It’s funny. The other day I mentioned to a friend of mine that “With the huge success of Lord of the Rings, and now The Passion of Christ, I bet it won’t be long before we see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe turned into a movie”. Little did I know just how quickly my prediction would come true. The following is from CNN:
Budgeted at more than $100 million, according to sources, the film is scheduled to begin shooting in the summer, with “Shrek” director Andrew Adamson at the helm. The film, the first installment of Walden’s “Chronicles of Narnia” franchise based on the series of children’s fantasy books by C.S. Lewis, will be released at Christmas 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures. Under the deal, which includes worldwide distribution rights, merchandising and all ancillary rights, Disney retains the option to release future films in the series, Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said.
The story of Narnia revolves around the Pevensie siblings — Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter — who go through a magic wardrobe and enter the world of Narnia, a once peaceful land of talking beasts, dwarfs and giants that has since become frozen by the evil White Witch. The four children then help the lion Aslan break the witch’s spell.
I don’t know how good of an idea this is. Most people know that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a faith based piece of literature. The Passion of Christ was done by Mel Gibson, a devote Catholic, but Disney doing Wardrobe? I have a feeling this could be a PR disaster of monumental perportions. Someone is going to get ticked off.
