Narnia?

[Rosso11]

Has anyone heard any information about possible tie-ins with the parks. If you haven't seen the new behind the scenes over at aint-it-cool-news.com go take a look. This movie is a huge undertaking and is screaming for Beastly Kingdom. I'm sure the imagineers are drooling over the possibilities with this film series. As we all know its not uncommon for Disney to start work on attractions long before a movie is released, so has anyone heard anything?

 

[Stitchfan712]

I've never heard of it....

 

[wdwmaniac]

I think after the movie becomes a hit they will start making ties in. Disney has Lord of the rings or Potter I think.

 

[bhg469]

I've never heard of it....

that makes 2 of us

 

[jrriddle]

that makes 2 of us

You know Lion, Witch & Wardrobe movie that Disney's doing with Walden Media?
I guess we have to wait to see how it does.
I'm sure some great rides could come out of this, and the advance stuff looks good, but I still have a horrible feeling they're going to mess it up.
Hope I'm wrong.

 

[cknight66]

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Hi,

I never post, but read pretty often, and i have done some work on this film.

C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, originally published in 1950, is the second and best-known novel in the seven-part Narnia series. Some of the other books are The Magician’s Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.

The film recounts the journey of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who step through a magic wardrobe into Narnia, once the peaceful land of Talking Beasts, Dwarfs, Giants and Fauns, but now frozen into winter by the evil White Witch.

The film is shaping up very nicely and is already proving to be "epic" in scope both visually and performance-wise. The film is being shot in New Zealand and will be out next year. The film is being directed by "Shrek" helmer Adam Adamson. Disney hopes this to be great both for the live action division and for it's theme park divisions.

Hope that helps!

 

[jrriddle]

The film is shaping up very nicely and is already proving to be "epic" in scope both visually and performance-wise.
Hope that helps!

I really hope so. I really want to like this movie.
But I just keep seeing Jackie Chan in Around the World in 80 days and what they are doing with Journey to the Center of the Earth and cringe.

 

[stitchfan]

I think after the movie becomes a hit they will start making ties in. Disney has Lord of the rings or Potter I think.

I dunno...I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the thought of Aragorn or Gandalf strolling around MGM or something like that...although I *do* think that LOTR would make a kickin' dark ride!

 

[SirGoofy]

I think after the movie becomes a hit they will start making ties in. Disney has Lord of the rings or Potter I think.

Disney has neither LOTR nor Harry Potter(I'm not sure about them not havin Potter). They could have made LOTR but the company said it was, "too much of a risk." They're still having nightmares about that.

 

[se8472]

Disney has Potter, they are just not making the movies...

The frist Potter will be shown on ABC Family and Disney Channel some time soon...

 

[AndyP]

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is out Christmas 2005 :

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/main.html

 

[TURKEY]

Are this books even popular anymore with today's kids?

 

[nicholas]

C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, originally published in 1950, is the second and best-known novel in the seven-part Narnia series.

It was actually the first book in the series. It wasn't until after his death that they rearranged them and put them into chronological order, which I think ruins an AMAZING surprise that you aren't supposed to find out until the original book 6 (magician's nephew) which has now been placed in the first slot.

Oh well.

 

[Master Yoda]

I think after the movie becomes a hit they will start making ties in. Disney has Lord of the rings or Potter I think.

They have Potter don't think they have LOTR.

 

[Lauriebar]

Are this books even popular anymore with today's kids?

I work at a Middle School (5-8 grade) and I can tell you that the books are consistantly on a waiting list to be checked out. Both of my children have read all of the books and wish that there were more in the series. The wonderful thing about these stories is that they are multi-layered and a child can read them several times at different ages and find new facets to the storylines. I hope that the movie will capture these many layers.

 

[tirian]

Before I go any further, be aware that I've loved the books for well over a decade and C.S. Lewis is my favorite author.

All right...

Regarding the book series order, the books were actually re-numbered and issued in chronological order in Great Britain toward the end of Lewis' life. He approved of the change, but most American fans--including me--prefer the books in the order he wrote them (Lion, Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, Horse, Magician, Battle).

As for the film, it is quite possible that Lewis wrote the books with the hope they be made into films...probably animated. His favorite movies were King Kong and Disney's Snow White; and of the two, Lewis was particularly fond of "Snow" because it reminded him of the games he and his brother played as children. I'm personally concerned about the films because the previous two attempts were low-quality PBS specials. Furthermore, Walden's track record isn't spotless (Around the World in 80 Days) and Disney has been mutilating their own stories lately. Still, Lewis' stepson is an executive producer; maybe he'll save the books. Unlike LoTR, Lewis' books are tightly written and don't leave any opportunities for chapters--or even segments--to be cut for film length. Which means that if the films are done correctly, they'll probably be fairly long (hey, I'm not complaining!). (Parents, be aware that the books have battle sequences not unlike those in LoTR, especially the last book in the series [appropriately titled The Last Battle].)

