The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

The chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (2005)

by Eric Maus

"Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written."

   As a ten-year-old kid, when I found out that the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis were to be adapted to fit the silver screen, I was ecstatic. Nothing sounded better to me. We were finally going to be given something that would trump the previous pitiful attempts by BBC. And I will honestly say, I was very pleased with what Disney accomplished.

   1940's England. The Luftwaffe is constantly bombing London, and the four Pevensie children are sent out to the countryside to live with an eccentric old professor on his magnificent estate. Lucy, the youngest, discovers a large wardrobe in an empty room. She enters and finds herself in the magical world of Narnia. She meets a faun, who tells her how an evil sorceress, the White Witch, has cast a spell over the land, making it always winter. The witch controls Narnia with an iron thumb, turning all who oppose her into stone. Eventually, all four children find themselves in Narnia, and, with the help of the great lion Aslan, assist the good creatures in the battle to free Narnia forever.

  From a visual perspective, this movie did a magnificent job transferring the book onto the screen. With the help of terrific CG and WetaWorkshop, the world of Narnia comes to life. Massive ice mountains, beautiful glassy seas, snowy forests, and great castles, with fauns, Minotaurs, boggles, griffons, and talking animal to populate them. The cinematography is great, and the soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams is also good, really adding to the feel of the movie. A great range of actors take up roles here, and they all do very well. James McAvoy does a brilliant job as Mr. Tumnus the Faun, while the voice of Liam Neeson adds the sense of majesty required for Aslan. Ray Winstone is the voice of Mr. Beaver, and is just great. Of the four Pevensies, Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy, wins the prize: she is stellar, especially for someone so young. Adherence to the book, as previously mentioned, was also handled very well. They didn't trade out the beautiful story C.S. Lewis crafted for something more modern; the allegory of Christ's death and resurrection is definitely not subtle in this film. This movie really captures the magic of the book. Kudos to director Andrew Adamson.

   Ok, I do, however, think this film had a few rough points. First of all, the White Witch. While still a great actress, Tilda Swinton was just not mean enough. The antagonist of Lewis's book was just pure evil, the devil incarnate. Tilda Swinton did a great job with what she was given, but she's definitely not the choice I would have made. Second, the film makes it all about the kids; it's their story. Aslan comes because of them. In the book, it's the other way around. The kids are brought to Narnia because of the arrival of Aslan. I wish this could have been preserved. Our lives are God's story, not ours. Lastly, although they definitely captured the magnificence and grace of Aslan, he's just too tame, and that's the biggest issue. Remember what Mr. Beaver says to the kids (in the book), "He's not a tame lion." Well, the lion in this film is pretty tame. A more unpredictable and wild Aslan would have been preferable.

    All right, I've made my complaints. I believe if these things had been achieved the right way, we would've had a better movie. That said, I still think this is a good movie, and it far outshines most other book adaptations. (And the fox is awesome. Just sayin'.)