I have a very bad feeling about this....

Disney Adventures' interviews Andrew Adamson
26 Sep 2005 by Paul Martin

Direct from the director, a sneak peek into the winter wonderland of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. By Stephen Timblin

C. S. Lewis' novel [CON: LWW], which debuted in 1950, follows the Pevensie children as they discover a land ruled by the evil White Witch and a place where it's "always winter and never Christmas." In December, the classic adventure hits the big screen for the first time - so we tracked down director Andrew Adamson to get you the scoop on the winter release.

Disney Adventures: How does the movie differ from the book?

Andrew Adamson: The main difference is in the fleshing-out of the characters. I found upon rereading the book that the children were written in a way that was typical of children’s books of the time, a little too perfect and not entirely three-dimensional. The film also has a more epic feel. This is mainly because C.S. Lewis expanded the world as he added to the Chronicles, and I wanted the world of Narnia to reflect what I remembered from reading the books.

Oyarsa's Comments: "Oh, Great, and exactly how were they "fleshed out"? The book's a classic, you didn't NEED to flesh out the characters

Disney Adv.: Of all the creatures in Narnia, which is your favourite?

Andrew Adamson: That’s a tough question. Minotaurs make great bad guys, and the Gryphon is a pretty cool good guy – like a flying eagle/lion. I love Centaurs too, for how magnificent they can be in battle.

Disney Adv.: Is there anything used by the White Witch in the movie that wasn’t in the book?

Andrew Adamson: The most notable item was the White Witch’s polar bear-drawn chariot. C.S. Lewis didn’t go into a lot of detail about how the witch engaged in battle. I couldn’t imagine her just walking into it. I wanted something that was reflective of her sleigh and her frozen world, but was impressive and practical on the battlefield.

Polar bear drawn chariot? I can live with this, if this is only used during the battle. Let's hope the director remembers the sledge was driven by reindeer, and that the fact that both Father Christmas and the White Witch used reindeer to get about is what frightens the children so before the children meet Aslan.

Disney Adv.: How about for any of the kids?

Andrew Adamson: Although Father Christmas gave gifts to three of the children, he didn’t fully equip them for the battle. We had designers come up with armor and weaponry for the Pevensies for the final battle. Edmund also needed something, so we had the Centaurs make weaponry for him. It’s all pretty cool stuff.

Look for more interviews from the film in their December issue!

I can't wait....

Seriously, I really hope the Lion With and the Wardrobe will be true to the book, but when one of the previews I saw makes it look like the Pevensie's stay at the Professor's prior to entering Narnia was miserable, among other changes, my cynicism takes over.

However, it appears that Aslan, at least, has not been tampered with, so with that hope, I will be going to see the movie when it comes out in December.

Edit: This is one of those days when I hate it when I'm right... HELLO? does the director remember the tension in the book that comes from Lucy and Susan being afraid that the White Witch had found Mr. Beaver?