As the 3rd installment of the Finding Narnia film saga arrives on Disney +, AlloCiné makes you (re) discover 10 things you may not have known about the heroic fantasy trilogy.
Adaptation of a literary classic
Chronicles of Narnia: Chapter 1 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) is the adaptation, mixing live shots and computer graphics, of The Wardrobe, one of the seven parts of the famous literary saga The Chronicles of Narnia created by CS Lewis. The feature film will be followed by two sequels, also adapted from episodes of the said saga. It is the second best-selling book series in the world. With almost 100 million copies published in 35 languages, the CS Lewis saga is considered one of the most imaginative classics in literature.
Missing episodes
But of the 7 books included in the saga, not all have been adapted to the screen. For example, Chronicles of Narnia: The Odyssey of the Dawn Treader (2010), the third film in the Narnia saga, is actually the fifth volume. Indeed, the first and third parts, namely The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and his Squire, have not been adapted.
A third component in 3D
Speaking of the third installment of the saga, it is also the only one to be released in 3D. On this occasion, the stereoscopy was particularly careful during the two years of post-production of the film. All the plans in synthetic images were adapted to 3D technology for an unprecedented result.
Disney is leaving the ship ...
Having felt that Prince Caspian's (2008) revenue had not been high enough, the Walt Disney Company decided not to produce The Chronicles of Narnia: The Dawn Treader Odyssey nor the shutters that should have followed. It is finally the Fox which took up the torch. Following the acquisition of the studios by Disney, the Compagny finally owns the rights to this 3rd film!
CS Lewis and Tolkien, a beautiful friendship
The author of The Chronicles of Narnia, Irish author Clive Staple Lewis, born in Belfast in 1898, is considered by many to be the second JRR Tolkien. It is no coincidence that this specialist in myths and legends, professor at Cambridge and holder of the prestigious Carnegie literary prize, was one of the great friends of the author of The Lord of the Rings. The two men, who were Inklings (members of the Oxford literary circle of the same name), very quickly had the same taste for the fantastic and the imaginary worlds.
A hairy lion
The character of Aslan, a majestic and magical lion, was created entirely in CGI. It took more than 10 hours of work to create the 5 million hairs he had on his body.
The origin of first names
CS Lewis did not choose first names at random for some of his characters. Aslan is a Turkish word meaning "Lion". It was while traveling to Turkey, where the Royal Guards bear this name to underline their loyalty and courage, that the writer had the idea to call that the King of Narnia. The same goes for the White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton, who bears the first name Jadis, inspired by our dear French language. A nod to the fact that this character uses very ancient magic.
Two Henleys for the price of one
At the end of the first installment, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter have become adults. The most observant will undoubtedly have noticed the air of resemblance between Georgie Henley (the young Lucy) and the one who lends her features to the other Lucy. And for good reason, it is about her big sister, Rachael Henley, also an actress.
An actor who shifts
Skandar Keynes, who lends his features to young Edmund, grew enormously during the filming of the first part. His voice moved so much at the time that director Andrew Adamson had to use his sister, Soumaya Keynes, to dub him on a few lines in the film. This is not the first time that this process has been used in cinema. This was the case for Daniel Radcliffe, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It is the young actor Joe Sowerbutts, whose tone of voice was similar to him at the time, who doubles the actor in some scenes.
A new saga in preparation?
In October 2018, Netflix announced that it was working on a new saga based on the books of CS Lewis, with a feature film project as well as a mini-series, after having recovered the adaptation rights. But since then, no more news ...
