The October 28, 2005 Print Edition of Entertainment Weekly features a column entitled "Good Witch? Narnia gets a double-edged endorsement." (Pg. 16)
Writing for EW, Michelle Kung notes that a religious endorsement by James Dobson's group "Focus on the Family" can hurt the upcoming movie Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, giving the group the introduction as being a "controversial conservative group led by Dr. James Dobson that's known for a staunch anti-gay marriage platform."
Kung states: "Sure, the prospect of 2 million ticket buyers is alluring. But is the endorsement of a potentially polarizing political/religous interest group worth it?... Aggressively publicized thumbs-ups from groups like FOF could turn off secular audiences."
One wonders why Kung introduces the group only by calling them religous with a "staunch anti-gay marriage platform." Certainly Focus on the Family is about much more than that (they are also pro-life, oppose pornography, promote drug-use prevention, and so on) and the addition of that comment in relation to the movie seems to lack what we generally like to call a "point." I doubt that FOF is supporting the movie because the movie shows an "anti-gay marriage platform" but more-so because it possibly shows the positive moral values acceptable for family-viewing that Dobson and Family represent, but that's just a guess. (And I'm guessing that would have been a better description of the group).
As for the "aggressively publicized thumbs-ups" I'm not sure how much influece FOF would have at scaring away audiences in the first place. To note, the only mention of the movie that I could find from Focus on the Family is from an e-mail sent to EW announcing they support the film, if that's what is called aggressive publicity these days.
On the Web: Focus on the Family Entertainment Weekly
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