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Operation Narnia – New Partnership with Samaritan’s Purse

Ray Fowler — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:05:09 +0000

As a big Narnia fan and a fan of Samaritan’s Purse/Operation Christmas Child, I think this partnership is a great idea.

Operation Narnia (Video length: 1:06)

Operation Narnia is a partnership with the Samaritan’s Purse program, Operation Christmas Child, to bring the joy of Christmas to kids all over the world! This is the perfect opportunity for your family and friends to spread cheer and hope to needy boys and girls in over 130 countries. With your help, our goal is to deliver more than 8 million shoe boxes, filled with items that will be meaningful to a child – toys, stuffed animals, school supplies, hard candy, and hygiene items. These boxes are then delivered to local collection centers around the country and shipped in time for the Christmas season.

Let me encourage you to participate in this wonderful program for kids all around the world this year. You could also talk to your pastor about getting your whole church involved.

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Video Trailer

Ray Fowler — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:31:49 +0000

Check out the new trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, coming to theaters December 10, 2010. I can’t wait!

Dawn Treader Trailer (Video length: 2:10)

Related post: C. S. Lewis’ Homeschool Schedule

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C. S. Lewis’ Homeschool Schedule

Ray Fowler — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:05:13 +0000

As a child C. S. Lewis attended a number of schools (which he hated), but in 1914 he moved to Bookham at Surrey to study privately with his father’s former tutor, William T. Kirkpatrick. Lewis homeschooled under Kirkpatrick for the next two years before receiving a scholarship to Oxford in December of 1916. In a letter dated October 12, 1915, Lewis described his typical day of schooling to a friend. (Lewis was 16 years old at the time, soon to turn 17.)

Typical Schedule:

Breakfast and a short walk
Thucydides and Homer
15-minute break
Tacitus
Lunch at 1:00
Free time until tea
Tea at 4:30
Plato and Horace
Supper at 7:30
German and French until 9:00 p.m.
Free time until bed (usually about 10:20 p.m.)

As soon as my bed room door is shut I get into my dressing gown, draw up a chair to my table and produce, like Louis Moore, note book and pencil. Here I write up my diary for the day, and then turning to the other end of the book devote myself to poetry, either new stuff or polishing the old. If I am not in the mood for that I draw faces and hands and feet etc for practice. This is the best part of the day of course, and I am usually in a very happy frame of mind by the time I slip into bed.

(Source: They Stand Together: The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves, edited by Walter Hooper, p. 84)

So, any homeschoolers out there who follow the same schedule? Anyone who wants to?

HT: The Scriptorium

Special Narnia Summit Previews Dawn Treader Film

Ray Fowler — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:05:06 +0000

Note: If you have never read Voyage of the Dawn Treader, be aware that this post reveals some plot details from the book.

Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox hosted a special Narnia Summit in Los Angeles for Christian leaders the weekend of February 16-18. The event included panel discussions plus footage from the upcoming Dawn Treader film directed by Michael Apted. Tirian from NarniaWeb attended and reports back:

Michael Apted … shared that this is a very character-driven film and that it is not going to be a film that has special effects without any real content. He said this movie is about temptation and learning how to overcome it, wrapped in an adventure story. Michael then took us through a 20-minute presentation with concept art and a few still frames to give us the basic outline of the movie. He described the five islands, where we’ll see them, and what will happen on each one. He also pointed out how each island will have a different and unique look to it …

Without giving away too much, I will mention a few things about the footage we saw. There were shots of the transition into Narnia and some shots onboard the Dawn Treader with Eustace (quite funny). We saw some interaction between Lucy and Gael and quite a lot of shots of Lucy in the magician’s house. There were a few finished shots of Reepicheep, several “beauty shots” of the Dawn Treader sailing, and some incredible shots of the entrance to Aslan’s Country from the end of the film. Liam Neeson’s lines have been recorded so we heard Aslan several times throughout the footage.

Christianity Today also spoke with several who attended the summit. Philip Yancey shared:

They’re clearly making an effort to say that they respect and understand the spiritual focus of the book in a way that perhaps [Prince Caspian] did not. They don’t seem to be cutting any corners; they’re throwing the whole ball of wax at this, and that’s a good thing. If they can capture the universal love for these books, it’ll be great.

Kathy Keller (wife of pastor/author Tim Keller) was especially concerned “that they get Aslan right” in the movie.

“I’m glad the final interaction between Aslan and Lucy was there in its unadulterated entirety, because I consider that the pinnacle of the entire seven books.” (Near the end of book, Lucy is sad that Aslan is sending her back to her world, and sobs, “How can we live, never meeting you?” Aslan assures Lucy that he’s very much in her world, where he has “another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”)

Jerry Root, a Lewis expert and a professor at Wheaton College, agrees with Keller, saying if they don’t get that scene right, “they might as well close up the shop and produce no more films, for they will not be Lewis’ stories any more.”

