A beautiful, yet flawed realization of a classic tale.

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2005)

Directed by Andrew Adamson; starring Tilda Swinton, Jim Broadbent, Georgie Henley and others; and based on the beloved classic series by C.S. Lewis.
I distinctly recall the controversy generated the day it was announced that this film was going to be made, knowing fully well that C.S. Lewis' believed that his material would have been reduced to laughs in the face of limited technology. However, it is pleasing to report that his concern takes a back seat.
The story focuses on the Pevensie siblings (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) who are sent away to a reclusive and odd scholar in the countryside, to escape the perils of war. As typical kids, they wander around the house, trying best to entertain themselves. A game of hide and seek eventually sees the youngest (Lucy) going into a wardrobe, which transports her to the land of Narnia. Immediately, the the audience is besieged by a beautiful wintry Zion of sorts and a host of colorful characters which populate the landscape. However, as we come to learn there is a reason by the land is in a perpetual state of winter and there is a prophecy held to be the truth across the land, involving the children. Narnia, is ruled by a wicked witch (played with such imaginative flair and passion, it's disconcerting). Tilda Swinton, again proves her mettle and is terrific in the role. The kids form alliances with several species (all talking animals of sorts) and come quickly to accept their respective roles and seek an audience with Aslan (the Lion) to assist in what quickly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I must admit in reading the books, I only caught onto the Christian themes very late (towards the very end of the first book). The movie dramatizes this to great yet still limited extent. Additionally, whilst the cast is led by the omnipresent Swinton, the kids (relatively new to screen) do not appear to remain in character from time to time. The strongest of the young cast is Edmund, a character that many would love to hate. Although his transfiguration on film is slowly progressive, we never really appreciate why he is that way; something which the book beautifully captures. This is one such "lost in translation" moments. Notably though, there are times when fans of the series can hear the beautiful words of Lewis captured on screen. Those who were also attracted by the distinctive British sensibility of the series, will also be a tad disappointed.
On the effects side, there are some really odd moments where you can easily discern "blue screen effects". One might wonder, that Director Adamson, would have done well enough to simply leave those scenes out. However, on the other hand, his deft helming of both Shrek movies, does give him a great foundation to produce the magic he finds on occasion.
While the movie never quite reaches epic proportions or cannot really be considered standard kiddie-fare, it does maintain a sense of wonderment and charm, which worked so well within the primary source material. Despite its flaws, the film is a beautiful realization of a classic tale and gives hope to the future development of the series for the big screen.