Some more news -
Tilda Swinton is set for the role of the White Witch.
Special Effects Notes: WETA Digital (Contact, the Lord of the Rings trilogy) (according to IGN FilmForce, by way of Dark Horizons) (8/10/03) On the subject of special effects, it's important to note that the production company plans on using a real, live lion for King Atlan (though I suspect they will probably use some sort of effects/CGI to move his mouth when he talks). (3/29/04) It turns out that WETA's involvement was only in doing initial character designs. Rhythm & Hues has signed on to handle the actual work, with 18 months to do hundreds of shots, on a schedule that is expected to stretch all the way until October, 2005
Release Date Note: (10/14/03) When this project was first announced, the target release date was sometime in the summer of 2004, but the production has now given itself another 15 months by shooting for December, 2005 instead. Another New Zealand/WETA Digital production is also aiming for that month: Peter Jackson's King Kong.