Attendees also report that the movie includes the extremely important scene of Aslan “un-dragoning” Eustace. All in all, I find these reports very encouraging! Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of my favorite books, and I am really looking forward to this movie.

The Finished Dawn Treader Ship

Ray Fowler — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:10:40 +0000

Here is a photo of the Dawn Treader ship they built for the upcoming The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie (scheduled release: December 10, 2010).

HT: NarniaWeb

Anyone else excited about the next Narnia movie?

Around the Web – 5/14/2009

Ray Fowler — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:05:35 +0000

Planet Narnia Spin. Devin Brown challenges the central thesis of Michael Ward’s book, Planet Narnia.
Praying in a Mosque. Protestant pastor Edward H. Schreur shares what he learned from praying in a mosque.
Free Class on Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses. Rob Bowman’s class on understanding Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses is available on iTunes for free.

Around the Web – 5/12/2009

Ray Fowler — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:10:39 +0000

Reach Out. Jonathan Dodson shares eight simple ways you can spend more time with non-Christian friends.
Lost and Narnia. I have never seen the TV show Lost, but apparently it contains some interesting (and intentional) parallels to the works of C. S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles.
Kideo Video Player. Kideo Player is a kid-safe YouTube video viewer with an emphasis on fun and educational videos. Just hit the spacebar to advance to the next video.

Moore on Narnia Order

Ray Fowler — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:06:19 +0000

Russell Moore has a good discussion going on concerning which is the best order in which to read the Narnia Chronicles.

Some fellow Lewisphiles insist the series begins with The Magician’s Nephew. I disagree, emphatically. The Magician’s Nephew is what would be called in today’s film lingo a “prequel,” rather than a beginning. The narrative takes place chronologically before the other stories. But it makes sense only when read after them. That’s because it ties together loose ends and throws further light on the origins behind some of the characters and plotlines readers have already grown to know.

I completely agree with Moore. The books are best read in publication order rather than chronologically. What do you think? I started a poll on this topic last year which is still open for voting if you want to state your preference. Here is the link: Narnia Poll: Read the books in which order? (Chronological is currently winning 84-43.)

Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian Attraction

Ray Fowler — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:24:12 +0000

The Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian Attraction opens this summer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort. The Aslan’s How structure used in the attraction was cast from the same molds as the one used in the film.

Your journey begins in the queue where you can test your knowledge of the Narnia stories. Next, either head into the soundstage or introduce yourself to Prince Caspian himself! Then experience a unique look at the epic story in Soundstage 4, where you can watch special behind-the-scenes footage featuring the film’s director, Andrew Adamson.

Pass through a rockwork archway, and you enter Aslan’s Stone Table Chamber, the underground vault where Aslan sacrificed himself in the first movie. You stand amidst gorgeous stone carvings in one of the most awe-inspiring sets in the series, which is also a pivotal location in the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Multiple screens, dimensional sound and in-theater effects help you live the story of Narnia firsthand, as you explore this walk-through chamber in depth, guided through the tale of Prince Caspian’s courageous battle against the evil King Miraz to win back his rightful place on the throne.

Finally, conclude the journey with a close up look at the authentic concept art and storyboards that contributed to bringing the motion picture to life, as well as the actual props and costumes used by the film cast.

HT: NarniaWeb

Click here for more Narnia and Caspian related posts.
Click here for Countdown to Caspian roundup.
Click here for Narnia sermon series.

Will Susan Return to Narnia?

Ray Fowler — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:03:00 +0000

Some fans of Susan in the Narnia series were disappointed to learn that Susan will not be back for the next Narnia movie. So, will Susan ever return to Narnia? Yes and no. At the end of Prince Caspian Peter and Susan are both told they will not come back to Narnia because they are getting too old. Lucy and Edmund are told the same thing at the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Peter, Edmund and Lucy later show up in New Narnia at the end of The Last Battle, but Susan does not because she is “no longer a friend of Narnia.”

However, all four children do appear in one of the other books of the Narnia Chronicles — The Horse and His Boy. Although The Horse and His Boy was written much later in the series, chronologically the events of the book take place towards the end of the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This is when the children are all still in Narnia for the first time and have grown up as Kings and Queens.

Assuming they keep making the Narnia movies, The Horse and His Boy will be the fifth in the series. And even if they don’t, you can always read the book. So, cheer up Susan fans! There is still more Susan in Narnia yet to come!