- “Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight. At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more. When he bears his teeth, winter meets it death. And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
- ―Mr. Beaver explaining the endless goodness of Aslan to the Pevensie children
Aslan is the Great Lion who is the tritagonist of The Chronicles of Narnia film series. He is the Primordial Creator and True King of Narnia, a parallel world full of magic, which he created as a shadowlands replica of his own home, known to the Narnians as Aslan's Country; a mysterious and peaceful world similar to the afterlife, the spirit world or Heaven itself. He is analogous to Jesus Christ, and is called the Son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea (God).
Appearances
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
It is revealed he had been seemingly kept at bay by the White Witch, who had taken over Narnia and cursed it into an eternal winter without Christmas, and that only when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve arrived to take the throne at Cair Paravel could the Witch be defeated and peace and harmony restored to Narnia.
When the witch's power began to weaken, it indicated Aslan's return. He tasked a fox with gathering troops for the upcoming war against the witch and her evil forces, while he set up his main encampment near Cair Paravel, where many loyal troops gathered to join him, including satyrs, red dwarves, fawns, and centaurs, both male and female. It wasn't long before the Pevensies, minus Edmund, had come to Aslan's camp where they met and bowed respectfully before the majestic Lion.
Aslan had a private talk with Peter, giving him encouragement and advice, when they heard the call of Susan's horn, alerting them that the girls were under attack by Maugrim and one of his lieutenants. Maugrim met his end by Peter's sword, a brave act for which Peter was awarded by Aslan with knighthood, naming him Sir Peter Wolfs-bane.
He sent some soldiers to follow Maugrim's lieutenant to recover Edmund from the Witch's camp and when they succeeded, Aslan had a talk with Edmund about his past offenses, making the boy see the error of his selfish ways, especially after Edmund had seen the consequences his actions had on others and the cruelty of Jadis first-hand on those that betrayed her.
However, the Witch came to Aslan's Camp, demanding Edmund's life per the Law of Narnia, which stated that every traitor's life belonged to her, in accordance with the Deep Magic on which Narnia was built. She reminded those gathered that unless she had blood as the law demanded, all of Narnia would perish in fire and water. She invoked her right to Edmund's blood and demanded that Edmund should die on the Stone Table, per tradition.
Aslan and Jadis shared a private word in his tent. When they emerged after some time in their private discussion, he announced the Witch had renounced her claim on Edmund's life, but unknown to everyone, at a terrible cost. When Jadis questioned if Aslan would keep his word, a ferocious roar from Aslan quickly shut Jadis up, much to the amusement of Aslan's troops, before she was ferried out of Aslan's camp by her cyclops handlers and joined by Ginarrbrik.
Aslan snuck out of the camp that night, but was followed by Susan and Lucy, whom he allowed to accompany him for a while, but told them to stay in the woods near the Stone Table. There they discovered that Aslan had agreed to trade his life for Edmund's, allowing Jadis to slay him on the Stone Table to satisfy the Deep Magic and the Witch's demand for blood.
As he approached, Aslan was jeered and mocked by the Witch's forces, knocked down by the Minotaur Otmin, the General of the Witch's army, and had his mane shaved to further humiliate him before he was tied and dragged onto the table where Jadis bent down to mock him. She whispered in his ear, letting him know his sacrifice would be in vain as, come morning, she would attack and annihilate Edmund, Peter, and all of Aslan's loyal troops to secure her reign for good. She then stated, "So much for love..."
As he lay on the table, moments before his death, Aslan saw that Lucy and Susan had not left before they bore witness to his death by the Witch's hand. Jadis crowed over Aslan and announced that the next day she would lead her army to victory. She then plunged her Stone Knife into Aslan's heart, killing him.
After the White Witch and her army left for battle, Lucy and Susan approached the lifeless body of Aslan and cried into his fur as mice--mute beasts who would later give rise to Reepicheep's people--chewed off the ropes binding him, though Susan initially thought they were there to feed on Aslan's corpse and tried to shoo them away before Lucy pointed out they were cutting his bindings. The news of Aslan's death was delivered to Peter and Edmund by a Dryad, convincing them to go to war against Jadis, despite being heavily outnumbered.
