VAN NUYS, California -- Felicia Wright came to the Valley as a talented, mild-mannered magazine writer from Sydney, Australia. Within hours of her arrival, she had been forcibly transformed into a horrible monster -- a half-human, half-bird harpy. Fortunately, a little cold cream and rubbing alcohol changed her back again.
It was all part of an introduction to the movies based on C.S. Lewis' classic Chronicles of Narnia series, tied to Tuesday's release of Prince Caspian on DVD.
The press was invited to experience firsthand the immense behind-the-scenes effort required to forge Prince Caspian, which takes moviegoers on a darker, more complex journey than did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Caspian unveils a richer, more detailed world than its predecessor -- and the DVD and Blu-ray discs carefully document the meticulous work required to create that world.
Disney, the film's stars and various creative department heads massed in Van Nuys and Hollywood to explore everything from the movie's art direction to its costume design to its makeup rigors (all elements also covered in the DVD's special features sections).
Reporters were invited to KNB EFX Group in the Valley to meet the sizable crew of makeup artists who applied the various creature elements to stars and extras every day of Caspian's filming.
When the two opposing armies meet in the film's climactic battles, each side brings a hefty contingent of mythical beasts and beings. Whether an extra in one of those armies was a centaur, a minotaur, a harpy or some other legendary creature, that actor sat down in a makeup chair in the early morning hours while an artist applied prosthetics and other illusions for two hours or more every day they were scheduled to work. That's before those same extras would have to wear that makeup on set for 12 hours and umpteen battle scenes.
This reporter volunteered to go through the same ordeal just one time as the good folks at KNB transformed me into a dwarf (before and after photos above).
Actually, it was decided I was too big to be a dwarf, so I was promoted to giant. Two-plus hours of amazing work later, I disappeared into a sort of ginger Hagrid look.
KNB executive Howard Berger hosted the transformations. He called Prince Caspian the biggest production his people have taken on so far.
"We had multiple teams of makeup artists working in shifts on location," he said. "And they were executing some very elaborate, multi-appliance designs. We've never attempted something that big."
Berger confessed to a personal affection for the harpy creature design (photo at right -- on Wright).
KNB also offered an up-close look at the costume design workshop for Prince Caspian. Veteran cinematic designer Isis Mussenden was on hand to explain how the film's uniforms, dresses and creature outfits came to be. Mussenden traveled the world looking for artistic and design elements that could be mass-produced for Caspian's huge cast.
Still some costumes -- like the elaborate armored uniforms of the Telmarines -- required up-close, on-camera detailing and couldn't be banged out quickly. Leather workers put in countless hours creating more than 300 studded and tailored tunics for the prince's army.
Additional peeks into Prince Caspian's production fill both its DVD and Blu-ray releases, including cast interviews, director commentaries and a video exploring technical advances made for the latest Narnia chapter.
Images courtesy Disney
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