Well worth it

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2006)

My sister and I have been waiting for a movie that could do this story justice for some time. As kids, we used to watch a cartoon version that was bland and pretty much boring. My mom taped a real life version off of TV that was a lot more entertaining than the cartoon and we watched that one instead for a while. We recently rewatched it, and I realized that most of the magical creatures (except Aslan, the fauns, and the centaurs) were added in with animation- really bad 2D animation- which pretty much ruined it for me. So I knew that any version that came out now would have to be convincing in its special effects or face my wrath on the IMDb voting polls.
Then this came out. And I knew I didn't have to worry.
Every creature looks real. Even if you can tell it's CGI, it's brilliant CGI and lets you sink into the world of Narnia without worrying about the fact that it's a movie. I was particularly worried about the Beavers, because in the TV version they were played by people in beaver costumes, and I don't care how young you are, you know they're people in beaver costumes. However, the beavers in this are wonderfully played by computer animation, made to look very real while still enabling them to talk, and given some of the best lines in the movie. Aslan, who I wasn't really worried about because they just HAD to get Aslan right, is a great piece of art and his eyes are as expressive as any human's. Liam Neeson is charming and soothing as his voice, completing the picture. The evil creatures are just as convincing as the good, if not as nice-looking. The landscapes are just as incredible as the magical animals, and it's no surprise that the same effects team that worked on Lord of the Rings did this movie too.
The movie's effects aren't the only good thing about it either, thankfully. The screenplay stays true to the book for the most part, throwing in a couple of extra scenes that seem unneeded but provide for some good action and a backstory for the Pevensie family. The movie starts out with an effective air raid scene that is not in the book, and at first I was kind of annoyed, but as the movie progressed I realized that it was necessary, in a way, not to the story but to the movie. In the scene, Mrs. Pevensie is ushering her children to the bomb shelter when Edmund (Skandar Keynes) suddenly runs back to save a picture of his father, who is fighting in World War II. Peter (William Moseley) tries to stop him and when he brings him back to the bomb shelter he yells, "Why can't you just do what your told?" Peter asks him the same thing again when Edmund is hurt trying to save Peter's life near the end.
The cast probably was the most risky part of this movie for its director, Andrew Adamson. Finding convincing child actors who are capable of doing a dramatic film like this one yet actually look their age is tough in this day and age where children are usually the stars of bad screwball comedies. However, the four leads are definitely capable, especially Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy, and Keynes. Both of them are able to show a wide range of emotions, often in the same scene, and Keynes makes the transformation that Edmund goes through after being rescued from the queen perfectly evident through his wonderfully expressive face. Tilda Swinton was not the queen I was expecting after the TV version, but she grew on me, and by the end I had forgotten she was an actress and was riveted in the queen's evilness.
This movie is worth the money if only for the effects, but luckily, your money is spent on a good cast and worthy screenplay. I don't think this will be up for any Oscars other than Best Visual Effects, but if it's up for Best Picture, I'll certainly be cheering it on.