Weta Collectibles, the consumer products division of New Zealand's premier creative company, Weta Workshop, has released the first approved product photography of its initial series of limited-edition sculptures based on characters from Walt Disney Pictures'/Walden Media's upcoming film version of C. S. Lewis' classic work The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe from C. S. Lewis' beloved Chronicles of Narnia series.

Weta Collectibles is producing up to ten unique pieces in the series, with release dates slated for late November 2005 and a second wave following in conjunction with the December 9, 2005 film release date.

Pictured right: Lion and Witch bookends

The product releases will consist of: White Witch with Ginnabrick statue, Oreius statue, Minoboars design maquette, Mr. Tumnus design maquette, and Lion and Witch bookends, Girls on Aslan statue, Peter on the Unicorn statue, General Otmin statue, Satyr design maquette, and White Witch's Castle Environment - White Witch Castle currently remains in development. The statues of Oreius and General Otmin are designed to be placed together, recreating the intensity of the battle for Narnia.

Pictured left: Mr. Tumnus design maquette

"In addition to their fabulous work on the actual film production, the artisans at Weta are bringing all of their skills forward on this line of consumer products", Dark Horse Director of Distributed Products Rachelle Callaway remarked, "and we believe these pieces will set a new standard for this important product category. They have selected challenging and striking poses for each statue, choosing exactly the right moment to freeze them in time, with a dramatic and touching result."

Pictured right: Narnia Girls on Aslan Statue

Weta was catapulted to worldwide prominence by virtue of their close association with director Peter Jackson on the Lord of the Rings films. Since then, they have worked on a variety film productions, starting with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Entrusted with the task of designing some of literature's most beloved characters, Weta Collectibles principal Richard Taylor and his team have crafted an extremely detailed rendition of the film's characters as sculpted, pre-painted large-size statues. No expense was spared in ensuring the most accurate reproduction, and this attention to detail extends to the packaging design and artwork as well as the pieces themselves. Additionally, each design maquette will contain a full-color booklet highlighting the evolution of each individual piece.

Weta Collectibles has named Dark Horse Comics, Inc. of Milwaukie, Oregon as its exclusive worldwide sales agent outside of New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, NARNIA, and all book titles, characters and locales original thereto are trademarks of C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd. and are used with permission. © DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC. and WALDEN MEDIA, LLC. All rights reserved

For more details visit the Dark Horse web site.