Posted on 11/25/2005 9:23:27 AM PST by xzins
LONDON (Reuters) - For Christian church leaders, Disney's "Narnia" blockbuster film could be the ideal way to pack the pews.
Evangelical publishers have sent out special packs to churches, Methodists prepared themed sermons and one Anglican church is giving out free tickets to single parents for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe".
For Walt Disney Co. the film based on the C.S. Lewis classic offers a chance to recover at the box office after its latest quarterly losses.
For churches, the movie being given its world premiere in London on December 7 is a golden opportunity to tap into mainstream culture and popularise religion.
The evangelical publishing company Christian Publishing and Outreach (CPO), which distributes material to 20,000 churches, approached Disney and was granted permission to use two images from the film for its "Narnia" packs.
"A lot of churches have been ordering and will be staging their own events. We have seen very big demand across the range," said Russ Bravo, development director for CPO which is providing posters, DVDs, invitation cards and folders.
"We have a what-to-do guide, outlines that give ministers ideas on how to deliver sermons, material for Sunday schools," he said.
The book tells the tale of four children who step through a wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia for a classic good-versus-evil clash between a wicked witch and the god-like lion Aslan.
"There are clear Christian parallels you can draw from the storyline," Bravo said."
NICHE MARKET
Christians are now recognised by Hollywood as a valuable niche market after Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" was a surprise $600 million (349 million pounds) worldwide hit.
"The Passion really surprised Hollywood. Everyone thought it would bomb. What they didn't realise was that there is an audience for a film with a Christian message," said John Buckeridge, editor of Christianity Magazine.
"Disney recognises the marketplace. In Hollywood, money talks," said Buckeridge, whose magazine ran a cover story on how churches could link into Narnia's release to promote a Christian message.
"This could be as successful as 'The Passion of the Christ' in triggering dialogue. There is a Christian parable in there," he told Reuters.
Manchester Cathedral staged a Narnia day, the Methodist organisation MethodistChildren wrote a special Narnia service and Church of Scotland moderator David Lacy said it was common sense to seize the opportunity.
"The Church would be daft not to capitalise on any benefits it can get out of it," Lacy said.
St Luke's, an Anglican church in Maidstone, hit on a winning formula and gained much media coverage when distributing free tickets to Gibson's controversial version of the crucifixion.
Now they are to repeat the offer with Narnia.
"We are giving away 10,000 pounds worth of tickets to single-parent families in and around the area," said a spokesman for the church. "It's a Christmas gift from the church to families that may not be able to afford to go to the cinema."
I'm hoping this is a movie worthy of Lewis' great books.
If it is, the word will spread, and I, as a pastor, will definitely recommend it to my congregation.
From what I've heard from advance screenings and reviews, it is very close to the storyline in the book and many details relevant to the religious message are in the film.
I'll go see it when it opens. I really hope that the info you've been given is accurate.
It is such a great allegory.
Yup...real valuable. Catered to with a couple of films a year (if that) and maligned in the remaining thousands of films made that year.
We're on A Boy and His Horse, the third of the trilogy with our third grader. We're having a blast reading them. It's making the Bible stories so much more real to our son. Good, clean, fun!!!
Over Here
I have a friend that lives in CA and her brother-in-law is the Music Editor on this film.
He's seen it over and over and over and over and over by now while editing it, and he says it's absolutely FAN-TASTIC.
I rarely go to the theater, but this is one I'll go see on the Big Screen, I think. :)
I agree that Hollywood is a wasteland, but it is good to support what is positive. The support gets interpreted as a vote for more of the same....as this article points out with the connection between Gibson's "Passion" and this "Narnia" series.
There's a video game for Narnia, but I don't think it was rated E so I didn't look too closely.
You now have me in a "can't wait" mode. Thanks for news from an insider source.
I agree that some movies must be seen on the big screen.
LOTR was another in this series of positive movies.
It probably wasn't rated E because of the battle scenes... "realistic violence" will bump up the rating.
"LOTR was another in this series of positive movies."
I made the trek to the theater for those three, too. :)
"Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God" -- Lenny Bruce
I hope the movie follows the books. Unfortunately I have seen few movies that actually follow the books.
Was the first book any good?
That's 'A Horse and His Boy'.
As do I. I will be buying a rare (for me) ticket to a movie theatre for this epic. I figure, if you spend the dough to see the LOTR trilogy, ya gotta go see this one. Certain stories simply require a BIG screen and the BIG sound.
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