arts ^ entertainment
Did Disney and Walden Pull It Off?
by Don King
“They got it!” That was
my first thought as the credits
screened by at the end of Dis
ney’s and Walden Media’s film
version of C. S. Lewis’ beloved
masterpiece, The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe. Like
many others, I was both smiling
with delight and breathing a big
sigh of relief, buoyed by this
latest attempt to translate Lewis’
book to the screen. What I had
most feared was that the makers
of the movie would “dumb-
down” Lewis’ story into some
kind of post-modern pabulum,
effectively eviscerating Lewis
powerful tale of selfishness,
love, sacrifice, and redemp
tion. Certainly the temptation
must have been there to sell out
Lewis’ intent; thankfully, how
ever, the moviemakers “got it.”
. Specifically, here’s what
“they got.” They “got” that
squarely in middle of this won
derful tale of awe, wonder, and
magic—what we feel with Lucy
as she enters Narnia for the first
time—is an accurate portrayal
of the human heart. Edmund,
angry, self-centered, proud,
and mean-spirited, is actually
Everyman or Everywoman, for
whom among us fails to see in
him our own self-love? Like
him, we want the world to
revolve around us—we want
to be the smartest, the best off,
and the one in control. And,
like him, once bewitched by our
own version of Turkish Delight,
we’d willing sell out even our
own family in order to please
our lofty vision of ourselves.
The makers of the movie “got
it”, that Edmund’s obsession
with himself is moral center of
the story.
They also “got” that this
is a story of love, poignantly
portrayed by Lucy, Susan,
and Peter. Yes, their brother
is a bit of a brat and needs a
good boxing around the ears.
But he is also their brother,
and once they learn he has
betrayed them, they refuse
to abandon him to the hands
of the White Witch. This is
more than “blood is thicker
than water”—this is love
for the lost, compassion for
unworthy, concern for the
wretched. Again it is Lucy
who best communicates this
love, since who better to reject
Edmund than she, especially
after he lies to Peter and Suan
about having been in Narnia
with Lucy? His delight in
making Lucy cry borders on
the cruel and underscores
his egocentricity. The movie
makers “got” this and did
not pander to postmodern
equivocation about good vs.
evil—Edmund’s actions are
evil and shown to be that. Yet
Lucy never despairs of her
brother, and she is the first to
embrace him when he finally
comes to his senses.
But perhaps best of all the
moviemakers “got it” that
Edmund’s dark heart and
even darker actions cannot be
fobbed off as temperamental
glitches in a basically good
person. What he does is evil.
plain and simple; what is not so
plain and simple is what it takes
to redeem Edmund and save all
of Narnia from the consequences
of Edmund’s actions. Indeed,
because of Edmund’s betrayal, all
of Namia is at risk. The movie
makers “got it” that waving a
magic wand cannot trump the
Deep Magic of Namia—that the
blood of all traitors is the right
ful property of the White Witch.
This is the hinge upon which the
story turns, a key point the movie
makers could have easily dumbed-
down for fear of offending polite
religious sensibilities, but they
resisted such temptation and
stayed trae to Lewis’ vision— evil
can only be trumped by Deeper
Magic, a magic that requires at its
very heart blood sacrifice and
death. They “got it” that Lewis’
story is more than a delightful
tale of another world with talk
ing animals, beautiful vistas,
and heroic adventures—it is a
story of sacrifice and redemp
tion that steals past tired old
sermons and stained glass win
dows. And in their portrayal
of Aslan they “got it.” Any
viewer not moved by the scene
of Aslan and the White Witch
at the Stone Table is probably
residing in the morgue. Even
more to the point, the movie
makers “got it” that in the end
it takes Aslan to complete the
redemption of Namia as he and
his newly breathed upon and
renewed followers show up at
Courtesy of www.otherworldwriting.com
the last minute and destroy the
White Witch, routing her army
at the same time.
I, for one, am deeply thank
ful to Disney and Walden
Media for what they have
done with this adaptation of
C. S. Lewis’ first Chronicle of
Namia. I suspect that the guid
ing hand behind maintaining
the integrity of Lewis’ story
was Douglas Gresham, co-pro
ducer and Lewis’ stepson. The
movie makers “got it” because
Gresham made sure the integ
rity of Lewis’ story would not
be compromised or pandered to
the lowest common denomina
tor. For that we all owe him a
debt of gratitude.
Bono Gives Guitar to Brazil Cause
BBC News Press Release
Rock star Bono will donate a
guitar to Brazil’s Zero Hunger
campaign following U2’s con
certs this week in Sao Paulo.
The guitar will be auc
tioned to raise money for Bra
zilian President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva’s campaign for
all Brazilians to have three
meals a day. Bono met the
S president on Sunday where
they discussed poverty and
renewable energy sources.
About 70,000 fans saw U2
in Sao Paulo on Monday. “To
beat poverty, we all have to
work together,” Bono said.
Message
“Martin Luther King didn’t
just have an American dream,
but an Irish dream, a Latin
American dream - sing for Peru,
for Chile, for Argentina, for
Brazil,” he told the crowd. But
there were boos from the audi
ence at the mention of Argentina
and some jeered when pictures
of Lula and US President George
W Bush appeared on a large
screen behind the band. Bono
ended the group’s two-hour
performance with an appeal
for zero poverty and thanks
to Lula for his hospitality. The
Brazilian president wants to
ensure all Brazilians get three
meals a day by the end of his
term of office on 31 December
this year. His government also
wants to expand Brazil’s use of
bio-diesel fuel based on tropi--
cal fruit seeds, sunflowers and
soybeans. U2 will play another
concert at the Morumbi foot
ball stadium in Sao Paulo on
Tuesday before more gigs in
Chile and Argentina. It is not
yet known when and where
the guitar auction will take
place. A guitar donated by
Lenny Kravitz to Brazil’s fight
against poverty last year raised
322,000 reals (£87,239).
Mar. 2 2006, Page?
The Whetstone