Disney Dumps Narnia

[crazy4wdw]

From E! Online:
Disney Dumps Narnia

osh Grossberg – Wed Dec 24, 12:39 pm ET E! Online – Disney Dumps Narnia(E! Online) Los Angeles – The lion, the witch and the wardrobe crew is getting the boot from the Magic Kingdom.

Proving that not even Mickey is immune to the downturn, Disney has decided against coproducing and distributing the third film in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And that means Walden Media, the production company behind the C.S. Lewis adaptations, will have to find a new partner for the big-screen franchise to continue.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney's departure is based on "budgetary and logistical reasons," though reps for both declined to comment beyond that.

Dawn Treader was staring at a budget in the $200 million range but was an uncertain prospect at the box office.

The first film in the series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, grossed $292 million domestically and an additional $453 million overseas, per Box Office Mojo; this summer's Prince Caspian dipped to $141 million and $278 million, respectively.

In fact, aside from the Harry Potter movies, kid-friendy fantasy flicks have produced diminishing returns (The Golden Compass, The Spiderwick Chronicles) of late.

The Mouse House had hoped to begin shooting Dawn Treader for a May 2010 release, with Michael Apted directing and the key holdover players from Caspian in place (Ben Barnes, Georgia Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell).

But with Walden scrambling for a new backer (20th Century Fox is reportedly a possibility) and reduced costs, it remains to be seen whether the principals will remain on board.

One thing we're certain of: Mickey and Aslan didn't exchange fruit cakes this year.

[CoolTrainerTerry]

I think our threads need merged. Lol

[rutgers1]

The Narnia movies were horrible. Ok, maybe not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the Lord of the Rings. Although they weren'e budget, for some reason they seemed that way to me. Somewhat cheesy looking.

[puntagordabob]

The Narnia movies were horrible. Ok, maybe not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the Lord of the Rings. Although they weren'e budget, for some reason they seemed that way to me. Somewhat cheesy looking.

Thats a shame...I really enjoyed the movies

[MJMcBride]

The Narnia movies were horrible. Ok, maybe not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the Lord of the Rings.

That would have been a very tall order. No sci-fi movies come close to Star Wars either

[CoolTrainerTerry]

They aren't suppose to be like LotR. If that's what was expected, then of course you didn't like it.

[Jessfrogger88]

The upside is maybe the "attraction" at MGM will close.

I did enjoy the first Narnia film.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I only saw The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe but I loved it. It definitely had that Disney magical feel coupled with that Lewis magical feel.

I can see why they are getting out though. It doesn't seem like people are as into the sequels.

[yitbos96bb]

The Narnia movies were horrible. Ok, maybe not horrible, but nowhere near as good as the Lord of the Rings. Although they weren'e budget, for some reason they seemed that way to me. Somewhat cheesy looking.

I liked the first one... haven't seen too...

That being said, as the films progressed, Disney was going to enter dangerous territory as the Christian Allegory of the book becomes more and more forefront in the stories as well as dealing with the alienation of one of the main characters. The final book would have probably ticked off one or more groups of people.

[yitbos96bb]

That would have been a very tall order. No sci-fi movies come close to Star Wars either

Um... First Matrix?

And as fun as Star Wars is, there is some really bad film making in the series... specificially anything Lucas wrote the dialogue on... and most of what he directed. Hence why most people think Empire is the best... he had the least hand in the creative process.

[SoScary'09]

I for one couldn't believe Disney had bothered to associate with it. The movies are so boring!!! ZZZZzzzz I'm an adult, so I managed, but I can't imagine an 8 or 9 year old being able to sit through the entire thing without getting bored or just plain confused.

I'm happy they're dropping it.

[ILuvCrush]

my 7yo and 10yo love them... I'll be sad to see them go. It's hard to find enjoyable and appropriate films for tweens that aren't cartoons:sad1:

[DC7800]

While you may not personally like the movies (the original was simply brilliant, the sequel only very good by comparison), I honestly cannot imagine the phrase 'boring' being applied to either Prince Caspian or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Really, are we talking about the same films? If anything, there was too much action (too little Aslan) in Prince Caspian.

