The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Fans of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia will most certainly enjoy this movie, but those unfamiliar with the books might find this story, with all its nymphs, fauns, centaurs and talking animals to be a bit cheesy. Having adored the novels when I was kid, I was extremely pleased that here was an adaptation that stuck remarkably close to the source material, and really managed to capture the spirit of the Narnian universe.

The story takes place during the second World War, wherein children are often sent out of London in order to escape the nightly air raids. Such is the case for the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy, whose mother sends them off to stay with Professor Kirke in the English countryside. While playing hide and seek in the mansion one day, Lucy, the youngest of the four, hides in a wardrobe in one of the many spare rooms. This is apparently not the kind of wardrobe one buys at IKEA, as it has so much space that it in fact contains a portal to another world. No sooner has she stepped into this snowy land, when she meets Mr. Tumnus, a friendly faun who is so startled at her appearance in Narnia that he invites her back to his house for afternoon tea. Apparently this strange child molester vibe completely escaped me when I read these books as a kid, but I must admit it was a bit disconcerting to watch a grown man/faun (what have you) enticing a little girl back to his house with promises of candy. Mr. Tumnus, it turns out, is under orders to turn over any humans to Narnia’s evil queen, known by the local populace as The White Witch, who is the cause of Narnia’s 100 year-long winter. Mr. Tumnus changes his mind, however, and helps Lucy return back through the wardrobe into the spare room. Her siblings don’t believe her story, but eventually, of course, they find themselves running away from the strict housekeeper one day and hide in the wardrobe only to find that Lucy was right about Narnia all along. Unfortunately, Mr. Tumnus has been arrested for his failure to turn Lucy over to The White Witch, but with the timely aid of a talking beaver, the children are sheltered away before The White Witch learns of their presence. What follows is an adventure across Narnia in an attempt to save the land from The White Witch even as Aslan, an all-powerful lion returns to save the inhabitants from the witch’s tyrannical and evil rule.

Yes, there is a Christian-like parable within this story, what with the sacrifice of Aslan in Edmond’s stead and all, but then again, there were also many elements in the film that had absolutely nothing to do with Christianity whatsoever. Unless of course Father Christmas/Santa Claus had some heretofore unknown role in the Last Supper and the twelve disciples were actually talking horses—I’m not exactly religious so I can’t claim to be an expert, but I think this movie is meant to be a nice, imaginative story more than anything else.

This adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is by far the best I have seen—the casting was excellent, the special effects were perfect, and the screenplay was remarkably true to the book. Some parts were admittedly a bit on the cheesy side (e.g. the whole Santa Claus bit), but anyone who read and enjoyed the books won’t have too much trouble with it. The action was exciting, although extremely G-rated—for instance, during a battle sequence, some characters actually threw rocks at the bad guys as some sort of newfound military tactic, no doubt. All in all, I was delighted with the movie and recommend it to kids, those who read the books, and anyone who enjoys a good fantasy film.