Finally, there are seven books in the series, and each fan has his favorite, so Disney/Walden will have to do an excellent job on each film to maintain the film series' popularity. Of course, the business execs are probably already planning the final high-def DVD boxed set .

......

Regarding attractions, the books practically beg for an E-ticket dark ride: journey through a wardrobe and into Narnia. As a matter of fact, a few days ago, I wondered if Disney might be holding out on the first film as a new E-ticket in Fantasyland. Then again, since Wardrobe takes place during WWII, an attraction might actually work in the UK pavilion at Epcot (I'm not kidding).

Well, we'll just have to wait to see...

 

[wdwmaniac]

Before I go any further, be aware that I've loved the books for well over a decade and C.S. Lewis is my favorite author.

All right...

Regarding the book series order, the books were actually re-numbered and issued in chronological order in Great Britain toward the end of Lewis' life. He approved of the change, but most American fans--including me--prefer the books in the order he wrote them (Lion, Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, Horse, Magician, Battle).

As for the film, it is quite possible that Lewis wrote the books with the hope they be made into films...probably animated. His favorite movies were King Kong and Disney's Snow White; and of the two, Lewis was particularly fond of "Snow" because it reminded him of the games he and his brother played as children. I'm personally concerned about the films because the previous two attempts were low-quality PBS specials. Furthermore, Walden's track record isn't spotless (Around the World in 80 Days) and Disney has been mutilating their own stories lately. Still, Lewis' stepson is an executive producer; maybe he'll save the books. Unlike LoTR, Lewis' books are tightly written and don't leave any opportunities for chapters--or even segments--to be cut for film length. Which means that if the films are done correctly, they'll probably be fairly long (hey, I'm not complaining!). (Parents, be aware that the books have battle sequences not unlike those in LoTR, especially the last book in the series [appropriately titled The Last Battle].)

Finally, there are seven books in the series, and each fan has his favorite, so Disney/Walden will have to do an excellent job on each film to maintain the film series' popularity. Of course, the business execs are probably already planning the final high-def DVD boxed set .

......

Regarding attractions, the books practically beg for an E-ticket dark ride: journey through a wardrobe and into Narnia. As a matter of fact, a few days ago, I wondered if Disney might be holding out on the first film as a new E-ticket in Fantasyland. Then again, since Wardrobe takes place during WWII, an attraction might actually work in the UK pavilion at Epcot (I'm not kidding).

Well, we'll just have to wait to see...

They have WETA on the design team..(only failure could be it is to much like lord of the rings.) and it's funny that Lewis liked King Kong it's coming out I think two weeks after Narnia, by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings).

 

[DisneyPhD]

Are this books even popular anymore with today's kids?

If they aren't it is a sad day for us all. These books are great, I loved them as a kid and plan to read them with my kids once they get a bit older. I agree with Lauriebar there is so many levels to them. They are more then enteraining, but thought provocking and intelligent with cominatry on religion (something kids today need to think more about) and society.

There is an animated comic book that came out a few years ago that is rather good.

As far as kids reading them, my nieces and nephews do. I highly recomend them.

I hope the movie does them justice.

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I work at a Middle School (5-8 grade) and I can tell you that the books are consistantly on a waiting list to be checked out. Both of my children have read all of the books and wish that there were more in the series. The wonderful thing about these stories is that they are multi-layered and a child can read them several times at different ages and find new facets to the storylines. I hope that the movie will capture these many layers.

Laurie beat me to it, yes, the books are on every school reading list that I've seen and many are included in in-class reading.

As for a ride or even followup movies, I think Disney, as is their approach lately will stay conservative. They had high hopes for Reign of Fire, with a proposed coaster following the theme (reincarnated as EE). I think they will wait for response to the first movie before deciding on additional. If it does well, my guess would be them going with the next two, then waiting on results before going forward again.

Harry Potter has been discussed a lot here. Disney doesn't have the "rights" to it, JKR holds them, but it appears that they would be in good position if thoughts were to go forward...I believe that she feels that only Disney could do it right. Disney doesn't have any association with LOTR...if anything, they may include it in a rework of GMR someday.

JMHO of course! :dazzle:

 

[cknight66]

Movies these large tend to generate a certain amount of "buzz" before they open (which can determine how much planning is done before opening), but I doubt we will see any attractions getting the green light before there is a solid chance that the film is strong and has longevity and mass appeal.