The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Early Creature Shop modeling stage of a centaur for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Final rendering of the character

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a proposed film version of C. S. Lewis' classic book, the first published in The Chronicles of Narnia series. Option rights to the story were granted to Paramount Pictures in 1993, with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall as executive producers. In 1996, director John Boorman was in charge of the project, and had hired Jim Henson's Creature Shop to helm the pre-production design phase. Under the supervision of Neal Scanlan, and working closely with Boorman and his art team, the Creature Shop designed a puppet model of Aslan, the regal lion, which stood five feet at the shoulders and was designed to carry three child actors on its back. Because of its sheer size, Scanlan recalled that the designers "had to do a lot of work on the face to make it dignified. like a wise old man, rather than just plain scary." The team also built Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, designed to "look like a retired schoolmaster and his wife," and costumes for Fenris (a half-man, half-wolf character) and several fauns.

In addition to the physical characters, the Creature Shop planned to create the film's centaurs through CGI, under the supervision of Hal Bertram. A mechanical rig, similar to that used on Mary Reilly, was created, to reproduce the movement of a real horse, located at a Bristol veterinary school, with additional input from circus horses. The centaur's human half was taken from motion-capture of Mike Lewis (aka Saracen), a star of the UK series Gladiators, and skin and coat textures were added.

After several months of work, the film was put on hold, and the creatures went into storage. Paramount's option on the film lapsed, and in 2000, the C. S. Lewis Company partnered with Walden Media. A film version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe finally hit theaters in 2005, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures (followed by further adaptations), but with no Creature Shop involvement.

References

Fozzie wanders into Narnia.

• In episode 13 of From the Balcony, Statler and Waldorf reviewed the 2005 film version.

• During The Muppets Take the O2, Fozzie Bear rushes to get to the main stage to perform his monologue, with the area video screens showing his journey. He mistakenly goes into the wardrobe room and stumbles through a rack of clothes. On the other side, he finds the snowy land of Narnia and is greeted by Mr. Tumnus (played by Craig Low), who offers him some Turkish Delight.

Connections

In 1979, the Children's Television Workshop produced its own animated adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Bill Melendez Productions (the same studio responsible for the Peanuts specials and films). David Connell served as executive producer and co-writer.

In addition, several cast and crew who have worked on Muppet/Creature Shop projects also participated in Chronicles of Narnia adaptations.

• Gabrielle Anwar played Ramandu's daughter in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989, TV)
• John Bach played a British Homeguard soldier in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008, film)
• Kenny Baker played Dufflepud in Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989, TV)
• Timothy Bateson played Nikabrik in Prince Caspian (1995, radio)
• Geoffrey Bayldon played Ramandu in Prince Caspian and the Dawn Treader (1989, TV)
• Ailsa Berk puppeteered Aslan in all three BBC TV serial adaptations of the books: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988), Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) and The Silver Chair (1990)
• Jim Broadbent played Professor Kirke in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005, film)
• Warwick Davis played Reepicheep in Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989, TV) and The Silver Chair (1990, TV), Glimfeather in The Silver Chair, and Nikabrik in Prince Caspian (2008, film)
• Gerd Duwner played Trumpkin in The Chronicles of Narnia (German radio, 1986)
• Robert Eddison played Uncle Andrew in the five-part Tales of Narnia adaptation "The Magician's Nephew" (1988, radio)
• Mike Edmonds played an owl in The Silver Chair (1990, TV)
• Dawn French voiced Mrs. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005, film)
• Jessica Fox played Polly in The Magician's Nephew (Focus on the Family radio, 1999)
• Vincent Grass played Doctor Cornelius in Prince Caspian (2008 film)
• Harry Gregson-Williams composed the score for The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005 film) and scored and played the voice of Pattertwig the squirrel in Prince Caspian (2008 film)
• Richard Griffiths played Trumpkin in Prince Caspian (1995, radio) and The Silver Chair (1996, radio)
• Sheila Hancock voiced the White Witch in the UK broadcast version of CTW's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• Eddie Izzard voiced of Reepicheep in Prince Caspian (2008 film)
• Anthony Jackson played Glimfeather in The Silver Chair (1996, radio)
• Philip Jackson played Rishda in The Last Battle (1997, radio)
• Klaus Jepsen played Jewel in The Chronicles of Narnia (German radio, 1986)
• William Todd Jones puppeteered Aslan in the three BBC TV adaptations and played Glenstorm the centaur in The Silver Chair (1990)
• Stefan Kaminski played Peter in Prince Caspian (German radio, 2023)
• Dieter Kursawe played Uncle Andrew in The Chronicles of Narnia (German radio, 1986)
• Andreas Mannkopff played Mr. Beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia (German radio, 1986)
• James McAvoy played Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)
• Big Mick played Ginarrbrik in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988, TV) and Trumpkin in Prince Caspian and the Dawn Treader (1989) and The Silver Chair (1990, both TV)
• Liam Neeson voiced Aslan in the films The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) Prince Caspian, (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
• Jack Purvis played Dufflepud in Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989, TV) and Golg in The Silver Chair (1990, TV)
• Paul Scofield played the Storyteller in multiple adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia books (Focus on the Family radio, 1999-2002)
• Kiran Shah played Ginarrbrik in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005 film)
• Kerry Shale voiced Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988, TV)
• Bruce Spence played Lord Roop in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
• Jürgen Thormann played Roonwit in The Chronicles of Narnia (German radio, 1986)
• Peter Ustinov voiced C. S. Lewis in Through Joy and Beyond (1979, TV documentary)
• Santiago Ziesmer played Uncle Andrew in The Magician's Nephew (2020), a dwarf and a servant in The Horse and His Boy (2022), and Lord Glozelle in Prince Caspian (2023, all on German radio)