How To Destroy Narnia
We thought that, for once, Disney was going to do something good with the Chronicles of Narnia release. The preview looks great, the production is really high-quality, and even C. S. Lewis' son is involved heavily in the production. But, alas, I've decided that Disney is shooting themselves in the foot by using The Passion of the Christ method.
Disney is working very hard to promote the movie in Christian circles. Why? I don't know. New Line did nothing to promote The Lord of the Rings as a "Christian" movie and yet it did some of the biggest numbers ever in movies. Is Disney worried that nobody will come out to the movies in December unless every single Christian is there? I guess.
Their marketing plans includes a full-length CD of music "inspired by" the movie featuring Christian artists. Of course, it's separate from an orchestral soundtrack and a collection of music "inspired by" and featuring mainstream artists. Also, they've partnered with almost every Christian music and/or media website to make sure we know plenty about this movie before it comes out.
What's the benefit? Well, Disney probably sees it as the fact that, like The Passion of the Christ, they'll get Christians to rent out whole theaters and everybody will show up on opening weekend. What do I think the benefit will be for Disney? It'll short-circuit what should be their biggest audience: the mainstream and fantasy groups. I won't be surprised if people don't go to the movie because they hear it's a "Christian" movie.
It's not a "Christian" movie. Just like J.R.R. Tolkien's work, Narnia is just a fun story for readers. Sure, it might carry some Christian undertones, but it's not like other "Christian" movies where there's an altar call at the end. Besides The Passion of the Christ, no studio has pulled off a successful Christian movie. The Prince of Egypt had a very similar marketing campaign and it never really got DreamWorks anywhere.
Please, Disney. Just do a regular movie, not a Christian movie. If you do, it could be a moneymaker for your dying company.
Comments
It's not "undertones" but rather Christian overtones that are present in The Chronicles of Narnia, and will also be present in the film - if, that is, it remains at all true to Lewis' books. However, I agree with you that it ought not to be so selectively marketed. The genius of C.S. Lewis' Narnia series is the way the stories so successfully operate at more than one level. It's a fantasy film, it's a Christian film, it's two, two films in one!
Oops! Please forgive my italics-gone-wild HTML goof.
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