[wdwwishes]

We enjoyed both movies in the Narnia series. I can see how Disney would move on though. I also feel as though there are many titles in the children's fiction category waiting to be discovered and made into movies. Harry Potter was great and had a great run. J.K. Rowling is a one trick pony though. Where is anything new, fresh and enticing the young reader for a second go around??? I'll have to agree that Star Wars was unique and continues to draw kids in. At least we know there will contiue to be material out there, how good it will be, well, who knows. Keep reading, keep going to the movies.

[Wickedrenthead]

Honestly, I did not bother to go and see the second one because I did not have the 1st. I have looked everywhere and could not find it. I did end up getting the first and have yet to see Caspian. But from what I heard, everyone that saw it said it was awesome!
Has this sort of thing ever happend before, Disney starting something like this and then completely dropping it?:confused3

[randomDisneyFan3000]

Sci-fi is rising, look at wall-e and the rest of pixar.

[PatriciaH]

Loved the books. Liked the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe a lot. Did not like PC at all-not like the book. Was looking forward the Dawn Treader-great story!

[gymnastgirlflips]

Oh! Wow, well I love both movies. I do have to say Prince Caspian wasn't as good and they added/took away way more than they did in the first, but overall it was really good. I love the first movie though. They only changed about one thing than from the book, and it seems like all other books to movies they do change completley. Its just sad that they do that.
I do hope whoever they pick will do a good job though, but after this movie I dont think it will be a good idea to continue. The rest of the books aren't as good as those three, if you ask me. I dont think people would go to see them so much, unless they are true Narnia fans.

[BigGoofy44]

Personally, I was looking forward to The Silver Chair, The Magician's Nephew, well all of them really.

[Disneybag]

That being said, as the films progressed, Disney was going to enter dangerous territory as the Christian Allegory of the book becomes more and more forefront in the stories as well as dealing with the alienation of one of the main characters. The final book would have probably ticked off one or more groups of people.

I agree. I'm a loyal fan of the books and I never thought the entire series would make it to film. While I didn't think the films were perfect, it was nice having something aside from the BBC and PBS versions that were truly abysmal.

Religion and movies aimed at children/pre-teens don't mix well. For that reason, I think we'll also be deprived of the final two installments of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. I can't imagine many parents will be keen on taking their tikes to see a film that sets out to kill God.

[MJMcBride]

it is still likely that Dawn Treader will come out

[Tink's Tormentor]

it is still likely that Dawn Treader will come out


Exactly... They just aren't doing it now.. :)

[IMGN]

Exactly... They just aren't doing it now.. :)

No, it's just sort of likely that Fox will partner with WM.

[caropatra]

The rumor appears to be true: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0980970/news#ni0637168
Personally, I hope MJMcBride is correct and that Dawn Treader will be produced. One of the articles in the above link says that Walden Media is looking for another partner for the film (as suggested by IMGN, could be Fox and, I might add, which would be a more likely match). I'm one who loves, loves, loves the books. Films in general never measure up to their corresponding books; it's simply not possible to capture the detail, subplots, and character depth in one hundred twenty minutes that's found in three hundred pages of text. Our family enjoyed the first film. We were less enthusiastic about Prince Caspian; our criticism was based on the fact that the script deviated significantly from the most interesting aspects of the book (i.e. the children's discovery that they are at Cair Paravel - it should have taken a third of the movie, but it took all of three minutes). But I can't say we hated it; it was fine.

I'm also a huge, HUGE fan of LoR, and I don't think comparing LoR trilogy with the Narnia series is comparing apples to apples. I know Lewis and Tolkien were contemporaries and probably influenced each other, but I just see the two stories as well as the movies as being totally different. Both are great for different reasons.

It will be interesting to see how/if the Chronicles of Narnia continue past Dawn Treader. Like BigGoofy44, I would be excited about The Silver Chair and The Magician's Nephew.

[MJMcBride]

It will be interesting to see how/if the Chronicles of Narnia continue past Dawn Treader. Like BigGoofy44, I would be excited about The Silver Chair and The Magician's Nephew.

