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Is there anything more exciting for a bored child than to discover a portal that opens into a magical world of fairies and fauns, where a majestic lion battles a bad witch? That's the premise of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Walt Disney Picture's version of the first book in Lewis' seven-volume, allusion-rich, and allegorical exploration of Christian theology. During the London Blitz, four English children (The Pevensie children, ages 12 to 17) are evacuated to the country, into the care of an eccentric old professor. Soon, the children stumble upon a wardrobe in an unused room. Like Alice in Wonderland, the wardrobe is the portal to another world. Once they cross the threshold, they go into a magical world. As the Pevensie kids enter Narnia, they have to face some unexpected truths. Jadis the bad-tempered, cold-hearted evil White Queen (Tilda Swinton), holds all of Narnia in her frozen grip. Their sudden, but expected arrival triggers a call to war. And the lion king messiah Aslan returns to lead the way. Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keenness), older brother Peter (William Moseley), sister Susan (Anna Popplewell), and, the youngest, Lucy (Georgie Henley), will have to face great challenges as they fight alongside Aslan to return Narnia to the glorious kingdom it used to be. As fantasy films go, Narnia tells a relatively easy-to-follow story, clearly designed for a younger audience than The Lord of the Rings. The typical core family values theme of the Disney movies mixes its brand of Christian family values with popular English sentiment. Despite comparisons to The Lord of the Rings, Narnia has more in common with both The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan, since all three stories involve children who escape day-to-day pessimism to experience wild adventures. High-tech special effects enable the filmmakers to breath life into exotic and beautiful creatures of myth and fantasy. Fauns with the legs of goats, half-human and half-horse centaurs, and a magnificent lion that talks and leads an army of gnomes, fairies, beavers, hawks, and foxes are some of the visual marvels this movie offers us. Director Andrew Adamson (Shrek) makes an impressive live-action debut, getting engrossing performances from his young cast and grafting a nice world of special effects, giving The Chronicles of Narnia an impressive start as another family classic of myth and fable on the big screen.Read full review
A great way to entertain yourself. Just pop "The Lion, the Witch & The Wardrobe" into your DVD player and you're set if rain forces you to stay inside. The movie is very good with image effects, but does deviate from the book at several times. For one thing, while the book says that the kids were evacuees from London during World War II, the Blitz was added on especially for the movie. The book was probably set in late-1939, which saw the biggest-ever of all the evacuations of women and children from London and other big cities in Britain. By the time the blitz was underway, evacuation was down to a trickle as most Britons were determined to tough it out together. Another area where the movie deviated from the book was that the kids hid in the closet, not because they broke a window playing ball, but to hide from the lady of the house as she was showing guests around. In this version of Narnia, Peter and Susan are portrayed as a little more immature than in the book, often given to making sarcastic comments to each other, which is typical of teenagers. They look more like 21st Century teenagers appearing in a movie that just happened to be set in 1939 or 1940. This edition of Narnia is far more dramatic and emotionally charged than a BBC version which was released at the end of the 1980s. This version feels like a movie, not just a videotaped stage play and brings all the movie and film technology of the 21st Century to an old story.Read full review
It is hard to make a movie from a book that matches the images which the readers have created in their mind's eye. The difficulty is compounded when the book is widely read and beloved. Producers want a return on investment which means the script writers and the directors tend to focus on that which is cinematic rather on that which may be more of the 'essence' of the book. Such is the case with the "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". The book is about trust and belief, good and evil and redemption. The battle is but a climax where the choices made are proven true or false. The movie, while addressing the core issues of the book, spent too much time on the battle leaving the movie with a feel of Lord of the Rings 'lite'. The first third of the movie where the children flee London during the blitz, their stay at the Professor's manor, the discovery of Narnia through the wardrobe and Lucy's and Edmund's interactions are very well made and true to the book. The middle section was also well made, but to much was demanded of the child actors and they don't quite pull it off. The last third of the movie, which mainly deals with the battle, swamps the rest of the movie. Here is where the producers and the studio have mots influenced the film. They seem to have decided that its the Lord of the Rings demographic for whom they are making this movie. The CGI in the rest of the film is both good and, no doubt, expensive. In order for the movie to pay for itself, and to ensure sequels, they need a block buster, and block busters are not make without huge action set pieces. A pity really, because "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is not a huge action book. Its about a little girl who finds magic and believes in it. Also, as a parent, I will not let my child (currently six) see this movie until he's 9 or 10. We do however read the book together and there he finds his own magic and wants to believe in it too.Read full review
Being 49 years old, and experiencing the thrill of seeing one of your favorite childhood stories (and I have no reservations about admitting that I have reread these stories several times in my adult years) brought to life with such skill and devotion is almost impossible to describe. I took my 12 year old granddaughter to the theatre and we embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. The only other movie experience I can compare this to is the making of the LOTR trilogy. To sit spellbound and watch a story unfold in pictures in this way is nothing short of miraculous. To finally put faces to well-loved characters and have the visual aids to finally SEE the story and not just read it, really Rocks! The movie cast and crew stayed true to the storyline and feelings invoked by the novel, adding amazing color and life to a classic story. So many books have been made into movies, with changes to the storylines and other disappointments, but you definitely will not be disappointed by this seamless effort. Make sure you see it right away and buy it so that you can see it again and again.Read full review
I am an avid reader of the Chronicles of Narnia. I go through the books once a year, so I was really excited to purchase this movie. The movie is very well done, but does disappoint in a few ways as it strays from the focus on the central character--Aslan. The lion is the heart and soul of all seven books. All of the characters in the book performed their marvelous deeds because of Him--not necessarily because of any natural skills or morals they possessed. The movie did not convey this. The sets were gorgeous, but the photography could have been better. Some of the scenes were shot from angles which took away from the depth and grandeur of the filming location. Other scenes were magnificent. The charge of the animals and humans in the final battle was breath taking! The acting of all principle characters was believable--especially the little girl who played young Lucy. The screenplay, though strong, could have been deeper. Still, I recommend this movie to all. There is much to be loved and appreciated in it. I hope Disney produces film versions of all seven books. Buy this movie, you will love having it in your collection. Don't forget to support one of the fine Ebay sellers when you do.Read full review
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