Weta Workshop on Designing Narnia

The NZ Herald recently posted an article discussing Weta Workshop’s involvement with the Narnia films. Weta Workshop designers Daniel Falconer and Paul Tobin talk about some the challenges the team faced as they worked on the world of Narnia after living so long in Middle-earth. Comparisons between the two are inevitable, but the different source material gave the designers freedom to come up with very distinct designs for the creatures of Narnia. Tobin says that every prop has symbolism behind it, and that they would “pore through all seven books — all of the Narnia books — trying to feed back into the culture” as they came up with concepts for the Narnian props.

The article also mentions Weta’s new book that will be released June 11 in New Zealand, titled The Crafting of Narnia. The book contains intricate detailing on the props that is never seen onscreen, but that can be enjoyed from the close-up pictures in the book. Tobin describes some of the intricacies, such as Lucy’s Cordial being decorated with a yarrow flower (traditionally known for its healing properties). You can read the full article here.

Thanks KnightofGondor, 7chronicles and Rilian for the heads-up!