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When a large segment of Christians are boycotting your company, how did that make you feel personally as a Christian?

Zoradi: If people wanted to talk about it, I gave my own personal opinion, not representing the company. Sometimes they had correct information and sometimes they didn't, so I would engage somebody if they brought it up. I never brought it up; I never went out looking for an argument.

Sometimes they would just catch a headline: "Disney Has Lost Its Way." But they wouldn't read the whole article. I always tried to be open with people. I didn't think Disney had lost its way. I had been on the inside for 20-plus years. This was a company that did business in a moral and ethical way. And it has been a really easy and good place for a Christian to work. There are Christian clubs that meet on company property. There is no discouragement from it. It is a very easy place for a Christian to work.

Walt Disney

In my 15 years at Christianity Today, I feel like I've gotten to know our founder, Billy Graham, a bit better, though I've never met him. Do you feel the same way with Walt Disney?

Zoradi: No, I wouldn't say I have gotten to know him. But I have read quite a bit about Walt, and I have come to appreciate the commitment he had to quality and to creating broad-based family entertainment. And I would say with confidence that his legacy is completely alive and thriving today.

As I look out over the next 12 to 18 months, the product lineup we have, from a movie studio standpoint, is as good and on target as any time that I have worked here. I look at consumer products and they are doing good things. The theme parks are doing a fantastic job. I feel the company is in pretty good shape.

How does your faith inform your work with Disney??

Zoradi: One of the things I have appreciated in 28 years here is that I have never felt conflicted, ethically or morally, in any business dealings. Disney has been and currently is committed to ethical procedure. It is pretty pervasive throughout the company.

Where I think my faith is most acted out is in dealing with people, both in this country and around the world. And we have tried to do some great things with Homes of Hope. We have built 30 homes over the past ten years in Tijuana, Mexico. [Zoradi leads members of his staff on this trip every spring; it is strictly voluntary, but is another way of exemplifying Disney's commitment to children and families around the world. Homes of Hope is a Christian ministry affiliated with Youth With A Mission.]

Narnia might be the most important franchise that Disney has ever worked with …?

Zoradi: The Chronicles of Narnia is a classic piece of literature, and that's why it might be our most important franchise—that, and because there are seven books. We don't have to find great new material. We have literature to work from, and one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century.

Will you turn all seven books into seven movies?

Zoradi: We are finishing up Prince Caspian and now Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been green lit, so three movies have been committed to. It is our hope and desire to do all seven, but we have not committed to the next movies yet. But I think it is likely—with the success of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and how well Prince Caspian is going—that we are going to continue down this path.

Narnia is such a beloved series, diehard fans are watching you very closely. All to say, this is a franchise that you don't dare to screw up?

Zoradi: We absolutely feel that way. The great thing is it is a three-way partnership between Walden Media, The C. S. Lewis Estate, and Disney. All three are committed to working collaboratively.

It's the kind of movies Disney wants to make because it is based on great literature, it has wonderful moral and ethical values, and it is a great action adventure story. You put all those things together, and you end up with the kind of movies we want to make, and we take that responsibility very seriously.

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