I know Zim said she was interested, I don't know if anyone else is. But CS Lewis was basing his opinion on the live action movies of the 60's or earlier. Technology has come a long way since then, and I think he just might approve of the version now. At either rate, I'm still excited to go see it!
Author CS Lewis opposed screen version of "Narnia" Tue Nov 29, 4:31 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - C.S. Lewis, author of the classic children's "Narnia" books which are about to make their big screen debut, was "absolutely opposed" to a live action version of his stories, a newly published letter shows.
Walt Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" is expected to be a big box office hit this Christmas season, thanks to its blend of magical fantasy themes and a strong Christian slant.
But a letter from Lewis, posted on the literary Web site Nthposition.com, revealed that he had strong feelings about how his book should be used.
"I am absolutely opposed -- adamant isn't in it! -- to a TV version," he wrote to BBC producer Lance Sieveking, who had created a radio version of his book which had met Lewis' approval.
The story tells of four children who travel through a magic wardrobe into the land of Narnia, home to talking animals, a wicked witch and the god-like lion, Aslan.
Disney hopes that the movie, which has its world premiere in London on December 7, will be as big a hit with children as the " Harry Potter" series, thanks in part to the support of Christian church leaders.
Although Lewis, who died in 1963, said he would have considered a cartoon version, his letter suggests he is unlikely to have approved of Disney's interpretation, particularly its computer-generated Aslan.
"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare -- at least with photography," he wrote.
"Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy."
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RE: Author CS Lewis opposed screen version of "Narnia"
Thanks Molly - I think Lewis would have approved of this one. I don't think anyone could have foreseen the future of movie graphics. I have the BBC version, not by choice - it was a gift from someone who didn't know any better. The animation they used for the Dr. Who-like miniseries is a joke. The animation, not only drawn poorly, is jerky and never sized correctly for the rest of the people in the scene. I watched the first 30 minutes or so and had to put the whole thing on the shelf, it's horrible.
Now they can create movies that can hold a candle to the movie you envision when reading the book, I can't imagine he would think that something would be lost in the translation.
