Other Titles • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe • The Chronicles of Narnia • more
Sums up producer Mark Johnson: “I think audiences will take away the most positive messages of belief, strength and family. But, in the process, they will also go on an original, exciting, unexpected ride. People ask, is it like ‘Lord of the Rings’ or ‘Harry Potter’? The answer is no, it is its own world, and yet I think the sensation of seeing those movies will be akin to the sensation one will feel in seeing this movie.”
At the heart of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE are the many spellbinding characters and creatures who came to life in C.S. Lewis’ beloved tale—from the four young children who are transported from wartorn London into Narnia to the incredible mythical menagerie of fauns, centaurs, giants, satyrs, dwarves, minotaurs, minoboars and talking animals they meet on their life-changing journey.
The filmmakers’ first and most vital task was to start with the cornerstone of humanity in the film— the four Pevensie children, who take the audience along with them as they discover that a mysterious old wardrobe door is a portal into a land like no other. As casting began, the filmmakers knew one thing: it was essential that the children be as utterly, viscerally real as Narnia is fantastical.
Executive producer Perry Moore explains the approach taken in the search for the children: “What makes this story so unique is that it’s about real people. When you think of Narnia, you think of creatures, effects and spectacular dream-lands. But this is all grounded in the reality of a true family. So while there are a lot of great child actors in Hollywood, we made it very clear that we wanted real kids!”
The filmmakers sought the services of veteran casting director Pippa Hall and thus began a two-year hunt throughout England, during which Hall visited endless grade schools, youth clubs and drama groups, interviewing over 2,000 children for the four roles. “I took a video camera everywhere, sitting kids down to get them to talk about themselves, what their favorite books were, what films they liked,” Hall recalls. “I would then send Andrew loads of tapes and he’d watch them all and that’s how we cast the Pevensies.”
The eldest of the Pevensie kids is Peter, who leaves London a child yet becomes a brave, grown-up leader fighting for the forces of good while in Narnia. To bring Peter to life, Pippa Hall always had in mind 18-yearold William Moseley, who makes his feature film debut. Hall first saw Moseley seven years ago and had never forgotten him.
“William’s is a fairy-tale story,” Hall elaborates. “I met William when he was 11, when I was casting another film in Gloustershire, near where he lives. He was too old for that part, but I still thought he was extraordinary, that he had something special. I thought of William as Peter as soon as I read the script.” Being about the same age as his character, Moseley immediately related to Peter’s transformation in the course of his adventures in Narnia. “To put it simply, when Peter steps through the wardrobe, he’s a boy. When Peter steps back out of the wardrobe, as the story finishes, he’s a man,” the teenager says. “And, for me, I think I also became a man throughout the making of this film. Like Peter, I’m the oldest in my family. Like Peter, I strive a lot of the time for what’s right, what’s just. I think that’s the reason each of the kids was cast for these parts—we’re so like the characters we play.”
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