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In the books, Aslan is clear that females should not go into battle. But you and Lucy are in the battles in the movie. Can you talk about that a bit?

Anna: That was a slight alteration we made because we felt that Susan and Lucy should [go into battle]. To be honest, the part that Susan and Lucy play in the battle, although it's very important, is right at the end of the movie in terms of the "battles" where women fight. It's not Susan and Lucy fighting all the way through the battle. But we thought that was important to include them in the battle. So, yeah, that is a difference from the book.

Did you actually have to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow for the movie?

Anna: I did. I took my archery lessons. It was really fun to learn something new.

Did you get pretty good at it?

Anna: Well I don't know about that. But I was okay.

What does Aslan mean to you? And what does he mean to Susan?

Anna: When I read the books, Aslan was just this wonderful, magical lion, the epitome of goodness. And I think even after the movie, that's what remains. He's really just full of love. As for Susan, when she meets Aslan, that's when she really believes in Narnia and kind of gets a grip that things are going to be okay. I think Aslan really serves as a symbol of hope for Susan.

For Christians, Aslan represents Jesus in many ways. Do you ever think of it that way?

Anna: For me, I read the books as simply stories. I think what they represent about human relationships can be interpreted in any way, in the same way that any book is a piece of literature and is open to other interpretations. The film is an adaptation of that piece of literature and will still be open to interpretation. I think in the same way that people may read the book in different ways, people will interpret the film in different ways. For those who look for the Christian symbolism in it, it will be there. And for those who don't wish to be confronted with it, they won't be confronted with it. But for me it's really a story about human relationships.

What did you enjoy most about making this movie?

Anna: The people. We had such a wonderful cast and crew. I was so lucky to get to work with such great people. It made the whole production so much fun—six months of fantastic fun, basically.

Any funny stories from the set?

Anna: I have many! (laughs) Fairly early on, Andrew [director Andrew Adamson] asked me whether there was anything that I was particularly scared of. I said yes, I'm scared of mice. And I mean jump-on-a-chair-and-scream scared of mice! He laughed and said, "You know you have to do a scene with mice at the Stone Table where the mice chew Aslan's ropes." I laughed and said I thought he was joking, because we have so many animated creatures in this movie, I didn't think there was any way we'd be using real mice. You know, beavers, foxes, everything is animated. So I didn't see the occasion for real mice.

But as we got closer to doing the Stone Table scenes, Andrew made it clear that he wasn't joking and that there were going to be real mice. So I was kind of silently freaking out about it. There were going to be a hundred or so mice on the set, so Andrew thought it would be a good idea if he showed me one to see if I could deal with it. So he called me onto the set one day and he said, "Anna, I want you to meet Mr. Jingles." And he held this mouse up and I screamed and cried. I was nearly sick. I just couldn't do it. So anything you see in the film with mice and Susan, it's not me, it's my double. I just couldn't do it.

What was the hardest part about making this movie, other than having the director hold up a mouse in front of your face?

Anna: My parents couldn't be there with me the whole time; they both work, and I've got a younger brother and sister. So my mom flew a lot from England to New Zealand. I really missed my family; that was hard. And I missed being away from school and all my friends. But it was a really wonderful experience and I was busy all the time, so there wasn't much time to be upset or anything.

On the set, the hardest thing was probably the Stone Table scene because it was really emotional. Although I've lost grandparents, I haven't witnessed anyone dying before. Watching Aslan die, that was a hard scene, and it took so long to film. I mean we were crying for two days solid.

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