In a Penguin Books survey, the White Witch tops the list of scariest characters of all time in children’s books.

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Sharp-eyed viewers of the new trailer for “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” may notice a familiar face where it doesn’t belong – namely, in the trailer at all, joked recent Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, whose character, the White Witch, can be seen in clips for the film but not in the film itself.

She thinks.

“I’m dead! I don’t know what they’re doing there,” she laughed. “What are they playing at? Isn’t she dead? I [certainly] thought so!”

Still, it didn’t surprise Swinton that her face popped up, even if she was never contacted.

“They have my image in their computer bank. They can do whatever they want,” she said. “They can make me sell whatever they want.”

Just give it a couple more years for the hard sell, Tilda. While fans of the C.S. Lewis series can tell you that the White Witch is nowhere to be seen in “Prince Caspian,” she is a major character in “The Magician’s Nephew,” the sixth book written in the series (although the first chronologically). Assuming one a year, Disney should be getting to it in, oh, let’s say 2013.

But we know she was on the set… hmm..

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Here’s a photo sent to us by NarniaSpain. We’ve all seen the glimpse in the trailer of The White Witch appearing in Prince Caspian, but this is the first photo from the set that we’ve seen with her in it. Here’s the report we received:

The Zapping Zone’s reporter Carla Medina, who showed us a photo of her visit to the set of the Prince Caspian, returned with a new photo.

This time we can see Carla Medina along with Tilda Swinton in the set of PC. NarniaSpain discovered the photo and verified that it was recent.

The question is: What was doing Tilda there? we will only know it when the exclusive 9 minutes super trailer of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” release in Disney Channel Latin America.

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Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis! For our first review we will be looking at CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe!

Book Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Author: CS Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Publisher(US): HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060764899
ISBN-13:978-0060764890

Summary of the book:

Some Possible Spoilers.( Please Highlight to read)

“It all began with a picture in my head of a fawn with an umbrella carrying packages in the snow,” said CS Lewis. He first had this picture in his head as a child and it stuck with him all his life and helped him create the seven Narnia books.

The first book written ( though not the first in terms of chronology) was called, “ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” Set during the air raids of World War II, four British School children Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are sent away to live with Professor Kirke in the country for safety.

One day while exploring the professor’s house the four children come into a spare room with nothing but a large wardrobe inside. The other three leave the room as they find it uninteresting. Lucy however, stays behind as she thinks it would be worth it to try and open the wardrobe door.

She opens it and steps inside only to later find herself in the Land of Narnia. Upon her arrival she meets Tumnus the fawn and has tea with him. It is during this tea party that she discovers that Narnia has been enslaved by the evil White Witch Jadis, who makes it , “Always winter and Never Christmas.” He also tells her that the witch wishes to capture any human children.

Tumnus agrees to help Lucy escape as he cannot bare to harm her. She returns to our world and tells her brothers and sister of Narnia. They don’t believe her. Then one day while playing Hide and Seek she returns to Narnia.

This time she doesn’t go alone. Edmund follows after her, only to loose her in the forest. He comes in contact with the White Witch Jadis. She tricks him into believing that she is right and offers him the kingdom in exchanged for his siblings the next time he comes to Narnia.

The Witch leaves him alone and he soon meets his sister. The two of them return to our world and she is very happy to tell Peter and Susan that Edmund has been to Narnia too. When she tells them Edmund does something very despicable. He lies and says they were just playing.

This leads to further problems with the siblings until the day all four of them arrive in Narnia to hide from Mrs. McCready, Professor Kirke’s unpleasant housekeeper who is giving a tour of the house. The older siblings apologize to Lucy and are very angry at Edmund for lying about Lucy.

Following Lucy’s lead they head to Tumnus’s cave only to find the witch has had him arrested. The children are then found by Mr. Beaver and taken to his house for dinner with Mrs. Beaver, where they hear that there coming has been part of the fulfillment of a prophesy. They being Two sons of Adam and Two daughters of Eve are to help free Narnia. They also hear of the great Lion, Aslan.

During these discussion Edmund leaves to see the Witch. She is furious at Edmund for not bringing his brother and sisters with him and reveals where they are. She sends her wolves to capture them.

The other children and the Beavers escape to meet Aslan. Along the way they discover that the Witch’s spell is breaking. First because they meet Father Christmas who gives them gifts to aid in Narnia’s liberation. Second is the coming of spring.

They arrive at the meeting place and see Aslan. He inquires of Edmund and they tell him what happened. Edmund meanwhile continues to see how truly evil the Witch is and regrets his mistake. Much to his favor Aslan sends some of his soldiers to rescue him.

The Witch comes to demand Edmund back as the Spoilers“Deep Magic” every traitor belongs to her.End of Spoilers. Aslan speaks to her in private, making a deal,Spoilers His life for Edmund’s.End of Spoilers. Later that night he meets her at the Stone Table.Spoilers Susan and Lucy sneak along and watch in horror as Jadis and her allies kill Aslan upon the table.End of Spoilers

SpoilersThey mourn the loss of Aslan and help untie his body and stay near Aslan all morning. Early the next morning they find that the table is broken and his body is missing .Then they hear a sound. Aslan’s voice! They turn and see he is alive!End of Spoilers.

