The Great River is a location featured in the 2005 Disney/Walden Media adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Background[]
The Great River is the central waterway through the mainland kingdom of Narnia. Before the Pevensies came to Narnia, it was put under a winter spell by Jadis the White Witch during her rule at Narnia, causing the water to be frozen with ice. A waterfall is also located within the Great River, which was also negatively affected by the winter spell. Ever since the Hundred-Year Winter was put to an end, the ice on the river began to melt, causing the snow to also melt to mark the arrival of spring (also saving the river from the spell).
Development[]
The Great River was one of the most advanced scenes ever made, due to the ice effects used for this scene where the waterfall seen was part of the film. Due to its large size, the Narnia production team had difficulties in building a waterfall set in one of the sound stages in New Zealand. The floor used for the scene was built with sheets of foam covered in fiber glass, wax and paint. The special effects used for the ice was used through pneumatic rams used at the special effects department. After the set was built, the actors playing the Pevensies wore special shoes to be careful in walking on the slippery ice while a lot of plumbing and hosing used to spout out air and water for the parts of the icebergs cracking was used.
During rehearsals, the production team brought in long poles decorated with extended wires containing stuffed animals which were used as stand-ins of the actors interacting with the animals in the scene before the CGI effect was provided. The production team made sure that this version of the same scene was shot without the actors present by putting the setting behind them back in the shot and then put the beavers in this scene. After the live-action footage was used, the CGI effect was used on the moving ice plates where the Pevensies are standing. In addition to the set that was built, the production team created a larger scale miniature that would withstand the actual look when it broke apart and fell into pieces by keeping the effect in large-scale, especially when it comes to ice effects.
In addition to the scene being shot at New Zealand, the scene was also shot at the Czech Republic in Prague where the Narnia production team built a huge water tank for the part where the Pevensies were floating downstream where the actors spent days being filmed in this scene. According to visual effects producer Randall Starr, he stated that for the water effect to be believable, a chute was used to release the water that would engulf the ice floe the Pevensies were standing where the scene was successfully filmed without the actors jumping into the water. The basic steps used for this scene was the original film negative obtained and then scanned into the computer as well as recreating the scene within the computer matching the reference footage. In addition to the regular water being filmed on set, CGI water was also used as well as the wolves appearing being rendered with CGI just before the scene became finalized.[1]
Role in the film[]
As the Pevensies are looking for Aslan across Narnia, Mr. Beaver tells them that Aslan's Camp is located near the Stone Table across the Great River which was frozen for a hundred years. As they walk across the Great River, Mr. Beaver tells the Pevensies them to hurry up just before they notice the herd of reindeer rushing across the river whom they think the herd is linked to Jadis, as the Pevensies and the beavers suddenly hide beneath an alcove. However, the figure driving his sleigh of reindeer is revealed to be Father Christmas all along. As they approach Father Christmas, Susan thought that Narnia doesn't celebrate Christmas, which he tells her that Narnia didn't for a long time - explaining to the Pevensies that the hope they have brought is weakening Jadis' power. He then gives a bag of presents to the Pevensies: a cordial for Lucy, a set of bow and arrows and a horn for Susan, and a sword and shield for Peter. Father Christmas then departs as he tells them that winter is almost over just as he bids a farewell to the Pevensies, which Peter realizes that the ice is starting to melt.
As the ice begins to melt, Peter tells the Pevensies to act fast due to imminent danger arriving just before they and the beavers walk carefully on the ice while a pack of wolves arrives and prepares to attack in an ambush as they walk across the ambush. Maugrim demands Peter to put away his sword as he troubles him just before the ice breaks as Mr. Beaver tells him to do something to save himself from the wolves. All of a sudden, Peter breaks the ice and divides the platform they are standing on, causing an avalanche that divides the platform, as well as causing them to evade the wolves. As they drift away via ice floe across the River, the Pevensies reach the path leading to Aslan's Camp. To this, they are able to cross the River and go past a forest where the snow begins to melt. The River does not appear again throughout the rest of the film.
Video game appearances[]
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe[]
The Great River served as one of the titular levels in the console versions of the video game adaptation of the film. In the first part of the level, the player must have Susan and Lucy to hit parts of the waterfall to cause a river flow in order to evade the wolves. Upon doing so, a timer will appear and the player must use Peter to hit a tree trunk, causing the ice to crack as well as causing the Pevensies to evade the wolves. The second part of the level involves the Pevensies on the ice floes where they must avoid hitting rocks while navigating across the River. In addition to standard rocks that appear on the River, the player also encounters enemies such as harpies that drop rocks onto the water or ogres that push or throw rocks or even smash rock bridges to drop them onto the water, which must be avoided at all costs. Upon escaping the scene, the level shifts into a boss sequence where the player must defeat Maugrim.
Trivia[]
- Scenes used for the Great River scene were filmed at New Zealand, the Czech Republic, and Poland in addition to the scene being filmed at Los Angeles.[1]
References[]
External links[]
