Journey into Narnia: Creating The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Last updated
Jadis, the White Witch, appeared live off-screen during the abridged feature film. Jadis.JPG
Jadis, the White Witch, appeared live off-screen during the abridged feature film.

Journey into Narnia: Creating the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a theme park show that operated at Disney's Hollywood Studios from December 9, 2005, to January 1, 2008. It was a "stand and watch" attraction, with a live appearance by the White Witch character and a display of several costumes from the film. [1]

Contents

Summary

Guests were led into an antechamber with a Wardrobe prop "entrance". The audience was then led through the wardrobe doors into a large room adorned with flocked pine trees, a lamppost, a large tree illuminated with fiber optics, and a large (150") projection television screen. The screen displayed a greatly abridged version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , the 2005 feature film co-produced by Disney and Walden Media.

At a key point in the abridged film, the White Witch appeared on a terrace above the crowd and read a few lines from the film. The abridged film then continued on-screen, followed by a short preview of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian , the second Narnia feature film, which was to be released in 2008. None of the material shown on-screen was exclusive — all could be found in the DVD edition of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or in online previews of Prince Caspian. After standing and watching for 10 to 15 minutes, the audience exited through a hallway that was decorated with several costumes from the film.

History

The attraction closed permanently on January 1, 2008 so it could be converted into the new attraction, Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian, [2] which officially opened on June 27, 2008, which has subsequently since closed. [3]

In 2003, this attraction's area was used to house The Making of The Haunted Mansion Movie attraction. Before that, the building (Soundstage 4) housed set from the live-action version of 101 Dalmatians from 1996 to 2002.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> Series of childrens fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film, and video games. The series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.

<i>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> 1950 childrens fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a portal fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). Among all the author's books, it is also the most widely held in libraries. It was the first of The Chronicles of Narnia to be written and published, but is marked as volume two in recent editions that are sequenced according the stories' internal chronology. Like the other Chronicles, it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and her work has been retained in many later editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Pevensie</span> Fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia

Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan. Also, of all the humans who have visited Narnia, Lucy is perhaps the one that believes in Narnia the most. She is ultimately crowned Queen Lucy the Valiant, co-ruler of Narnia along with her two brothers and her sister. Lucy is the central character of the four siblings in the novels. Lucy is a principal character in three of the seven books, and a minor character in two others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pevensie</span> Fictional character in the Narnia universe.

Peter Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia book series. Peter appears in three of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Last Battle. He is only mentioned in The Horse and His Boy in which he is away on the northern frontier fighting giants and in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in which he is studying under the tutelage of Professor Kirke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Pevensie</span> Fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia

Susan Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Susan is the elder sister and the second eldest Pevensie child. She appears in three of the seven books—as a child in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy. She is also mentioned in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Last Battle. During her reign at the Narnian capital of Cair Paravel, she is known as Queen Susan the Gentle or Queen Susan of the Horn. She was the only Pevensie that survived the train crash on Earth which sent the others to Narnia after The Last Battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Pevensie</span> Fictional character in the Narnia universe.

Edmund Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. He is a principal character in three of the seven books, and a lesser character in two others.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> 2005 film by Andrew Adamson

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 high fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The film is the first installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian</i> 2008 film directed by Andrew Adamson

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 high fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 1951 novel Prince Caspian, Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, the second published and fourth chronological novel in the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), it is the second installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Moseley (actor)</span> British actor

William Peter Moseley is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of the fictional character Peter Pevensie in the The Chronicles of Narnia (2005–2010) trilogy, which won him a Kids' Choice Award, in addition to nominations for a Saturn Award and a Young Artist Award. He also played Prince Liam in the E! series The Royals (2015–2018).

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> (TV series) British childrens television series (1988–1990)

The Chronicles of Narnia is a British BBC-produced television series that was aired from 13 November 1988 to 23 December 1990 and is based on four books of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. The first series aired was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1988, the second series aired was Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 1989 and the third series aired was The Silver Chair in 1990. This television series was produced by Paul Stone, with the teleplay by Alan Seymour. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was directed by Marilyn Fox, while Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair were directed by Alex Kirby.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantasy film series and media franchise based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels by C. S. Lewis. The series revolves around the adventures of children in the world of Narnia, guided by Aslan, a wise and powerful lion that can speak and is the true king of Narnia. The children heavily featured in the films are the Pevensie siblings, and a prominent antagonist is the White Witch. The franchise also includes short films, digital series, and video games.

Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian was a one-room walk-through style attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World Resort, which opened on June 27, 2008. It replaced Journey into Narnia: Creating The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which closed on January 1, 2008.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 1950 novel by C.S. Lewis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aslan</span> Fictional lion, a deity in The Chronicles of Narnia

Aslan is a major character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion and is described as the King of Beasts, the son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, and the King above all High Kings in Narnia.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</i> 2010 film by Michael Apted

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 high fantasy adventure film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, and Michael Petroni, based on the 1952 novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third published and fifth chronological novel in the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), it is the third and final installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. It is the only film in the series not to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, which was replaced by 20th Century Fox. However, Disney would eventually own the rights to all the films in the series following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes and published in London between October 1950 and March 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for television, radio, the stage, film, in audio books, and as video games.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Narnia:

Isis Mussenden, is an American Costume designer and a member of the Costume Designers Guild. Mussenden won the 2006 Costume Designers Guild Award for excellence in fantasy film for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Mussenden has worked on numerous well-known films including American Psycho, Drag Me to Hell, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Mussenden was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2008.

Magical creatures are an important aspect of the fictional world of Narnia contained within The Chronicles of Narnia book series and connected media originally created by C. S. Lewis. Throughout the seven books of the series, the protagonists encounter a variety of these creatures as they travel throughout Narnia and the surrounding lands and seas, including Archenland, Calormen, and the Great Eastern Ocean.

References

  1. Jackson, Jerry W. (October 27, 2005). "Narnia attraction takes visitors on a journey". The Orlando Sentinel. p. C1. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. Geryak, Cole (2019-11-14). "Extinct Attractions: Journey into Narnia". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
  3. "Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian News". www.wdwmagic.com. Retrieved 2020-03-08.