Finding Narnia: The Secret Location

Ok Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, time to rip the back off your wardrobe. I'm going to tell you the secret location of Narnia, among other things. As you probably know the Narnia movie was directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson and much of it was filmed here in NZ too. But where?

While some of the movie was filmed outside, many scenes were filmed in an airplane hangar at Ardmore Airport (from Airports Around the World):


The map of NZ at the top of this post has a square box showing the area Ardmore is in, and here's a close-up of the secret location of Narnia (from Christian Aviation):


I realise you are heading for your backless wardrobe - but before you leave I'll let you know you won't need a fur coat. I live in the grey area on the map and it is summer here. So come in beach shorts (Hawaiian shirts are passable too). If you like behind the scenes info read on - if you like to think everything on screen is totally real stop here. (But scroll down for the next photo).

A TVNZ film crew did some filming behind the scenes and put together a piece for Close Up (a current affairs type show) a couple of nights ago. As I mentioned it's summer here. But even our winters can be warm and Ardmore doesn't get snow. While some of the Narnia movie was filmed in Europe, they used white paper as snow in the airport hangar. Actually... it looked quite real to me. The kids were in their costumes standing on all this white paper.

Might surprise you to know there are not as many animal actors as you would have thought. The wolves are real - they're timber wolves from America - and they are regular nice guys off camera. It is acting. The brown reindeer - well I was surprised they didn't use a real one but it would be a problem getting it into NZ (Narnia Zone) as it would need to be in quarantine for customs first - so they created a mechanical one. And then there's Aslan. Prior to filming there was talk of using one of Craig Busch's hand-raised lions. He's known as the Lion Man here. He runs Zion Wildlife Gardens in the North Island (you should check out his site - the photos are gorgeous). One of his lions is named Aslan, and he also has lions named Narnia and Zion. But film plans for the lion didn't work out. So Aslan is digital. From the clips I've seen I couldn't tell.

Not all of the NZ scenes were filmed at Ardmore. Some were filmed outside at Flock Hill in Canterbury, which is beautiful and is located on the East of our South Island. Here's the view from Flock Hill:


That's from Flock Hill High Country Experience. Check out that link if you are heading there as they have accommodation. A fur coat comes in handy down that way too - the South can get cold at night. (This wouldn't be a Kiwi post if I didn't mention that Canterbury has a formidable rugby team!).

If some of the movie characters look Orcish it's because Weta Workshop have done the costumes again (they did them for Lord of the Rings). I previously posted on what a weta is in my post Wetas in Narnia? You'll find out what a weta is there and why Weta Workshop is an apt name for the creature creators. None of the LOR locations were used in the filming of Narnia. Andrew Adamson said what he most enjoyed about making the movie were the children acting in it. When asked if he'd make more in the series he said he didn't know - but if he does it will be for the children. Peter Jackson has temporarily stolen the limelight with the premiere of King Kong (the scene where Kong goes beserk in a New York theatre was filmed in a NZ cinema not far from me - I've been there often). But Aslan is going to have his day in the sun. Ok - you can step through the back of your wardrobe now.

Also see my post on the movie: Having Been To Narnia