Not everyone knows this… but everyone in Christian circles do… The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe which hits theaters on December 9th was writen basically as one long Biblical allegory by it’s author and theologian C.S. Lewis (who also wrote Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters).
Disney faces a dilema. How do you market this thing? If you focus at all on the spiritual elements of Narnia then you risk allienating some people. If you don’t focus on any of the spirituality in the story then you risk alienating some people. Disney has a daunting task ahead of it… but they seem to be handling it well.
For instance right now there are plans for there to be 2 separate soundtracks for the movie to be sold in music stores. One CD is made up entirely of “Christian” artists… (which if I’m not mistaken is already available in stores) and another one to come out with mainstream artists. Is this a good idea? I’m not sure… but you’ve got to admit it’s creative.
The New York Times is running an interesting article on the issue that you should give a read. Here’s an excerpt:
But Disney’s tricky marketing strategy for “Narnia” – which includes aggressively courting Christian fans who can relate to the story’s biblical allegory while trying not to disaffect secular fans – is particularly tricky when it comes to music. The spiritual character of “Narnia” is being reinforced with the debut on the charts last week of a Christian pop album of music inspired by the film. But prospects for a previously announced secular soundtrack now seem cloudy, executives involved in the process say. Disney executives say that at the very least the CD will be delayed beyond its planned Oct. 25 release.
Mitchell Leib, president of music for Disney’s Buena Vista film unit, said he still expected to assemble and release a secular soundtrack before the film’s Dec. 9 opening. But he cited production snags. He said he was still awaiting a recording by the rock band Evanescence that is intended as the film’s closing song. He added that planning had also been complicated by last-minute decisions about how music will be used in the complex, special-effects-laden film.
Like I said… it’s tricky stuff. I ‘m very curious to see how Disney handles this… and what the results will be. Either way I think this film looks AMAZING and can’t wait to see it. Best trailer I’ve seen since Return Of The King.
