake. Here is hoping that punch is as good as the Nemo/Pirate's punch.

[Jake Lipson]

You're welcome, and amen to that.

And, for the record, according to ComingSoon.net, this will be a Christmas release in every sense, even literally. LWW is currently listed on that site as being slated for a December 23rd, 2005 opening date, which would give it a huge bow over the long and traditionally huge Christmas holiday weekend.

Another reason studios have multiple big releases close together like this is: If, for some strange reason, one flops, there's always the other one to rely on so they can still make an overall profit and look good to shareholders.

Like for example, The Haunted Mansion had a pretty good first weekend, nearly tying The Cat in the Hat for the #1 spot, but then it started to fall. Fast. And on a big budget to cover the effects, and Eddie Murphey's big cost, and whatever else, it hasn't made a profit yet, I don't think. Now, eventually, it will, when you factor in DVD sales and merchendising and whatnot, but it's nowhere near what Disney wanted from this.

Gee, it's a good thing that Brother Bear was still out there on a good pace and making a tidy sum, dontchaknow.

[AwallaceUNC]

Despite the downs, 2003 was still a great year for Disney.

-Aaron

[jambo*rafiki]

Despite the downs, 2003 was still a great year for Disney.

-Aaron

Between Pirates and Nemo . . . they're swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck!