Stories from the set

Fireflower Juice — Lucy's magic potion that heals any wounds — healed Edmund's fatal injuries, but did not heal the small wounds and scrapes on his face.

The film is based on the novel by C.S. Lewis "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950).

At the 102nd minute there is a moment when the blood on Edmund's lower lip disappears, but before that it was there, and it will be there in the later battle.

Despite the fact that this picture was only a trial balloon in the adaptation of C.S. Lewis's novels, the producers acquired the rights in advance to adapt the entire series, which numbers seven books.

The picture received two "fake" working titles: "The Hundred Year Winter" and "Paravel." The signs in Auckland that helped the film crew get to the filming location read exactly "Paravel," in order to confuse the crowds of fans trying to get to the shoot.

The role of the White Witch named Jadis was supposed to go to Michelle Pfeiffer, but due to family circumstances the actress was forced to decline. Michelle was the only movie star the producers decided to approach. In the end, the role of the Witch went to Tilda Swinton; Tilda did not read the book before filming began.

The film's co-producer, Douglas Gresham, is the stepson of C.S. Lewis.

The lion named Aslan was supposed to be voiced by Brian Cox, but the role went to Liam Neeson. By the way, in Turkish the word "aslan" translates as "lion".

The filmmakers wanted to bring 12 reindeer to New Zealand to pull the Snow Queen's sleigh. However, the Ministry of Agriculture opposed this idea, citing Q fever, which affects many North American reindeer. This disease can easily be transmitted from animals to humans. To avoid putting the film crew at serious risk, it was decided to replace the reindeer with wolves (and at the same time reduce the number of animals in the harness to six).

Initially, the plan was to use a real lion and its models in the film, but when the crew received test computer graphics showing two girls walking down the street with a lion, it was decided to create the lion using computer graphics.