Entertaining and enduring: Quality storytelling can make values-based media both meaningful and enjoyable

At the conclusion of C.S. Lewis' "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the majestic lion Aslan is bidding farewell to Lucy and Edmund Pevensie. The children are leaving Narnia, but Aslan assures that he will be with them in their world. He is just known by a different name.

"You must learn to know me by that name," the lion tells them.

For believers and those familiar with Lewis' religious writings, including the unmistakably Christian "Chronicles of Narnia," the line is a clear reference to Christ.

But did it belong in the movie adaptation, which was sure to be seen by an audience beyond just Christians?

For Walden Media, the answer was yes.

Micheal Flaherty, who is the president of Walden Media, remembers reading that line growing up. As a devout Christian, there's meaning beyond the surface. But religious considerations aside, it's always important to stay true to the story.

"When you are making a film based on a book that people love, the tie should always go to the book," Flaherty said. "If there is a disagreement about a line of dialogue or a scene, and you can point to the fact that this is a story that people have enjoyed, in the case of 'Dawn Treader,' for over half a century, business-wise, why would you make new Coke out of it if you want to give them that experience that they're used to?"

Walden Media chose not to strip away the layers of meaning from Lewis' Narnia stories in its three movie adaptations. In the case of Big Idea Entertainment, which produces the long-running animated series "VeggieTales," meaning is infused into every story told. But there is more to creating quality family entertainment than adding messages from the Bible, co-creator Mike Nawrocki says.

"For stuff that's going to be entertaining and truly engaging, it has to … be crafted well and be something that you want to watch," Nawrocki said. "Not something that you throw in the DVD player and run out of the room just for your child to watch, but actually to be interested in watching with them and then talking about it afterward."

Whether it's coming from a talking lion or a talking cucumber, family entertainment doesn't have to be shallow and devoid of meaning. At the same time, values-based media can still be entertaining and engaging.

For media innovators like Flaherty and Nawrocki, what's important is telling the story — and telling it well.