The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (9 December 2005)
directed by Andrew Adamson
starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Kiran Shah, Liam Neeson, Rupert Everett, Judy McIntosh, Elizabeth Hawthorne
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MPAA rating: Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media Script: Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely Based on the book by: C. S. Lewis Music: Harry Gregson-Williams Running time: 140 minutes Tags: Action; Adventure; allegory; children; christianity; Drama; Family Film; Fantasy; horses; lions; Narnia; novel adaptation; witches; World War II Tactical strength: [8/10]
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for battle sequences and frightening moments
To protect her four children from the German bombing of London, Mrs. Pevensie (Judy McIntosh) sends Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) off to the country to live with the Professor (Jim Broadbent). The children rarely encounter the Professor, and instead must deal with his housekeeper Mrs. MacReady (Elizabeth Hawthorne), who demands that the children tip-toe around the house to avoid disturbing the Professor. On a rainy afternoon, the children play hide-and-seek in the house. Lucy, the youngest, finds an empty room with a large wardrobe. When she hides inside, she finds that the wardrobe leads into Narnia, a magical land where legendary creatures such as fawns and griffins exist and all animals can speak.
In Narnia, Lucy meets Mr. Tumnis (James McAvoy), a fawn. Mr. Tumnis explains that the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) has control over Narnia where she has enchanted the land to remain always winter and never Christmas. Lucy returns to England through the wardrobe, but none of her siblings believe her story. One night, Edmund uses the wardrobe to enter Narnia. He meets the White Witch, who gives Edmund Turkish delight and promises him more if he brings all his siblings to her in Narnia. When Edmund returns, he keeps his visit to Narnia a secret. Later all the children hide in the wardrobe to escape being found by Mrs. MacReady, and as they move back to shut the door, they all fall into snow-covered Narnia.
Once in Narnia, Lucy leads the others to Mr. Tumnis's house, but the White Witch's secret police have raided the house and arrested Mr. Tumnis. The children encounter a beaver, who takes them to his home. In the beavers' dam, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver explain that Aslan, the force for good in Narnia, "is on the move." Edmund slips away to rendezvous with the White Witch, who sends her secret police wolves to arrest the others. The other children narrowly escape with the beavers and make their way toward Aslan, just narrowly ahead of the wolves. Once the children join Aslan, Peter begins training for the oncoming battle. In Narnia, humans have an assumed superiority over animals, so the animals call the children Prince and Princess, and assume Peter will lead the charge against the White Witch and her forces. Great battle scenes ensue between the mythic creatures of both sides in some of the best computer graphic work since the most recent Star Wars movies.
Adamson faithfully and brilliantly interprets C. S. Lewis's book. For example, Lewis provides about two pages of detail about the final battle lead by Peter. As you read the book, your mind takes the minimal information Lewis provides and fills in all the details of a huge, noisy battle between the forces of good and evil. Adamson realizes that a movie audience expects a complete realization of this battle and exceeds the audience's expectations. Sure, one person or another might say something like, "I pictured the queen a little differently," but on the whole, Adamson has faithfully captured the essence of Lewis's book and given a movie audience the adventure story it expects.
My only real complaint comes with the casting. I think all the actors, especially the children, do an excellent job in their roles. In the book, C. S. Lewis goes out of his way to explain that Edmund is only one year older than Lucy. He never gives specific ages, so the ranges cast in the movie seem about right, but to remain even more faithful to the book, Adamson should have cast an older Lucy or a younger Edmund. But, other than this minor complaint, I thoroughly enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and look forward to Adamson's next feature Prince Caspian scheduled for 2008.
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