The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion: 02 (Chronicles of Narnia B Format)

This is one hell of a brilliant book! "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe" Visual Companion by Perry Moore is as visual as it comes; the photography stills from the movie, the conceptual art illustrations and the behind the scenes photos are fantastic. I especially like the full scale photograph of the titular wardrobe which is accompanied with explanations for all of the carvings that were engraved into it which drew direct inspiration from the first book "The Magician's Nephew", such as the magic rings, the hammer and the bell, the first sunrise on Narnia and the apple tree, therefore telling that story simply in carvings. It's wonderful! It's also an absolute delight to read this book; there are four sections dedicated to the characters of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie along with character descriptions from the actors, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley as well as from the casting director Pippa Hall and the director Andrew Adamson, and Perry Moore has a very readable narrative voice in every other chapter as well. Some things that he's written will always stand out after reading this book, like the hugely enjoyable diary entries by Anna Popplewell, the interviews conducted by Georgie Henley and also a few other highlights that had never entered my mind when watching the film, like the absolute terror and surprise that both Georgie Henley and James McAvoy had of each other when he was all made up as a Faun and they were put on the spot for the very first scene together with no warning whatsoever!. So yep, that's why the scene when Lucy and Mr. Tumnus encounter each other for the first time is so damn great; they do actually scare each other! It's brilliant!It's also interesting to read about the entire film making process and the various locations, such as Flock Hill in Canterbury and Elephant Rocks in North Otago on the South Island of New Zealand, and Pravcicka Brana, the natural rock arch which was shot from a helicopter eye view up in the Czech Republic, all of which are shown in breathtakingly full scale photographs, and the constant search that was conducted by the film makers for as many snowy settings as possible which absolutely paid off in the final, full feature film. I also love reading about the intense chemistry between the actors and the entire crew and how they all 'clicked' together, and the writings for the children's various outfits and for the armour that was designed by Weta Workshop are great too. There's also a beautifully insightful interview between Perry Moore and C.S Lewis's stepson Douglas Gresham which is well worth reading.Overall, this is a truly inspiring, magical and well written Visual Companion that stands next to and complements both the truly classical book by C.S Lewis as well as the film which will always stand the test of time. I will admit that when the film first came out I was determined not to like it given how much I've always enjoyed the book, however, it has since cracked my initially sceptical exterior and I am always transported by it now and, as I have already mentioned, there are some wonderful eye openers to be found in this Companion which make me appreciate the overall film even more, given that so many dedicated people, particularly "The Lord of the Rings" illustrator and conceptual artist Alan Lee and the director (and Narnia fan) Andrew Adamson have brought C.S Lewis's classic children's story to life so vividly on screen. I am very happy to own this book; it was delivered in very good time and brand new condition and it is a great testament to all of the hard work and effort that a film crew take onto their shoulders.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Yes it was a bit bent in places more on the front cover. Yet it wasn’t ripped or defaced in any way.

Lovely companion guide

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of the movies closest to my heart, so I was hoping for great things from this companion. I wasn't disappointed. It packs an amazing amount into its two hundred and twenty-six luxurious pages, and it's very unusual in that every word of it comes from the people who actually brought the movie into being.After a foreword by director Andrew Adamson, the late Perry Moore, one of the film's producers, explains how the movie came to be made in the first place. A chapter on preproduction covers location scouting, writing the screenplay, previsualization and casting. Casting director Pippa Hall explains how she found the movie's children, and then there are detailed profiles of all four of these remarkable young actors, as well as one of White Witch Tilda Swinton.Anna Popplewell (who played Susan) contributes a diary of her Narnian adventure, and the precocious Georgie Henley (Lucy) some amusing interviews that she conducted with several of her colleagues. The baton passes back to Perry for a long conversation with Andrew, and then there's an account of the work of Roger Ford's production design team.Weta Workshop's Ben Wootten and Sir Richard Taylor write a chapter about what their people brought to the movie, and creature creator Howard Berger explains how he came up with Narnia's talking beasts. Dean Wright tells us how he and his visual effects group devised the movie's CGI. A chapter on costume design leads into an interview with Douglas Gresham, a stepson of the author - C. S. Lewis - who dreamt up the original Narnian novels. An afterword by Douglas brings the book to a conclusion.As for the illustrations - well, if you've seen the movie, you can imagine how beautiful they are. Maps, concept art, page after page of behind-the-scenes photographs...and all, except for some old snapshots of Lewis, in gloriously printed colour. You could spend an age just admiring the marvellous gifts that the children received from Father Christmas, or the exquisitely carved panels on the famous wardrobe - did you know that they tell the story of Professor Kirke's adventures in The Magician's Nephew?Turning the pages of this book has reminded me of one of the reasons why the movie was so outstanding. For Douglas, filming Lewis's story was an idea that he'd cherished for decades. For Perry and Andrew, the production was a thrilling opportunity to make a movie of a story that they really loved. For the artists and craftsmen of Weta, the project was a chance to begin building an entire, wonderful new universe. For the actors, the movie meant forging new friendships, and almost becoming a kind of family. In short, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a movie made in an atmosphere of delight, excitement and affection. Part of what makes this companion such fun is that it's suffused with this same spirit of happiness.