News for Nov. 18, 2005

'Narnia' promo campaign by the book

11/18/05, 4:24 pm EST - Xoanon

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Faced with promoting its movie version of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe," a book that many readers consider a contemporary classic, the Walt Disney Co. decided to tread carefully with a "classy" promotional program that highlights the book's literary heritage. The movie, which opens December 9, will be linked to about 80 different brands ranging from Honey Nut Cheerios to Quilted Northern bath tissue to McDonald's Happy Meals, but Disney and its promotional partners say they have made a concerted effort to do what they can to preserve, or at the very least emphasize, the reputation of the 1950 English novel. [More]