Aslan is one of the first characters that pop into your mind when people think of the Narnia Chronicle. And with that, the deep rumbling voice of the great Liam Neeson. Neeson expressed the fantasy iteration of Jesus Christ (it’s not all stories, but in a different form of a different world) for all three Narnian films released between 2005 and 2010. But, like CS Lewis’ source material, the third film, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” gives Aslan much less from a storyline perspective. It also appears to have been such a pleasant experience for Neeson himself, as he spoke up the great lion.
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In a 2010 interview with fan site Narniawebthe Irish-born actor was asked if it would be difficult to portray Aslan in “Dawn Trader” considering the reduced screen time. In response, Neeson explained that it wasn’t the brevity of the role that made him more tricky to bring the character to life.
“Well, I’ll be honest with you. I was a little annoyed because I wasn’t part of the film process. I wasn’t in the place, I wasn’t with the kids, I wasn’t with the movie crew.
The Narnia veteran made life easier for Neeson on the voyage of the Dawntredder
Despite his complaints about working at Offset, Neeson received some help from Andrew Adamson, who directed and co-written two previous Narnia films. Adamson had not served in any of these roles on “The Voyage of Dawn Treder,” but he was still involved in the project as a producer. Neeson explained that despite his complaints about being closed at the sound booth, he worked with Adamson to come up with something worthy of an Aslan level performance.
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“We worked very closely. He showed us computer imaging of what Aslan would look in the end. We experimented with different vocal tones that would help us find the right sound for this creation. This lion was very interesting. It was another focus.
Neeson added that he also lost the gravity of the role.
“And of course, I knew what Aslan represented in these films, and I was in the end very comfortable with it.”
As Netflix and filmmaker Greta Gerwig prepare their own Narnia adaptation (starting with the prequel, “The Sorcerer’s Ne,” Meryl Streep side-by-side to call out gender swap aslan). See if it can quickly delight a large, multi-generational, multi-faceted fanbase of Lewis’ inventive works of Christian fantasy fiction.
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