Why did it take so long to make these movies?

Jack (Lewis) was always very concerned about Aslan being animated, he was afraid it would not do him justice. We had to wait until the technology was able to represent all the creatures properly. That finally happened with "The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe," we could not have made that film even one year earlier. 

What were some of the ideas proposed in the past for the movies?

(He laughs.) I’ve had some interesting things proposed to me. One idea opened in the smog over Los Angeles with a helicopter flying through the sunset, dangling below which, was a large effigy of a Lion. Another idea was when the White Witch asked Edward what he would like to eat, he replied “a cheeseburger and French fries, please!” 

Were these books important to you when you were younger?

Absolutely! These books have been hugely important to me from the time of my seventh or eighth birthday. All my life, they’ve been hugely important to me. I grew up in Narnia… and I’ve never left. 

Is there a lesson to faith-based media in the way that C.S. Lewis presents his message?

I think there is. What he has said is that we do not need more people writing Christian books, what we need is more Christians writing good book. I apply that directly to filmmaking. We need more Christians making good movies. 

How do you feel about the growing Christian movie industry?

I believe it might be misguided. What they are doing is taking money from Christian people who want to watch Christian movies, nobody else wants to watch them. So they are paying money to watch something about which they already know and the money would probably be better given to starving children somewhere in the world who really need it. I don’t think it’s a sensible thing. Personally, rather than spending $10 to see a Christian movie, I’d give the $10 to someone who needs it. 

What kind of movies do you like?

I have to say, I do enjoy a good war movie. I’m also a bit of a soft to do, one of my favorite movies of all time is “The Notebook.” It’s pretty close to a perfect movie. 

What do you hope people take away from this movie?

"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is about temptation. It’s about what happens to you when you try to live the right kind of life. You immediately become assailed by all kinds of temptations. It’s pretty evident that there is somebody out there who wants you to do the wrong thing rather than the right thing. One of the most important things we have to learn about temptation is that we can never know how strong it is until we meet it head on and fight it, and defeat it. You can’t find out how tough Mike Tyson is unless you climb into the ring with him and fight him. I think people need to learn about temptation and how it will happen as soon as you make the choice to do the right thing.

This whole movie is dealing with temptation and defeating it. I think that’s a vital lesson for everyone in the human race. 

Are there more Narnia movies coming?

That all depends on you and your friends and your friends' friends. (Laughs.) Take your enemies, too, because, you know, you’re supposed to love your enemies. What I’m saying is that there could be more, but it all depends on how this one does. We can’t expect to make a movie that doesn’t do well and have them give a chance to make another -- that just doesn’t make any sense. This is a beautiful movie and an exciting movie, and I would be honored if enough people supported it that I got a chance to make another Narnia film.