The Chronicles of Narnia: My View

Rating: 3/10 (2 January 2006)

My analysis is solely based on the movie and NOT on the books!!
I have four major qualms with this movie: a) the simplistic way in which four main human struggles are presented b) the simplistic/inaccurate way in which human tendencies are presented c) overall fake way the movie is filmed in general d) the simplicity of its conclusion
a) While watching this movie, four main human struggles were presented (though feebly): i. old vs. young- The classic struggle of young children versus the mean, old guardian-like figure seems to creeps its way into the film. It seems as though there are two sub-groups of old vs. age presented in this film, one being the children against the new, old guardians (the "professor" and the "housekeeper") and one internal struggle between the eldest children versus the youngest. The mean, old "housekeeper" is in part the reason that all four children discover the secrets in the wardrobe, for they fear that they will be chastised for breaking a window. The film also presents the struggle between the eldest children and the younger ones for they do not believe they have found a magical land in the back of a wardrobe. ii. woman vs. man- The film presents an aspect of women versus men. For example, the youngest child is a girl while the eldest is a boy, and it seems as though they find it difficult trying to identify with each other. Also, the lion is presented as a man and the evil witch is obviously a woman. iii. good vs. evil- Obviously the film is all about good vs. evil, and of course is solved by a wonderfully happy ending. (the bad witch vs. the good lion) iv) brother vs. brother- Another struggle simplistically represented in the film, the competition between an older, wiser, more handsome brother versus a younger, less wise, less handsome brother who is driven to betrayal. The movie tries to present the difficulties two brothers have with internal, family competition and is of course solved at the end of the film. *All aspects are seemingly solved at the end.
b) There are three human tendencies seemingly represented throughout the film: i. females are always compassionate, sympathetic- Three scenes seem to represent this aspect best: the two sisters watching the execution of the lion, the witch killing the lion, and the sisters weeping over the lion's dead body. As the witch is about to kill the lion, it almost seems as if there is a tear in her eye, for girls should be compassionate (of course!) and not evil. The sisters cry as the lion is being executed also signifying the fact that females tend to be tender and sympathetic. The scene in which the sisters stay next to the dead lion as the two brothers prepare for battle also signifies the aspect that females should always be tender (weak?). ii. females can be conniving- The witch is presented as a seemingly nice 'ruler of Narnia' when the youngest brother meets her. Then, of course, the witch is found to be conniving and truly evil. This almost seems to convey the notion that females can be outwardly kind but can become vicious, conniving individuals. iii. men are always ready to fight- The scene in which the sisters are crying as the men are fighting also represents the aspect that men are always prepared to fight. This simplistic realization is sometimes downplayed by the individual acts of the youngest girl. She seems to be presented as a brave, young, daring girl when she persists on saying that they must fight the war that they caused.
c) I found the filming utterly unbelievable. The battle scenes were very much like the ones seen in Lord of the Rings, and it seems that the director spared no expense in making them. Yet, there are individual scenes in which you can tell that the children do not see animals. Perhaps its due to bad acting, but it sometimes seemed that the animals were not there (obviously they are not).
d) The conclusion seems to bring every struggle to a sickening, unbelievable, simplistic conclusion. The children are all crowned "Kings and Queens of Narnia" bringing the whole aspect of old vs. young to a close since the old lion will no longer rule Narnia. Also, as the children roll out of the wardrobe, the professor asks where they have been and the children do not respond for fear that he won't believe them. Yet, the professor surprisingly says to "try me" (me- meaning him) perhaps settling the issue between the whimsical, young children versus the old, wise professor. The conclusion also seems to solve the whole issue of women versus men in that each child is crowned (not only the men), the witch is no longer living (for she is killed by the lion), and the fact that the brothers now accept the youngest, female child's whimsical story. The death of the witch, the 'resurrection' of the lion, and the crowning of the children all signify that good has beaten evil. Of course the two brothers are now pals as they each equally rule over Narnia, and the brother versus brother competition seems to be over. The film's simplistic representation of the basic human struggles, tendencies and its overall fake/copy-cat-like filming undermines the overall message. The movie almost belittles humans and signifies the fact that humans will inevitably have war. The beginning of the movie presents four young children trying to escape a war, but in the end they are each faced with a different, magical war. They become passionate about the cause, and it seems as though the movie presents the fact that humans will fight for a cause they feel deeply about. Maybe I am just an idealist, but I don't think that way. Perhaps this movie is only to be considered children's entertainment.