Irish actor Liam Neeson has upset fans of C. S. Lewis by stating that
his character in the latest Narnia film, Aslan, the Christ-like figure
also symbolises other spiritual leaders.
Speaking ahead of the release of the Narnia movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,
Neeson said, "Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also
symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders
and prophets over the centuries.”
He explained that Aslan, portrayed as an animated lion in the film,
is a mentor figure for children and for himself.
However Walter Hooper,
the former secretary and a trustee of the writer’s estate, said that
C.S. Lewis would not have been happy about the claim.
He explained that the lion character has nothing to do with Islam and
the whole Narnian story is about Christ. He thought Neeson was just
trying to be politically correct.
The Catholic Herald stated that Neeson had betrayed Lewis's
intention that Aslan be a Christ figure. Lewis himself characterised
Aslan as an invented imaginary answer to the question "What might Christ
become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to
be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has
done in ours?"
RTÉ Radio One’s Mooney Show this week broadcast an interview
recorded in London with Liam Neeson who said, when asked about the
controversy, “C.S. Lewis was a famous Christian and he was a famous
atheist before that, and there is certainly a Christ-like presence to
this lion but to my mind he could be equally be Buddha, Mohammed or any
of the great prophets we have had over the centuries.”
Speaking of the Chronicles of Narnia he stated, “There is a
beautiful message runs through them which is essentially about people
taking responsibility for their actions, learning a code of ethics
whereby to live their life.”
Liam Neeson, who is a Catholic, said he will have a traditional
Christmas with family in New York.
He also expressed pleasure at being
able to say Happy Christmas to the Irish interviewer rather than the
“Happy Holidays” that is customary in New York.
In the movie, Neeson does the voice of the character, Aslan, a
character in all seven Narnia books.
In the climax of the first book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan sacrifices his life to save Narnia before rising from the dead.
Neeson has also collaborated in various Catholics and spiritual projects before including a CD of Lenten meditations.
SIC: CIN/IE