Narnia, Christianity, and Movie Magic
The Movieguide Faith and Values Awards, which was founded by theologian Ted Baehr may not be an award ceremony as prestigious as the Oscars; however, these awards only go to films noted for their Christian message, morality, or “family-friendliness.” This year’s top rated film at the awards, was The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Other notable films, which were honoured at the event were Toy Story 3, Secretariat, and Mao’s Last Dancer.
Winning the title of “Most Inspiring Movie of 2010,” The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader takes home a 100,000 dollar prize, which was raised by the awards themselves (as tickets for the event are 1,000 dollars each!)
In the article announcing Narnia’s success, David Weil (CEO of the Anschutz Film Group, which is the parent company of Walden Media) is quoted as saying the following:
“We are hoping to do another Narnia film. We are in discussions right now with our studio partner Fox about a fourth one which would probably be Magician’s Nephew. In addition to that, our mandate as a film company is to continue to do family friendly films with uplifting messages.”
Whatever the reasoning, it seems as if a fourth Narnia film would do well at the box office due to it’s Christian morals. This article, which also mentions Narnia’s victory, includes several interesting statistics concerning modern films, and has found that Christian-Themed films are doing better at the box office than films with heavy language, and with atheistic views.
As the glittering award season draws to an end, Narnia may not have won the prestige of the press or the Oscars, but it has won for it’s Christian values. Along those lines, fans of the franchise have won as another exciting installment of the Narnia films, prepares to “set-sail”
You can read more by clicking here.
Ditto, American Eagle! great name!
Still waiting on news for the movie to be green lit! I'm hoping you guys will let us know *immediately*. 🙂
Well Voyage of the Dawn Treader may not have gotten any Oscars or even Golden Globes, but at least it's getting some recognition.
I couldn't with you agree more!
yay!!
I don't want to create controversy either, but I think I must speak to inform my fellow Christians. Atheism is not a religion. It can and never will be. The reason why is because there is nothing that unites atheists when it comes to belief. They have their own separate views. Sure some of them will have many beliefs in common, but there is nothing that unites them. For instance, some mostly go by Buddism or Daoism. Others go by Hinduism. Some go by the beliefs of the people of ancient Greece. I myself went along with Native American spirituals. (Think of the network of energy in "Avatar.") The only thing that could possibly unite atheists is the belief in no god whatsoever. And even that isn't enough to make it a religion.
The reason why I know this is because I was a former atheist myself. I'm back on the Christian path now of course, but I know and understand how atheists/agnosts think. And I wish only to help my fellow Christians understand. I hope I don't stir up any controversy in my quest to help. I'll probably go away now and wait to see what will happen. Hoping there's no blood bath going on.
ONE THING FOR SURE
IN VODT ASLAN HAD BEEN REALLY REALLY SIDELINED I MEAN HE WAS THERE FOR JUS 3 % FILM
JUST KICK THIS MORON michael apted out of narnia
As a Christian who loves the Christian themes in the Chronicles of Narnia, it warms my heart to know that the movies have conveyed those themes to the viewers! CS Lewis would be proud. Thank you, God, for using these movies for your good! And thank you so much that the next movie is *likely* on its way! We pray that you'd smooth out the process and help all the people involved with the greenlighting and later (hopefully) moviemaking to understand and convey the Christian themes in the movie! Amen! 🙂
Ah, yes, and I was very interested to find that (studies show) Christian movies are doing better than heavy-language movies! Hmm…
Long live Narnia! And long live Aslan!
LOL!!!
Nope, LOTR didn't win an Oscar. The Return of the King alone won eleven. 😀
I see the atheistic Communist countries of history and think you are talking about atheism, not religion. Yeah, atheism doesn't cause hate, hurt or suffering. All I ever hear from atheists is hate. (If I offend someone, I'm sorry, but this is emotional for me.) Now, Christians aren't perfect (certainly not!!!), but Christianity is a faith that teaches us to love our enemies. While I agree that we don't do that enough, that kind of teaching doesn't lead us to hate or suffering.
Not of This World, I think you're missing the point. Did you even read glumPuddle's post?
