Roger Ford and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

     The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is a film based off a book written by C.S. Lewis with the same name. I'm sure you may have heard of it...it is up there in ranks with the Lord Of The Rings series after all. It tells the story of the four Pevensie siblings, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, as they stumble upon a magic wardrobe that transports them to the land of Narnia. Once there, they must find the Great Lion, Aslan, and work to fight Narnia's evil ruler The White Witch, to restore the land back to Aslan, its rightful leader.

     The task of creating the magical land of Narnia, as well as re-creating World War II era England, was given to Roger Ford, a production designer that has worked on the 2003 film adaptation of Peter Pan, both of the Babe films, and as well as the popular British sci-fi show Doctor Who. As it is plain to see, Mr. Ford is no stranger to creating worlds of fantasy. So who better to do the job for the Disney and Walden Media film than him? I tried to come in contact with Mr. Ford and ask a few questions, but sadly, the only contact information I could attempt to find was in IMDBpro, which, unlike the regular IMDB website, in order to access it you need a paid subscription. Regardless, I own the special edition DVD of the film chocked full of almost ten hours of behind-the-scenes features, and found multiple interviews with Mr. Ford throughout the internet as well to serve as credible sources for my information.

Director Andrew Adamson (L) and Roger Ford (R)

     To be a successful Production Designer, from what I've learned, you have to be able to collaborate. Which, as we've said in class, is crucial to a good film. Luckily, in this film, collaboration wasn't very hard. Director Andrew Adamson already had an immense background with visual effects (having directed the first two Shrek films, and working as a visual effects supervisor in both Batman & Robin and Batman Forever), and before even starting the film came in with "a twenty-page, comprehensive set of director's notes. And it told you everything," States executive producer Perry Moore in a special featurette on Adamson's directing process, called "The Chronicles of a Director" found in the Special Edition DVD, "From character work to the color palletes of the movie, from the CGI effects...to the music. He had a vision and it was just perfect" (Disney, 2006), and was more than willing to gain input and insight from all aspects of his team, seeing as it was his first time directing a live-action movie. Tilda Swinton, who plays The White Witch in the film, states within the same featurette that it was, "Great...making a film of this size with someone with a beginner's mind, making his first feature, in a way. Though, he must be the most experienced first feature director, ever" (Disney, 2006). In an in-depth interview within the DVD's special features, Ford himself says that, "[In production design] you've got to enjoy working in a team of people...and work with directors enourmously. With every one of them, you have to be able to give totally to their film" (Disney, 2006).

     One noted work of collaboration between Ford and Adamson (found both in separate interviews and featurettes) was in the creation of the magic wardrobe itself. They had originally looked at pictures of C.S. Lewis' actual wardrobe that he used as the inspiration for the one he wrote about, but the director took it a step further. The old professor that owns the house containing the wardrobe is actually the main character in the first book of the Narnia series. He gets a magic apple from Narnia to give to his ill mother, then plants the seeds which grows into a beautiful tree. When this tree dies, the professor has it made into a wardrobe. So, Adamson and Ford decided to have somewhat of elegant storyboard panels, telling the story of how the wardrobe came to be, carved all over the wood, creating the mystifying and overwhelming effect it has in the film. "Making all of these details was very satisfying" says Ford to French magazine, L’Ecran Fantastique (L’Ecran Fantastique, 2005).
   
     The film ran on an estimated budget of around 180 million dollars (IMDB), and budgeting was one of the biggest issues Ford had run into in his creative process. He said that being a Production Designer you have to be "a bit of a Sociologist, in the way that you enjoy working out how people live their lives, what they surround themselves with. That's part of the business of Production Design" (Disney, 2006). Before the children even enter Narnia, there are a few scenes shot inside of the mysterious Professor's mansion of a house. The man comes off as a bit of the cooky sort, having a house full of knick-nacks and odd things consuming all of the mansion's walls. Ford said that in the conceptualization of this, he saw the Professor's house to be filled with furniture and things from all around the world, dating back all the way to the 1600's. Obviously, all of this would be extremely expensive to acquire, so Ford gave the producers an estimate and said their response was along the line of shock. "It was in our budget," Ford claims, "but they just thought it was too much...when it comes to  the crunch, I like to get what I want. So, they told me to come back to a meeting and 'give us some good news'. So, we went back to the meeting, and I sat down and I said I know you're looking fro good news, but what I'm saying to you is that I want to spend the money. And that was it" (Disney, 2006).

From L to R, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley, Georgie Henley,
and Skandar Keynes as the four Pevensie children.

     Another task Mr. Ford had to coordinate and create was the snowy world the children first stumble into upon arrival in Narnia. The whole team went to Canada, the Czech Republic, and Poland to research snowy landscapes. Although it is supposed to be a fantasy world, the makers of the film all wanted Narnia to have a very realistic feel to it. That it wasn't just a made up fantasy land like The Wizard of Oz or Peter Pan, but a literal, in-ground, hidden world that exists. But working with such small children as their core actors, the crew couldn't put them in a negative temperature, snowing location and expect them to work for eight hours and give a good performance on top of it all. So, Ford's task was to make the studio, paper snow, along with the set, look as realistic as possible. "We undertook much research to get the snow right as well as create a bit of a magical look" (L’Ecran Fantastique, 2005). Since half of the film was shot for six months all the way in New Zealand, they needed to utilize their resources there. So, they turned an equestrian center into a sound stage in Auckland, building downwards instead of up, digging out the dirt floor to create the embankments and crevices within the landscape, then adding in the rest of the scenery and seemingly realistic snow, as seen in the picture above.

     "The design of the the film is a star of the film, if not the star of the film" says Swinton (Disney, 2006). And that statement couldn't be closer to the truth. I always thought the film was stunning, with all of its set design and highly advanced CGI (considering it was made in the early 2000's), as well as the amazing make-up for which it won an Oscar. But as I watch it again, and see all of these featurettes and interviews, I am now starting to pick up and appreciate all of the seemingly smaller details and all of the thought that must have gone into creating this world for the film. As I spent my time researching, I've come to learnt that the job of a production designer is a big and important one, though sadly, not as noticed as many other roles. And Roger Ford seemed to take on this role with incredible responsibility and passion, along with a very keen eye. The minor details he sought to bring to the screen, whether it be the design of the infamous lamppost, the little household items in the home of to talking beavers, or the design on the doors of the magical wardrobe. All these little pieces pull together like a puzzle to create the visually awing impact the film has to offer, which truthfully, just makes me love it even more.