As Prince Caspian hits theatres on June 5 one Sydney Anglican church is already using the Narnia Chronicles to creatively share the gospel with those learning English. Also, Sydneyanglicans.net has an exclusive interview with CS Lewis' step-grandson who gives a special insight into how Christ is being kept central in the Narnia films.
The step-grandson of CS Lewis, Tim Gresham, who currently attends St Jude's, Bowral has had a behind-the-scenes view of the development of CS Lewis' work in both the print and screen media over the last 30 years as a member of the very close Gresham family.
Tim’s father, Douglas Gresham, is the Creative Director for the CS Lewis Company and executive producer for the recent Narnia movies.
Tim says he and his father have at least weekly conversations and so is regularly updated with the progress of the film production process.
"As executive producer my father has a large say and influence in how the films are made. He wasn't willing to sign anything unless he knew he could have a lot of creative input. That was essential," Tim says.
"For my father and our family the prominence of the Christian message in anything produced is of greatest importance. Dad's objective is to stay as true and as close as possible to what Jack [Lewis] would have wanted. The Christian message is why he wrote those books."
In the mid-1990s Douglas Gresham worked with Paramount Pictures on a producing a cinematic version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which ultimately fell through due to disagreements at the scripting stage. However, Tim says the family is now very satisfied with Walden Media's handling of the transition of books to the big screen.
"Walden's senior man is a Christian and shares our vision. You will not find a compromise in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There were slight plot changes to make the story more cinematic, but all the story, the message and the values are still very much as is," Tim says.
"The same goes for Prince Caspian. My father says it's more gritty and a more exciting film with a lot more action but again, it is still as Jack intended " as far as the cinema would allow. We all have something very interesting to look forward to."
Finally, Tim says fans of the Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles can look forward to the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawntreader in 2010.
"It's currently in pre-production, with the same major cast returning to play Prince Caspian and the Pevensie children. Of course, it's all still a bit up in the air as the next film relies largely upon the success of the previous film. If each film is successful they will continue to make all of them."
Lewis's life-changing message
Although Tim was born six years after CS Lewis passed away in 1963, he says his Christian faith has been greatly influenced by the faith and writing of his step-grandfather.
"My family were very nominal Christians when I was growing up. My mum wanted nothing to do with church having had a very restrictive Catholic childhood," Mr Gresham says.
However, when Tim was around 14, his father returned from overseas with audio books of some of CS Lewis' lesser-known writings, The Four Loves.
"My mother reticently listened to them. She was waiting to stop the tape as soon as she felt Lewis cramming religiosity down her throat. But was surprised when she found that this chap actually made sense, and she let it play to completion. It ended up turning her life around," he says.
Tim says his mother then listened to Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis and she was soon praying for the whole family " Tim's Father, two brothers and sister " to become Christian. Tim admits he was the last to succumb.
"I argued vehemently with mum for nearly ten years about it. I had many Christian principles and values but I didn't understand where this inspiration for this had come from, I just assumed I was a bit odd and thought somewhat differently from my very post-modern university colleagues," Tim says.
"It was only when I started my career in medical devices and came across a Christian doctor who put things into perspective for me and answered my questions on my terms that I made a commitment to Christ."
Tim says he did not fully grasp the significance of CS Lewis and his work until his late teenage years.
"As my relationship with Christ developed I realised how important Lewis and his children's works were both to my own attitudes and predispositions and to those of countless others. Before that I just thought of the Narnia Chronicles as adventure stories," Tim says.
"Lewis said himself he wasn't good at leading people to Christ and the ultimate prayer of redemption, but he laid the soil there for countless children, including me, and instilled in them the values and a tendency towards the Christian teachings and message."
"Lewis helps readers see that human thought and attitudes should not swing and flow with the currents of today's popular beliefs should be grounded against the firm standard set by Christ. His stories embody this benchmark and put these values to the test. That's how Lewis influenced my upbringing and the many other children who are raised on the Narnia stories."
Narnia gives newcomers gospel clarity
The parish of Naremburn/Cammeray is creatively using the Narnia Chronicles in their conversational English classes.
