The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe Comes to Life
Written: Dec 15 '05 (Updated Jun 06 '08)
Product Rating:
Pros: Entertaining movie with wonderful visuals and effects. Good cast.
Cons: Too violent and dark in a few scenes for younger children.
The Bottom Line: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was a wonderful movie that is worth seeing, though it isn't for young children.
dragonfire88's Full Review: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the...
Many books that are considered classics have been turned into movies, some more than once. One of the most anticipated movies of 2005 was an adaptation of a book many people all around the world have read and enjoyed. I have been wanting to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe ever since I first saw a preview.
I’m going to say up front that I have not read any of the Narnia books. I do barely remember an assembly when I was in grade school when a group performed scenes from one of the books. I enjoyed that and do remember getting the first book and starting it though I never got very far into it. I think I was in the second grade then, so I may have been a bit too young for it then.
The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, were living in London with their mother during World War II. Their father was fighting in the war. The frequent bombing raids on London made it unsafe for children so they, along with many other children, were sent away from the city. The Pevensie children were taken in by Professor Kirke though they only saw Mrs. MacReady, his housekeeper. The professor wasn’t use to having children in the house, so there were several rules, the most important being that they not disturb him. One day when playing hide and seek, Lucy hid in a wardrobe and found herself transported to a magical land where she met Mr. Tumnus. After returning to the house, none of her siblings believed her. Edmund soon found himself in Narnia and he met the White Witch, the self-proclaimed Queen of Narnia. She gave him some treats. Shortly after that, all four of them ended up in Narnia. Edmund ran off to see the White Witch again since she had dazzled him with promises when he first saw her. The siblings became involved in a quest to help Aslan, a lion and rightful leader of Narnia, defeat the White Witch and bring peace.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was based on the book of the same name by C.S. Lewis. I have never read the book and only had a very vague idea about what would be going on before I went to see the movie. I have read that the movie stayed very true to the book, but I don’t know that for sure since I haven’t read the book. I am interested in attempting the book again now. I do know that Lewis wrote seven books about Narnia and that this one is generally considered to be the first one even though the books have been reordered at some point. I think after that happened, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe became the second book. I really enjoyed the movie and think that people who haven’t read the book yet can enjoy the movie.
This movie has been considered a family movie by many people and the books are considered for children. For the most part, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was a good family movie, but I don’t think it is a good movie for young children. Overall the movie was more serious than most movies aimed at children are. The children were dealing with their father being off fighting in the war and then they were sent away from their home because it wasn’t safe. This is a long movie, and at 140 minutes, it is much longer than most movies aimed at a younger audience. Many younger children just won’t be able to sit still through the entire movie. Two women brought several young children to the showing I was at, and those children were up and down throughout the entire movie. The movie was rated PG so there isn’t anything too extreme or any graphic violence in it. However, I do feel like the movie is a bit too violent for younger children. There is one sequence in particular that I think would be too intense for most children and could be very upsetting for them. The children in the theater when I saw the movie got very upset and made that known to everyone. Older children could be upset by that sequence as well. I’m an adult and it bothered me. It wasn’t that the scene was graphically violent because it wasn’t. I just thought it was very upsetting, especially considering that the movie is supposed to be aimed at children.
The majority of the plot really dealt with a battle between good and evil. Aslan and his followers represented the good while the White Witch and her followers were considered evil. The residents of Narnia lived in fear of the White Witch. She had some sort of staff that she would use on those she considered her enemies. She was not a nice person and she used fear to dominate and control. She would tempt people with things they wanted. When she took over, she made it winter all the time in Narnia, though there was never a Christmas. Aslan had been gone from Narnia for a long time. He was the complete opposite of the White Witch. Battles between good and evil are nothing new in movies, so that aspect of the plot was a bit predictable. I do think it was handled well in the movie. There are some religious references in the movie, especially a few important events. I didn’t feel like the religious aspect was overbearing.
