As a seven-year-old in 1976, there were two books that opened my mind to the idea there was more to life and the universe than just Angel Delight, power cuts and Sunday afternoons at Nan’s.
One was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with its shrinking potions, grinning cats and mad hatter tea parties. The other was The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, set in Narnia: a magical land of talking lions, snow queens and a lamppost in the middle of a forest.
Delightedly, I worked my way through all seven in the Narnia series, more than once, and I loved every single one. So when the animated TV movie of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was broadcast in the early 80s, I couldn't have been more excited.
Children, I find, are very forgiving of limited production budgets. But here was the exception. This movie was, we all agreed, pants. And it gave me my first lesson that the pictures in your head don’t always translate onto the screen.
In 2005, then, I had low expectations for Disney’s live action movie adaptation. But I was pleasantly surprised. Tilda Swinton was exceptional as the White Witch, the visual effects were spot on, and overall the filmmakers took the books seriously.
Narnia: The Magician's Nephew trailer
Unfortunately, while the sequels (2008's Prince Caspian and 2010's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) were well made, they bored me silly. So when in 2023, Netflix announced Greta Gerwig would be bringing Narnia back, my attitude was muted to say the least.
Reboot fatigue? Absolutely. Plus I'm very much not a kid any more. So I quickly slipped this into the 'Not for me' file, and quickly moved on.
The teaser poster
The things you loved as a child, though, have a habit of burrowing into your brain and leaping out when you least expect them too. And when Netflix's PR sent me the teaser poster for Narnia: The Magician's Nephew last night, that's exactly what happened.
Suddenly, I was more excited for a film than I've been for a long time (could it be one of the best movie posters ever?).
Most of the frame is taken up by Aslan the lion’s head. But rather than going for a full-on rendering, he's more a lion-shaped hole in the light, filled with stars, his mane glowing amber at the edges like a solar eclipse. How magical is that?
The background surrounding him has a pale, pearly sheen, like oil on water, heightening the mysterious, otherworldly atmosphere. And right in the centre, Digory and Polly ride Fledge out of a starburst, trailing a streak of rainbow light.
The tagline, “A universe begins”, is small and muted, and that's key. When the image is conveying everything you need to know, the words don't need to shout. The atmosphere, the sense of scale and majesty, all combines to evoke a single message: Aslan isn’t just in this universe, he is the universe.
I also love how the typeface seems to have time-travelled straight off a 1970s paperback. It hasn't, but it's a lovely callback to those parents and grandparents who'll be taking their little ones to the pictures, and passing on their love for Narnia lore.
The right direction for Narnia
Contrast this with the bog-standard movie posters we've got used to in recent years. The cluttered collage of actors, all pointing in random directions. The undisciplined attempt to cram in as many plot points as possible. The lack of one clear, big idea, which this design can absolutely claim to have.
Of course, this is just one poster (though the logo was very good, too). And so logically, it's not evidence that every creative decision Greta Gerwig is taking with this movie will pay off. But it's reminded me what the Narnia books felt like to read as a child: vast, mysterious and a little bit spiritual. And that ain't nothing.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew arrives in cinemas on 11 February, with IMAX previews the day before. I’ll be counting down the days.
