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.