As for the Undragoning, I thought it was the lamest portrayal of "asking for help". To me it looked like Aslan was rewarding him for fighting the Sea Serpent.
You're a bit confused. LWW was the first Narnia book ever written or published. The Magician's Nephew was the sixth. The entire series was re-ordered "chronologically" in 1994 by HarperCollins. Up to this point, the films have been released in the same order as the books were.
YEAh! This is a great news. Even thou NArnia 3 didn't won any oscars or golden globe (It's better if they won those nominations), it was still given many awards such like this. So Narnia is also an inspiring film (for it should really be like in the books-series) Narnia gives us inspiration in our life for our faith and family. Oh, really longing for MAgician's Nephew!
What i'm saying is Narnia is Christian. In some ways it might not be clear to unbelivers but in other ways it usually is. I don't care what people belive. They have probobly heard of Christians and what we belive. They've probobly heard the story of Christ (weather they choose to belive it or not is another matter). So when they see things like Aslan dieing on the Stone Table and rising again, they most likley will related that to what they've heard in Christianity (I'm not saying they will accept Christ because of it. I've heard things in movies that I've in other religions, but I've not changed my belifes). So people can see Christ in Narnia.
DITTO! 😉 🙂 😀
Of course he meant for it to be Christian! I just watched a documentary(excuse me if spelling is wrong, I'm not thinking clearly today) which read a letter to a dear freind of Lewis'. He had a dream in which, a talking lion appeared, (perhaps God or Jesus was speaking through dreams) and talked to him. I'm not sure what it was about(didn't stick with me) but that lead to him knowing my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Plus don't you notice how the stone table is very closely related to the cross?
P.S. I agree with Not Of This World, WoWP is EVIL!!!
$100,000.00 divided by $1,000.00 per ticket equals 100 people in attendance? Did I get that right? Hmmm. I guess at first I had pictured a bigger population of christian "voters" contributing to the prize and it sounded like this heartwarming sort of grassroots groundswell of approval for VDT. Doing the math sort of changed the picture a bit. Maybe not all the ticket money went into the prize?
Although, at 1,000.00 a pop, I guess "grassroots" isn't really the right word, anyway…come to think of it. Still, it's nice of them to give the franchise their seal of approval. Especially if it helps propel the next book onto the screen.
Whereas I'm ever so glad that VDT won this award which should shut up those not necessarily humanistic or atheist critics – and there were quite a few of those, also – who still insist that the VDT movie was too humanistic.
😀 🙂
HaHa!! Am I completely making this up or did it say somewhere in the book that Uncle Andrew played piano? 😉
"These awards only go to films noted for their Christian message, morality, or 'family-friendliness.'"
Does anyone dislike this Christianity = family-friendly paradigm as much as I do?
Yes, yes! And these are the kinds of awards that COUNT. A movie may win Oscars and other such praise, but I wouldn't give a hoot if that movie is filled with crass jokes, profanities, and obscenities. Narnia was not only filmed with QUALITY, but it's also SQUEAKY-CLEAN! And that aspect deserves some much needed spotlight.
True Christianity is not a religion but a relationship which I hope you will come into someday.
To your point "religion is something the world needs less of": Granted there has been much evil committed "in the name of religion". Dig deeper and it is evident that the conflicts and atrocities were more about power, resources and riches than religion. However, much more evil, genocide and atrocities have occurred under atheistic rule than what could be rightly or wrongly ascribed to religeous purposes. Thinking "religion is something the world need less of" implies the world needs more atheism. Be careful what you wish for. By the way, atheism is really it's own religion.
Not sure Aslan would think much of your name calling. Have you seen "Amazing Grace" that Apted directed? In it (and is historically true) it becomes quite evident that it was Christians who were at the forefront of the abolishment of slavery. Remember in VODT; I believe is the first time you hear Aslan say something to the effect / like "in your world you know me by a different name". Good for Apted to leave this in; not sure other directors would have. From what I understand every additional minute of Aslan, done right, was very expensive.
