The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005]

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren't knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

Then "Lord of the Rings" came and went, leaving some pretty big shoes to fill, as far as fantasy films go. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" doesn't quite fit the shoes, but it comes a lot closer than any other movie has.

In Andrew Adamson's adaptation, C.S. Lewis's classic fantasy novel comes alive with remarkable fidelity, sparkling special effects, and some truly excellent acting by almost everyone concerned. If "Lord of the Rings" was stern older brother Peter, then this movie is Lucy -- bright, swift and thoroughly charming.

With WW II raging, the four Pevensie children are sent to the countryside, at an eccentric professor's mansion. But during a game of hide-and-seek, little Lucy (Georgie Henley) hides inside a wardrobe -- and stumbles into a wintry wilderness, with a faun she befriends. Alas, her brothers and sisters don't believe her -- but they don't know that Edmund (Skandar Keynes) has also gone through, and befriended a sinister, beautiful Witch (Tilda Swinton).

Eventually all four end up going through the wardrobe, but but they soon find that the Witch is hunting for them, in fear that they will fulfil an ancient prophecy. But Edmund has run off to join the Witch. And so the remaining three must join up with Aslan (Liam Neeson), the leonine god-king of Narnia. But the price for victory against the Witch may be too high.

Since "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" is labelled both a kids' book and a Christian fantasy, it's easy to get put off by the description of it. Don't be. Director Andrew Adamson ("Shrek" and "Shrek 2") has obviously given this his whole heart and soul, and it has the right mixture of majesty and humor that a film like this needed.

And Adamson does a spectacular job. The the taut race across a frozen river, the bombing of London, tea with the faun Tumnus, and even the cameo by Father Christmas (who gets a medieval makeover) -- all of these come to life with remarkable skill and grace, but with respect for its audience's intelligence. The make-or-break scene is Aslan stalking to the stone table, and the horrifying sacrifice scene that follows does justice to Lewis' novel.

But Adamson doesn't let it get overinflated on its own ego. When Edmund tells his horse, "Whoa, boy!" it retorts peevishly, "My NAME is Philip!"; elsewhere, the beavers snipe at each other like an old married couple. Those moments of lightness -- and giving Aslan a sense of humor -- keep the film from seeming self-conscious.

And of course, the special effects. WETA workship deserves an award (it's been nominated for a few) for the amazing CGI, ranging from goat-legged Tumnus to the lion Aslan, who looks almost real. They are especially good in battle scenes, which are startlingly savage and brutal, but filled with outstanding moments, such as a centaur leaping over the Witch and nearly beheading her.

Young Georgie Henley is probably the most capable actress here, conveying misery, awe, delight, childish glee and sorrow. All this from a small child, when a lot of adult actors can't manage that much. Skandar Keynes and Anna Popplewell turn in good performances as Edmund and Susan. Swinton and William Moseley (Peter) start off rather woodenly, but they both blossom when the four arrive in Narnia.

Though Lewis was reportedly against a live-action adaptation of the Chronicles, it's hard to imagine him having a problem with this rapid-fire, sparkling adaptation. (And stay for the credits for an extra surprise...)


Narnia with the allegory left in   March 14, 2006
Bramble family (Dudley, West Mids.)
17 out of 38 found this review helpful

We had heard good things about Narnia and were expecting a good fantasy flick, but were wowed by the way the meaning was left in. When the White Which demands to keep the traitor (Edmund) to appease the Deep Magic, and Aslan goes to the Stone Table to die so that Edmund can live... what a clear picture of Christ's sacrifice for us. Amazed and delighted that Hollywood would keep it in, in such an undiluted form.


Enjoyable, but not great.   March 10, 2007
Phil Hattie (Glasgow, Scotland)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is Disney's attempt at buying into the fantasy franchises that have become more and more popular recently. The success of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy has helped open the door for classic books, especially those that will involve swords and sorcery, and some of these have been more successful than others. Thankfully this is a qualified success, almost very good but not quite.

This film is the tale of the four Pevensie siblings evacuated from London during the dark days of the blitz. Peter is the eldest and is trying to be responsible for his younger sisters and his moody and often irresponsible brother Edmund. Susan, the eldest sister is the sensible one while young Lucy is friendly and imaginative. When placed in the home of an elderly professor they accidentally discover a wardrobe that acts as a magical gateway to the land of Narnia where it is always winter, never Christmas thanks to the dark rule of a White Witch.

The scenery is one of the stars of this film with bleak ice castles, snowy woods, beaver dam-houses, and grassy plains all being extremely easy on the eye. A large part of the film was shot in New Zealand and the same craggy fields that so vividly brought Middle Earth to life do so again here. The effects are also generally good, the film employs a number of fantasy creatures and talking animals and if these had been badly rendered it would have failed. There are a few dodgy looking beasties, especially in the eye-popping final battle scene, but for the most part they're well done- especially the important animals like the beavers, wolves, and of course the eponymous lion Aslan.

The cast vary greatly in their quality and its one of the films failings. The children are the focus of the movie and needed to be very good. However, not all of them are up to par. Georgie Henley manages to avoid the trap of being too cutesy that so many child actors fall into and invests her Lucy with a likeability that the film would have struggled without. Similarly, Skander Keynes as Edmund is also very good, conveying the greed, selfishness, then fear and eventual heroism with conviction. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Anna Popplewell, whose "sensible" Susan is merely whiney and annoying, and William Moseley as Peter, more wooden than the wardrobe in the title of the film. The supporting cast is strong, Jim Broadbent only appears for a few minutes but suffuses his scenes with warmth. Liam Neeson provides the voice of Aslan and does well enough, similarly James MacAvoy puts in a good performance as Mr Tumnus, a faun and Lucy's erstwhile kidnapper and first friend in Narnia. The best performance though comes from the ice cold Tilda Swinton who, even when she's practically dripping with malice, never becomes a caricature and always convinces as Jadis, the White Witch.

Overall The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a decent film with a strong moral message about family togetherness and responsibility that is good for kids. While mostly bloodless there are a few moments that might be a bit strong for younger children, especially in the final battle. Its impossible not to compare this film with the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and it fares pretty well against this esteemed competition. This is also only the first in a series of films so there's plenty of opportunity for improvement. As a stand alone film its solid, enjoyable, pretty, and bears repeated viewing which is all it needed to do.