Well Done!

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2002)

This is as good as one might hope for in a movie adaptation of a children's series of books. While I watched it, it brought back a flood of memories from my school days, both good and bad.
I thought it was a bit like Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) in places, and C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia in others. Also, I can't help but laugh at the witch hunters who use labels such as "pure evil" and "witchcraft repackaged". Here, as in all timeless stories, magic is incidental. What does shine through all the pretty images and special effects is the story of a boy who wins a struggle against great odds, who resists great temptation and makes real friends who love him enough to risk their lives for him.