Disney The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch andthe Wardrobe Widescreen - C.S. Lewis’s classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It’s a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern film making technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids’ movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back.
DVD review of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe—the Chronicles of Narnia
Walden Media has done a wonderful job of recreating the fantasy land of Narnia, first envisioned by C. S. Lewis many years ago. The fantasy creatures (satyrs, nymphs, giant eagles, and of course The Lion, Aslan all look real. The armor and castle looks real as well—almost as though they were filming a documentary or recreation. The acting is wonderful, especially the youngest of the four Pevensie children—for those who don’t know, the basic premise involves four young children who are sent to live in the relative safety of the country during the bombing of Berlin during World War II. The youngest girl, Lucy, finds an enchanted wardrobe in the place that they’re staying at, and despite some mean-spirited teasing by her brother Edmund, all four of them eventually travel from Britain to the magical land of Narnia—which has been under a spell of perpetual winter for over a century. But with the prophesied arrival of the children comes a new hope, for Aslan is on the move. Aslan is the Lion, the great Son of the Emperor, who created Narnia many years ago, and is returning to set things right.
The evil witch, who has brought on the winter and usurped the throne, however, will do whatever she can to prevent that, including corrupting and planning to kill one of the children. It’s a powerful story, dealing with doing what is right, not what is easy, betrayal and redemption, and what the Creator will do to safeguard his creation. The children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia make very good source material, and for the most part the movie doesn’t stray far from that material. For me, the worst parts of the movie are when it does exactly that. The two brothers, Peter and Edmund, are at each others’ throats from the beginning of the movie, and the movie (understandably) tries to make Edmund a more likable character—but unfortunately it does so at the expense of Peter, weakening his character. It’s not a fatal flaw, but an annoyance—and the only thing that prevents me from rating the movie a perfect 5 stars. It’s highly recommended, nonetheless.
Editorial review courtesy of Amazon.com
C.S. Lewis’s classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It’s a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids’ movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).
Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn’t be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it’s the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn’t a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won’t have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children.Disney The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch andthe Wardrobe Widescreen
C.S. Lewis’s classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes anambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It’s a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not aliteral translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids’ movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabitedby mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).
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