Hollywood Reporter is reporting 14+ million already in Japan; total international is about 293.6 million;
link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rango-nabs-no-1-at-164819
Plus about 104 million domestic = almost 398 million worldwide. Will easily break 400 million and just might surpass PC in worldwide sales.
Forgot to mention that the news is in the 4th paragraph from the bottom. Again, the link is: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rango-nabs-no-1-at-164819
I can see Christ in the Narnia series. I can see him in the first two films. This one? NO. That's what I'm saying. People (who haven't read the books) will get the idea that Aslan is Jesus, and it will be confirmed by "I have another name". Does that this mean this movie is "Christian"? Absolutely not. There is no "Christian" world-view in this film.
That line was only there because it had to be. Doug Gresham made them do it, and they knew if they didn't the fans would literally flame the film.
As for "Amazing Grace", that was a good film, but it wasn't evident at all that Christians were at the forefront. Nothing in the main character's actions or speech gave me the feeling that he was a devout Christian. And, that film had several historical inaccuracies. I agree that Apted should be banned from our beloved franchise.
Well, a family film isn't always Christian, but Christian films should be family-friendly. Unless they're violent.
To the people here commenting how the movie was not obviously Christian, you most remember that producers aimed for a movie that non Christians could enjoy as well. They sat that the message wouldn't be the "In your face" one.
You really should consider that some people don't want to have bibles thrown at their face. You may not like it, then keep reading the books, they won't change the message.
Don't see how can it be surprising to have Christian films as the most popular when Christianity is the most numerous belief
On a personal level… The amazing grace film and Christian delivery of slaves cracks me up a little since the bible endorses it
It may crack you up, but it is a historical fact that Christians were at the forefront of the abolishment of slavery. There are many things in the Bible I don't understand and that must be taken within the cultural context. One thing is clear throughout the Bible and especially in the New Testament, is that they were supposed to be treated well and that to have and give freedom is much more desirable.
Double Ditto!!!!!!! Oh, how I LOOOVE Narnia, and Aslan!!!! 🙂 <3
I believe that Old Testament slaves were freed after seven years of service. They also were usually captured enemies.
Bring on MN! Or SC! I don't care which! 😀 😉 😛
I heard someone say they hate Narnia today! So sad.*sob* 🙁
*cry*
*sniffle*
:C
:C was supposed to be 🙁
To tell you the trust, never saw LOTR!
That was supposed to say:
To tell you the truth, never saw LOTR.
The Oscars for Return of the King were intended for the entire trilogy…not RotK alone.
🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁
PS: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the only Fantasy Film franchise to ever win the Best Picture Oscar.
I wouldn't be surprised if Harry Potter DH pt 2 got an Oscar nod for its entire franchise.
So far, if any Narnia film truly deserves an Oscar, it would have to be LWW. I'm hoping that if they ever finish the entire series, that at least the last film would get a nod for best picture to cover the entire franchise.
Sometimes I really wish the filmakers would read our posts on Narniaweb and see what we really want in the movies.
Don't pay attention to every lowlife jerk you meet.
I really don't mean to be rude but I totally have to agree with you. Everytime I look at MA he looks like Narnia is a pain in his butt. It's like "Oh this childish story I'm stuck with, I've done much better". Andrew Adamson really understood the stories much better. I want him back. 🙁
The Narnia Chronicles has very strong christian allegory, but the movie-makers have the responsibility to make the movie viewable for people of all religions. Even though it has been reduced greatly by the script-writers, the presence of Christian themes still exists.
p.s. Once again, I am not hoping to make a controversial statement but trying to clarify matters. Please excuse me if I am wrong in any aspect.
= ]
Yup! 🙂
this is exactly why i started reading the books, cuz they're CHRISTIAN!!!!!! no one has any morals any more….least these show some
What studies would these be? And which "Christian" movies are you talking about? Fireproof and the like? Or are you labeling "Christian" films that happen to have a few themes common to the religion within them? If so, then you would have to include "heavier language" films in that label as well since there are many films that do not fit the squeaky clean sanitized mold that have spiritual truths present within their stories.
Slavery in ancient Israel was not even remotely similar to American slavery. Please get your facts straight before accusing the Bible of endorsing things.