They hurry to the Witch’s castle and free the captives which includes Mr. Tumnus .With the help of those Aslan freed, they rush off to aid Peter, Edmund and the rest of Aslan’s army in the final battle against the witch. With Aslan’s help she is defeated!

The four children Spoilers are then crowned Kings and Queens or Narnia. They reign for many years. Then one day while on a hunt for the illusive White Stag, they End of Spoilers journey back through the Wardrobe door and Spoilers find that they had left our world only seconds ago. End of Spoilers Their first adventure in Narnia has ended but there are many more to come.

Review:

In his dedication to his goddaughter CS Lewis wrote that he wrote the book forgetting that books grow faster then children and that by the time it was published she may be too old for fairy stories. That is one fear I don’t think Lewis concern to have. This book remains one of the few fairy stories that can only get better with age.

The characters are quiet enjoyable. Lucy and Edmund are probably the ones who readers can like the most. These two are polar opposites of each other in the beginning as Lucy is sweet, carring and honest and Edmund is greedy, selfish and treacherous. It is their encounter with Aslan and in Narnia that causes Lucy to grow in confidence, and for Edmund to become a better person.

There has also been much negative criticism in regards to how Lewis treats women. However at the time the book was written his character of Lucy was quiet revolutionary as she is the one to discover Narnia, she Spoilers also, gets to witness Aslan’s resurrection End of Spoilers She is also described as trustworthy person, something that is also rare given the fact she is described as being the youngest. She is also an inherent leader. After seeing Narnia is true, even Peter, the eldest apologizes to her and follows her lead.

Susan is the logical practical character who always like to think things through carefully and at times seems like she’s the oldest. She is also the one to express doubts about Narnia and to suggest turning back when things get to dangerous.

Peter of the children is the one who is simply trying to keep the peace between his siblings. He is also quick to apologize when he’s wrong and willing to follow others.

The White Witch Jadis is simply evil. But she is one of those rare evil characters that is done well. She doesn’t wear the traditional black, but rather wears white and is described as being very beautiful. She also at times appears kind and gentle. These are her strongest points as a villain and a character.

Then there is Alsan. The most powerful character in the story as he is the ruler and creator of Narnia, he doesn’t even need to be visibly in the story to be in it. His presence is clearly through out the Land of Narnia. He is a Lion, and while being fierce, he is also very good. After all ” He’s not a tame lion.”

There are also several side characters as Professor Digory Kirke, the Beavers, Mr. Tumnus the fawn, Father Christmas, Maugrim the wolf, and even a rather excitable lion that help fill the world of Narnia with life and vibrancy.

The story is also very entertaining. Despite the talk of “magic” in Narnia, their really is very little of it in the stories. That is something unique for a fantasy story. So how does Lewis grab the reader with out resorting to someone waving a wand? By engaging you in the world itself and in the struggle to save it.

He also populates existing mythical characters and keeps them grounded in their traditional roots, example if a character like a wear wolf is seen as evil it is on the side of evil, if a character is noble and heroic like a centaur it will be allied with the side of good.

More importantly then the characters, story, fantastical elements, and the magic in Narnia is another aspect of the stories that makes them get better with age. The story has a “Deeper Magic” too it. Lewis’ allegorical imagery in the story is well known by now ,and even more imagery shows itself in constant rereading. There is so much of this packed into the book that it would take another article to go into. Lewis even paraphrases some of his arguments about the deity of Christ from “Mere Christianity” within the text of the story to defend Lucy’s claim about Narnia!

Along with the allegorical imagery is the underlying themes of the story, love, forgiveness, second chances, grace, redemption and sacrifice. I doubt any one can think of better messages to share with children then that.

As a narrator, Lewis is very personal and friendly almost like a tour guide of sorts into this realm he discovers. We get to discover this land right with him and the children. At times you almost expect him to be speaking in hushed tones as if he were sharing a wonderful secret with you. This is shown with such statements he makes as pointing out certain characters really aren’t important to the story or that to describe more of the monsters would probably mean parents would not let children read the book.

Spoilers The only downside to this book is the few contradictions to the later books, making it apparent that Lewis did not initially plan to write sequels. Such things include the lack of mention of The Emperor Beyond the Sea in subsequent novels, the change in the witch’s origins from this volume to “The Magician’s Nephew”, and Professor Kirke’s experience with Narnia.End of Spoilers

Those factors aside it is still an enjoyable book for both young and old alike and only gets better with age. Do yourself and your children a favor and read the book today!

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 shields.

Order the book from Amazon.com

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The licensing show this week has brought out news for nearly every big property as studios vie for marketing positions for both film and television programming. One such announcement is that a company called Tonner will be revealing a new Narnia collection. I’ve never heard of Tonner, but with the slate they have, I’m sure it’ll be great! Here’s the report:

Tonner will unveil a extremely limited ‘White Witch’ 16-inch Tonner Character Figure from The Chronicles of Narnia. The collection will include all four children, each authorized likenesses of the film’s actors, and a regular line 18-inch White Witch. The children will debut in Tonner’s Fall/Holiday Collection for fourth quarter release. Additional upcoming Tonner releases include Pirates of the Caribbean and Mary Poppins.

