By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer
Vineyard students check out “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

LEWISTON – Not everyone believes Christianity should go Hollywood, but 65 students from Vineyard Christian School were not about to argue that point Tuesday.

The kids had gathered to see a Disney adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

They chatted excitedly as they bought their popcorn and soda, then made their way into the theater at Flagship Cinemas. Soon they were silent, captivated by the two-and-a-half-hour struggle of good and evil played out among a lion and a witch, four children and squadrons of magical creatures including centaurs, griffins, giants and even a beaver with chain mail.

Afterward, no one seemed sure about what they would discuss when they got back to school. “Probably the battle scenes will be one of the biggest things,” guessed Holly Davidson, 13, of Sabattus.

“I don’t know,” said Rydell Lebrun, 13, of Leeds, who thought the movie was great.

Seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Debbie Salisbury, though, was brimming with both excitement and ideas. Aslan the lion, who sacrifices himself to save the lives of the children and then is resurrected, represents Jesus. The evil white witch represents the devil. The children, who become kings and queens after siding with Aslan, represent what is available to those who embrace the world of Christianity.

“Kids, particularly little kids, can believe in fantasy,” Salisbury said. The movie will help make the world of Christianity more real for her students, while giving her a starting point for classroom discussion.

Salisbury and Pete Woods, another Vineyard school teacher who helped arrange Tuesday’s field trip, are among many across the country embracing “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” as a Christian teaching tool. Church groups have rented out theaters, as the Vineyard school did, for exclusive showings of the film. Some pastors even have planned sermons around the movie’s themes.

Disney and its producing partner, Boston-based Walden Media, hoped for just such a reaction. The movie has been marketed to Christian groups and likened to Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” because of its religious appeal.

The Narnia film was expected to bring in about $50 million in box office sales when it opened last weekend, but it drew closer to $65.5 million, according to an online box office reporting service, Box Office Mojo. It was the second-biggest December opening behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which brought in $72.8 million on its opening weekend in 2003.

Disney already is working on a film adaptation of the second book in the C.S. Lewis series, “Prince Caspian.”

Lewiston Flagship Cinema Manager James Grover said “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” did well in its first weekend, and he expects the film to be shown into January. Even those uninterested in the religious aspects of the film should be able to enjoy it. Grover noted that it’s “just a good-old childhood story that a lot of people are familiar with.”

For some, though, it represents an improper merging of Christianity and Hollywood.

The Rev. Doug Taylor of the Jesus Party, a Pentecostal children’s ministry in Lewiston, said true Christians have no business spending time watching movies about fantasy and magic.

“I’ve always said that Christians should not dabble in the world of fantasy,” Taylor said.

He suggested young people instead spend their time helping the less fortunate over the holidays, doing things such as volunteering at local soup kitchens.