A lot of the movie dealt with characters preparing to go to war. Soon after they all had arrived in Narnia together, the siblings were told about a prophecy concerning four human children - two boys and two girls - who would fight on the side of good with Aslan against the White Witch. Susan, Peter, and Edmund were shown at times doing what they could to prepare for the coming war and practicing. Susan and Peter were given weapons. There was one battle scene shown during the movie. It did seem like a lot of time was given to the battle and showing the different characters fighting. Many were injured, which is to be expected in a war scene, though no blood was ever shown. Peter even ended up in a sword fight. The battle really wasn’t that violent, but it could bother some younger children.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe started off in the real world during World War II. A few minutes was taken to show exactly why it was so unsafe for the children in London before they started their train journey to the Professor’s home. Once they arrived there, a little more time was taken to illustrate how the children weren’t really happy there even though it was a very nice, huge home. Most of the movie took place in the magical world of Narnia. The movie was filmed in New Zealand and the locations around Narnia were absolutely beautiful. I’m sure that special effects were used throughout the movie, though I don’t know exactly for what. I believe that the different talking animals were created with effects along with at least parts of the characters that were a mix of human and an animal and like Mr. Tumnus. I think that Aslan was created with effects, though I have read other things that said it was a real lion and effects were just used to make him talk. However the character was created, it was very well done and looked believable to me. Aslan looked magnificent. I think the effects were very well done. The score matched well with what was going on and did sound a bit magical.
The four Pevensie children were the main characters and at least one of them was in every scene. Peter and Susan acted like they were responsible for the younger ones. Peter was bossy at times, especially with Edmund, which lead to resentment. I didn’t care for Edmund until later in the movie because he seemed to be acting like a brat. It was how the character was written, not anything the actor was doing wrong. He didn’t act very nice to any of his siblings and was just upset in general. I can understand his being upset because of the situation, but his behavior kept me from liking him for a while. His resentment of his siblings left him vulnerable to being manipulated by the White Witch and he was willing to betray his family for her. The actors who played the children were all fine in their parts. Aslan was very kind, wise, and cared about the people of Narnia. Liam Neeson provided his voice and it fit perfectly with the character. There was just something about his voice that made it seem like you were in the presence of greatness. Aslan provided guidance for several of the characters. Neeson has portrayed other characters, in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Batman Begins, that did the same thing. Jim Broadbent had a very small part as the Professor. The character seemed to be kind, though it was hard to know for sure since he was only in a few scenes.
The White Witch was another very important character even though she had less screen time than the children. She would pretend to be kind to get what she wanted, but her true nasty nature would peek through. She was beautiful, though her hair didn’t look the best in some scenes for a beautiful queen regardless of if she was evil or not. She did have some unique looking crowns. Or maybe they were just supposed to be headdresses or hats. Narnia was still in winter when she first appeared and she had a very pale, icy appearance. As the weather in Narnia changed, her appearance changed too. She didn’t look icy anymore, but she didn’t look any less evil. I think that Tilda Swinton was very good in the part. She had a look that was very effective for the White Witch. I have read where some people felt she was too reserved and stiff, but that was just the way the character was. She was involved in the one battle and she handled that part well. Mr. Tumnus was the first creature of Narnia shown when Lucy first traveled there. Part of his body seemed to be that of a goat and the rest that of a man. He ended up being important though is part wasn’t very big. Several other creatures, like the beavers, helped the siblings on their adventure in Narnia without any of them being that developed as characters. I thought that all of the actors did fine with their parts.
Main Cast
Jim Broadbent - Professor Kirke
Rupert Everett - Voice of Fox
Dawn French - Voice of Mrs. Beaver
Elizabeth Hawthorne - Mrs. MacReady
Georgie Henley - Lucy
Skandar Keynes - Edmund
James McAvoy - Mr. Tumnus
William Moseley - Peter
Liam Neeson - Voice of Aslan
Anna Popplewell - Susan
Tilda Swinton - White Witch
Ray Winstone - Voice of Mr. Beaver
Andrew Adamson - Director
While I don’t think that young children should see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I did think it was a very good, entertaining movie. There is one sequence that could be upsetting for some viewers, even adults. People that enjoy fantasy movies should enjoy this one. Fans of the book may also like it.
Follow four siblings who find the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of "hide-and-seek" at the country estate of a myster...More at eCOST.com
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