In the morning, Susan and Lucy sadly started to leave, but felt the Stone Table crack and gasped to see Aslan's body gone. But as the sun rose, they saw also that Aslan had risen from the dead. They embraced the Lion, who explained that there was Deeper Magic that Jadis did not know about, in that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery is killed in the traitor's stead, the Stone Table would crack, and even death itself would be reversed. Susan and Lucy urged Aslan to help Peter and the others, and Aslan told them to get on his back before he let out a mighty roar. With the two sisters on his back, Aslan ran all the way to the Witch's castle, empty of all but the Witch's poor victims who'd been turned to stone, including Lucy's friend, Mr. Tumnus the faun, whom Aslan brought back to life by breathing on him. He repeated the process with the rest of the petrified victims and rallied them as reinforcements.
He led them all to the Battle of Beruna, turning the tide against Jadis and her forces. Jadis was shocked to see Aslan alive after she personally slew him and, realizing this meant her reign was in jeopardy, re-doubled her attacks on Peter to kill him and prevent the prophecy from coming to fruition. Aslan charged into the fray and lunged at the Witch just as she was about to kill Peter, saving Peter's life. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Aslan mauled her to death, proclaiming to Peter afterwards, "It is finished."
At the great castle, Cair Paravel, Aslan oversaw the Pevensies' coronation, proclaiming them all Kings and Queens of Narnia. After the coronation, he slipped out of the party, walking along the beach for a few minutes before vanishing while no one was looking. Though Lucy was sad to see him go, Mr. Tumnus promised her they'd see him again, reminding Lucy that they can't keep Aslan pinned down, as "he's not a tame Lion."
Prince Caspian
In the second movie, Lucy claims to have seen Aslan twice, and that he intended for her and the others to follow him. He later appears in a dream of Lucy's and explained that things do not happen the same way twice, which explained why he did not make himself known to anyone but her. When Lucy was later sent off on her own, Aslan himself finally appeared before her and chased away the Telmarines that were attacking her. After they disappeared, Aslan and Lucy shared a fond embrace.
He accompanied her to where the final showdown between Peter, Susan, Edmund, Caspian, and the evil Sopespian was taking place near the vast sea after Sopespian killed King Miraz and framed Caspian, the Pevensies, and Aslan's loyal forces for it. When the soldiers came toward him, Aslan let out a great and mighty roar that conjured up a massive, human-like sea creature that made short work of Sopespian and his entire army, resulting in the Telmarines surrendering after having lost their entire chain of command. With the battle finally over, he ordered that all royals rise, including Caspian. He assured the young prince that he was indeed ready and that Narnia would accept him as their king. Near an ancient tree, Aslan promised the surviving Telmarines that, if they chose, he could send them to the real world to make a new start, or live on in peace with the rest of the Narnians. After talking privately with Peter and Susan, he confessed that they had already learned enough while being in Narnia and that they will not be returning. He opens the portal for Lucy and the others go back to where they came from in the London Underground train station.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Aslan appeared where Eustace was, who was magically transformed into a bronze dragon. Utilizing the incredible healing power of his mighty and powerful roar, he reversed the transformation, restoring the boy to his original human form. Later, he expressed his gratitude in how far Edmund and Lucy had come in their adventures. The mouse, Reepicheep, was honored to be in the presence of Aslan himself, and that he would be glad to go see his, Aslan's, country for himself. Aslan agreed, and opened a path in the sea's waters to where Reepicheep departed for the other side of the world. Aslan then turned to Lucy, who came to realize that this was her and Edmund's last time in Narnia; to which the great lion admits is true, as she and her brother have grown up; just like Susan and Peter. He assured a saddened Lucy that he had another name in the real world; and that he would always be with them, no matter where he was. Aslan tells Eustace that he will return when Narnia will need him.
Gallery
Trivia
- Aslan's name is Turkish for "lion."
- Aslan is the second lion character from Disney whose name means "lion" in a foreign language. The other is Simba, whose name is the Swahili word for "Lion".
- Aslan was C.S. Lewis' representation of Jesus Christ himself. Many parallels exist between the two.
- For one, Aslan's death and resurrection refers to Jesus' Crucifixion and return to life. Aslan died to save Edmund, while Jesus died to save people from their sins.
- Another one is their very own sacred homeland; Aslan resides in Aslan's Country while Jesus resides in Heaven.
- After being approached for the role, actor Liam Neeson went on a safari with his family to study the lions and to figure out why they are called the kings of the jungle. He also did this in order to find a fitting voice for Aslan.
External links
Aslan on Narnia Wiki