The group called "English Conversation Through Narnia' which meets monthly held its first meeting on May 10 at All Saints', Cammeray.
Group organiser and mum of two, Karen Spencer, says five non-Christians and a few Christians came to the first class. Several volunteers help by teaching, looking after the creche and serving morning tea.
Karen says she cannot take any credit for the use of Narnia material in the classes.
"This was not my original idea at all. I had heard that Cathy Smith, CMS missionary in Japan, had started a Narnia group with the desire to introduce Christian concepts and the gospel to Japanese women while teaching English conversation," Karen explains.
"Having a heart to reach out to Japanese people myself, I was inspired by what Cathy was doing and set out to read the books, hoping that one day God would give me the opportunity to follow Cathy’s model here in Australia."
Karen says she has been a fan of CS Lewis’ works in Christian apologetics for a while but never read the Narnia series as a child.
"After starting a family of my own five years ago, I was eager to read the series with the goal of introducing Narnia to the children when they were old enough," Karen says.
"I have and will continue to see the movies as they come out, but I am still reading through the books."
Karen believes film series such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter have raised public interest in fantasy literature making the timing right for such a ministry.
"Because of the rich symbolism in the series, Narnia seemed a great way to introduce the gospel while teaching English," Karen says.
"I have been most impacted by the character of Aslan and his relationship with the humans in the series. He is all powerful as a lion, yet there are times when he has the gentleness of a kitten as he frolics and plays with the children. I guess I sometimes forget that God, while being all powerful, is also a companion for us who loves us to commune with him at any time of the day."
While Karen enjoys teaching conversational English and sharing the Narnia stories, she says her primary goal is sharing the gospel.
"I am motivated purely by my desire to see people come to Christ."
Movie's mass appeal
Trends show that the film version of Prince Caspian is not going to be like Amazing Grace, a 2007 biopic about abolitionist William Wilberforce.
Amazing Grace was backed by a concerted campaign from supportive Christians in the USA and Australia but received a limited release and only connected with Christian audiences in any significant way.
Conversely, the worldwide significance of The Chronicles of Narnia as a film series cannot be underestimated.
Prince Caspian is the second story in The Chronicles of Narnia, being released as a follow up to 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of the top 30 grossing films of all time at both the USA and Worldwide box office making over $US730 million dollars internationally.
In 2005 it was the third biggest grossing film worldwide after only Star Wars III and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Clearly, no one can deny the blockbuster status of The Chronicles of Narnia.
In fact, so great is the anticipation for the upcoming release of Prince Caspian that the trailers on youtube have already been viewed more than two million times.
Sydneyanglicans.net film reviewer Mark Hadley, who has seen an advanced screening of Prince Caspian which opens in Australia on June 5, says the film is sure to be a blockbuster hit.
"There is plenty in Prince Caspian to entrance the casual viewer. Prince Caspian's animation and compositing effects are infinitely superior to those that hampered The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Mr Hadley says.
"But more than that, where the first volume was a better book, Prince Caspian makes a better film."
Mr Hadley says the film even has the potential to provoke the casual non-Christian viewer to ask questions about faith and Christ.
"As Caspian flees to the deep forests where the true Narnians might yet survive, his tutor warns him, "Everything you know is about to change'. That warning, which has been picked up as the tag line of the film, is one we might all take to heart as this faith-oriented story unfolds," Mr Hadley says.
However, he acknowledges that Christians will be able to find greater depth in Prince Caspian than the casual non-Christian viewer.
"For the Christian who feels they are looking out on a world that is bereft of any sign of their saviour's presence, there is correction and hope," Mr Hadley says.
Lewis conference postponed
The second CS Lewis Today conference, which was to have taken place in Sydney on May 23 and 24, has been postponed until later in the year.
One of the conference conveners, CPX co-founder Dr Greg Clarke, says Lewis fans can be assured of enjoying the full CS Lewis conference experience later in the year.
“There’s more work to do in demonstrating the value and enjoyment of Lewis’s work to Australian Christians, he says.
"Meanwhile, the conference website will continue to provide Lewis resources, including material to help Christians think about the new film, Prince Caspian."
