Review: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)–***
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is, in a childish and sometimes silly way, a charming little epic. Whereas The Lord of the Rings is gargantuan andHarry Potter is angst ridden and adventurous, the adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy masterpiece is fluffy and wholesome. It’s not the epic other recent fantasy films can claim to be, but it certainly is a welcome addition to the contemporary fantasy genre.
The plot is simple enough. After the WWII bombing of London, the four Pevensie children are rushed to the country to live in relative peace with an old professor (Jim Broadbent). The professor’s stodgy maid forbids playing children’s games that could disturb the professor who is hidden away in his study, so the four Pevensie children play a children’s game of hide and seek.
In the process of hiding, Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley) discovers a strange world at the back of the professor’s wardrobe. There she meets Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), a faun who is scared of discovering a child. He tells Lucy of the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) who rules the world of Naria with an iron fist. A war is coming and the appearance Lucy is a sign for the side that fights with the noble lion Aslan (Liam Neeson).
Lucy leaves the wardrobe world and reenters the professor’s house to find that her siblings are non-believers. Still, her brother Edmund (Skandar Keynes), defiant due to the rules set down by the oldest Peter (William Moseley), follows Lucy into Narnia late one night. There he meets the White Witch, and without knowing her true intentions offers to bring his siblings to her. This, we find out, would prevent the prophecy, where two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve appear to oust the White Witch and lead Narnia back into a time of warmth and hope.
The four siblings all eventually make it into Narnia, but are separated, Edmund with the witch and the three others with Aslan. The separation makes each sibling regard the other in a different way and the fight for Narnia changes them forever.
The Chronicles of Narnia is in a bad spot. Were it released some other time, maybe I could have considered it a greater movie. While I was watching it, I even thought of The Wizard of Oz more times than I ever thought about either The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Still, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe sits among the most mature and exhilarating fantasy films ever made. Knowing what can be done today, both visually and narratively, hurts this film most of all.
In Narnia, the animation is almost always seamlessly tied into the live action in a way that is rarely seen. There are points when I know that the children are in front of a green screen, but they usually don’t matter because the story is entertaining and engaging. More importantly I care about these characters in a way The Lord of the Rings could make me care for its characters.
What I’m going to say next, you won’t hear from me often. The devotion to the cares and concerns of the children, though thoroughly captivating, makes what could have been an immense children’s epic ala Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a minor adventure film. When it comes to fantasy films today, the grander the better and this film is no grander than most two hour and twenty minute movies. I wanted more from the battles (though I know the violence must be toned down for the audience), more adventure in the search for Aslan or Edmund. This is a film that cannot be contained in a mere two and a third hours.
Still, I loved it for what it was, a genuinely heartfelt fantasy. That sentiment sets it apart from other recent entries in the genre. Sure the sugary moments may be too sweet (come on, crowning all four siblings for parts of Narnia) and the comedic moments too animated (no surprise from director Andrew Adamson of Shrek fame). Narnia survives all that to even overcome just the fantasy title to be compared to lightweight children’s classics like The Little Princess and Babe.
I often judge movies like Narnia by how quiet a theatre full of kids gets. In this case, even the thirteen-year-olds (often worse than four-year-olds) were quieter than usual. Still there were the people who were so excited that they clapped at when the good guys won and the bad guys lost. That reaction is even rarer than silence.
Though I wasn’t moved to such excitement, it’s good to see a person so charged over something that doesn’t involve the destruction of a major city or the explosion of a tanker truck. If Narnia is the future of big budget, fluff filmmaking, then bring it on.
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The visuals for this film are absolutely stunning. Just breathtaking. The acting is done well, the voice-overs included. the CG animation on the creatures are marvelous.
I read this series over and over as a child and just re-read them recently in anticipation of the movie. Although as a purist-at-heart I was slightly disappointed to see even a second of the precious work edited, overall I am amazed at how well they adapted the tale to fit into a neat little 2 hour time frame. I feel that nothing important was omitted and the parts that were adjusted in the script were done so well that it still could have passed for C.S. Lewis’ own hand.
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