[Visit Playthings.com for more.]

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Would you like the White Witch to read you a bedtime story?

That is what Tilda Swinton is offering in a celebrity charity auction for the Macmillan Cancer Support. Swinton has offered to read one lucky child from London or Scotland a bedtime story of their choice.

Bidding takes place in an exclusive auction at the Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show on Saturday. Also up for bidding are the biker jacket Ewan McGregor wore during the documentary The Long Way Round, and a lunch hosted by Comedian Harry Enfield.

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Narniaweb has interviewed Henrik Tamm. Tamm worked as a concept artist on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and is currently working on Prince Caspian. You can also see some of his fantastic concept art pieces.

NW: For how long did you work on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

HT: I spent about two years on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I worked from the very beginning in January 2003 in Glendale, CA when we were just a few people. I then travelled with the production to New Zealand in early 2004. At that point the production had grown manyfold, and it finally felt like this film was taking shape. We had our offices at an airforce base outside Auckland. Sets started getting built and actors in funny outfits were wandering around. It was all very fun. Every department was busy doing what they do, all working toward the same goal. Somehow all this frenetic creative work came together to make the film. Andrew was very involved through the whole process, guiding all the departments to shape one unified vision. Let’s just say the man was very busy!

We returned to Los Angeles for post production in January 2005. At that point a lot of the work still remained. Much of the film had to be created digitally with Visual Effects, since so much of the story involved talking animals and fantastic, huge scale sets. At that point my position had changed from Concept Artist to Visual Effects Art Director, essentially carrying the look of the film through into the Visual Effects portions. The design for both Cair Paravel and the White Witch’s castle still remained to be finalized. We had gone through several renditions at that point, never quite hitting on what Andrew wanted. I spent most of my remaining time on those two locations. My engagement finally ended in April 2005. At that point I believe only the editor was left, besides Andrew himself, who had started on the project before me and was still there.

[Narniaweb for the rest]

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Vote for the White Witch. Or at least a child dressed up as the White Witch. At last, it’s time to vote for your favorites in Cinematical’s 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Contest.

We made a minor change to the contest: Because we got quite a few super-cute kid entries, we decided to put the kids in their own category to give them a better shot — and their own prize package! The entrant in the Child’s Costume category will receive DVDs of It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown AND Monster House, along with a Cinematical t-shirt (the smallest shirt size we have is an adult small, but they make great nightshirts for little ones — or the adult who entered the child can take it for themselves … ).

Before we show you the entrants, here are the voting rules:

* Enter your vote in the COMMENTS at the bottom of the post. Do not email your vote to us or it will not be counted.
* You can vote for ONE child entrant and ONE adult entrant per email address. Duplicate votes will not be counted.
* Contestants can direct as many of their friends and family to vote as they want.
* You have until 5PMPST Saturday, November 11, to get your vote entered. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 13. Prizes will be shipped within six weeks.

That’s all for the rules … now go and VOTE!

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Tilda Swinton, the actress that portrayed the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, celebrates her birthday today. Swinton turns 46 today.

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Harry Potter’s arch enemy Lord Voldemort has been voted kids’ favourite literary villain of all time.

The boy wizard’s evil nemesis in the Hogwarts books by JK Rowling came top in the BigBadRead poll organised by publishers Bloomsbury which drew more than 16,000 votes from British schoolchildren.

And wizards and witches dominated the Top 10 with Lord Sauron – the evil sorcerer in The Lord of the Rings trilogy – in second place, and the White Witch from the Narnia stories in eighth.

Mrs Coulter, the baddie in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials sequence, was third followed by Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor and The Joker from the Batman comics.

Other well-known villains to make the Top 20 included Count Dracula at nine, Sherlock Holmes’ adversary Professor Moriarty at 14, Captain Hook at 15 and Cruella de Vil at 17.

The Big Bad Wolf from the Little Red Riding Hood story was 26th most fearsome baddie, while Mr McGregor, who threatened to put Peter Rabbit in a pie, was 36th.

Harry Potter’s creator JK Rowling said: “I am thrilled and honoured beyond words that Lord Voldemort has been voted best villain in the BigBadRead poll.

“I am not sure how he would react to knowing that he had won a Muggles’ unpopularity poll. A mixture of pleasure that you recognised his power and menace, coupled with fury at your nerve at mentioning his real name, I think. His author, however, is absolutely delighted.”

TOP TEN LITERARY VILLAINS

1.Lord Voldemort Harry Potter series JK Rowling
2.Sauron The Lord of the Rings Trilogy JRR Tolkien
3.Mrs Coulter His Dark Materials Sequence Philip Pullman
4.Lex Luthor Superman Graphic novels DC Comics
5.The Joker Batman Graphic novels DC Comics
6.Count Olaf A Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony Snicket
7.The Other Mother Coraline Neil Gaiman
8.The White Witch The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe CS Lewis
9.Dracula Dracula Bram Stoker
10.Artemis Fowl Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer

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