I don't know the books well enough to make that call. i do know the kids from these movies are done

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

No sci-fi movies come close to Star Wars either
Clearly you've never seen Space Balls. :rolleyes1 :rolleyes1 :rolleyes1

(Yes, that was a joke.):thumbsup2

[rlovew]

I don't know the books well enough to make that call. i do know the kids from these movies are done

The kids from the movies would be done after this one until the last movie (when they would be grown up) as they aren't in the books 4-6. In fact Peter and Susan aren't even in book 3.

[FigNewton]

I'm so upset with Disney for dropping Narnia. We loved the first, thought the second was great if not as good as the first... but Dawn Treader had the potential to be the best one yet. I can't believe they are dropping the third film of a planned trilogy because the second 'only' grossed in the 400 million range. I know it's not a High School Musical moneymaker for them, but the third movie in a planned trilogy that you are still making money on? Poo on you Disney.>_<

(and yes, before anyone goes into it, I know very well how many books there are, but as I understand it the movies were planned as a trilogy with Lion, Caspian, and Dawn Treader)

[Narnian_Princess]

I may be biased, but I loved these films, both of them. Yes, even though Prince Caspian deviated rather a lot from the book. I would've loved to see all the books made into decent movies, but without Disney to back it... I don't see how the quality can be maintained. :(

I kind of figured we wouldn't get any more after Dawn Treader anyway, simply because that's the last one where we actually get the Pevensies for any length of time. The Silver Chair just has Eustace Scrubb (introduced in VotDT) and a new character of Jill Pole. I can't believe that the movies-only audience would appreciate that.

And yes, Disney starts things only to drop them. As seen recently with their destruction of VMK. Why can't they stick with the quality stuff instead of cheap money-making junk?

[MJMcBride]

I'm so upset with Disney for dropping Narnia. We loved the first, thought the second was great if not as good as the first...

unfortunately, the box office was half the first one. And dvd sales were 10% of the first one from my understanding. Considering the costs of these types of films its no surprise the series got axed

[SWVA BGSU Fan]

I loved both movies, but I am in my early 40s and probably not the demographic that Disney is trying to reach. DSs are 13 and 9, and they are not interested in the Narnia movies at all. DS13 reluctantly agreed to go to the Prince Caspian attraction with me at DHS in November, and couldn't wait to get out of there. When DH and DS asked him about the attraction later, he said something like, "Don't worry, you didn't miss much."

I thought both movies were both visually and musically beautiful. However, when you look at how much they cost to make and the fact that Prince Caspian brought in much lower box office numbers than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, you can see why Disney made its decision. This trilogy did not have the "star power" of a Johnny Depp or an Orlando Bloom to keep drawing the audiences back in.

[disneycruiser2007]

Our daughters both loved the Narnia Movies. We are sorry they aren't going to make the third one, because that may mean the quality won't be as good. We saw the props from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at at Hollywood Studios. Our 8 year old was inspired to read that book, and as a reward she got to see the movie. We read the same books as children. It was great having Disney involved in passing on that tradition.

[LuvOrlando]

-

[doconeill]

Fox (which already has a first look partnership with Walden - came after Disney's partnership for Narnia) will help finance Dawn Treader (http://scifistorm.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/29/2215212&mode=thread)...

[crazy4wdw]

Here's some more info:

Fox to pick up Narnia franchise for third film

January 29, 2009: 09:00 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twentieth Century Fox has stepped in to partner with Walden Media on at least one more film based on the C.S. Lewis children's book series "The Chronicles of Narnia," after the Walt Disney Co bowed out, a Fox spokesman said Thursday.

The News Corp-owned studio plans to release the film during late 2010, the Fox spokesman said. No information was released about production costs for the film, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," which would be the third based on Lewis' beloved fantasy novels.

Disney bowed out of the franchise last month, citing "budgetary considerations and other logistics," three years after touting "Narnia" as its next blockbuster film property.

The effects-laden films cost Disney and Walden an estimated $180 million to $200 million to produce.

The two studios collaborated on the 2005 hit, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", which grossed $745 million at box offices worldwide, and on "Prince Caspian", whose grosses sank to $420 million last year partly from stiff summer box office competition.

Both titles were top DVD sellers.

Walden could not be reached for comment. (Reporting by Gina Keating; Editing by Bernard Orr)

[MJMcBride]

well, I would like to see the movie

I wonder how long it will be before they pull the plug on the Narnia attraction