More News on Disney’s Campaign for Narnia

In a marriage of modern mythmakers, the Walt Disney Co. is marketing a film based on C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. And in doing so, Disney will take a page from Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

“Disney, as the consummate corporate animal, is looking at Paul [Lauer] as the guy who delivered the audience of The Passion,” says Barbara Nicolosi, of Act One, a program designed to bring Christian writers and executives into the entertainment industry.

Another Christian firm, Grace Hill Media, also has been hired, and several groups have joined the marketing effort. For instance, the Christian Web site hollywoodjesus.com launched a special feature on its site last week devoted to The Chronicles of Narnia.

For its part, Disney is trying to play down the Christian marketing approach, noting that it will reach out to the science-fiction and fantasy communities, as well.

“We don’t want to cater to one fan base over the other, or at the expense of another,” says Dennis Rice, Disney’s senior vice president for public relations.

Read the whole article from the Orlando Sentinel here.