The chronicles of making Narnia

A few cheeseburgers and cheesy productions later, the Christian classic finally comes to life on the screen | Andrew Coffin

NEW YORK — When Paramount owned the film rights to The Chronicles of Narnia, its plan at one point was to set the C.S. Lewis children's classic in present-day Brentwood. Instead of a White Witch wooing young Edmund with Turkish Delight, a cool Californian would win him with cheeseburgers. "They never made it," notes a grateful Mark Johnson, the producer of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the first book in the Narnia series and due in theaters Dec. 9.

Thanks to the wonders of computer-generated animation and a unique array of talent, filmgoers instead of enduring cheese are being treated to a golden age for Christian fantasy on film. Peter Jackson brought J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to screen in three stunning installments that culminated in 2003's Return of the King, a film that swept all competition with a record-setting 11 Oscars. Two years later it's still hard to believe that Tolkien's once-obscure Middle Earth fantasy, replete with heavy Christian overtones, has become one of the most successful film franchises in Hollywood history.