An amazing fantasy cult favorite and an instant classic.

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2007)

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, is my number one favorite fantasy film.
This is because it has all the right ingredients. The score, the acting, the story, the imagery, its all incredibly well done. And because it's the first in the series, and director, Andrew Adamson's first live-action film I could excuse the minor flaws.
The plot is interesting enough to capture the audience's attention and the pace is done well enough so that the audience stays with it. The film is about the Pevensie children who are sent to live in a house in the English country side while their father is fighting in the war. Their mother stays behind but they cannot because of the bombing raids that have been occurring: the introduction where we actually see a bombing raid is quit exiting. And so while the children are entertaining them selves in the mansion by playing hide and seek, the youngest, Lucy, finds a large wardrobe to hide in. the wardrobe that Lucy hides in turns out to not have an end in fact it leads to a parallel universe. And so we enter Narnia. A few other events take place and soon enough all four children are in Narnia and cannot leave. It's not because the portal disappeared, but rather they feel morally obligated to stay and fix the problems they have created and to fulfill a prophesy. But this prophesy turns out to be delayed a bit when Edmund, my favorite character, betrays his siblings and all Narnia by siding with a tyrant known as the white witch.
NARNIA is a great film because even though it is one out of a million other fantasies aimed at kids, it stands out because it has such a whimsical quality to it. The colors, the lighting, the characters, it all adds up to a magical mix of atmosphere.
The score is perfect. The songs played during the battle sequence is beautifully moving. As well as the music during a citrine scene which I cant say too much about since it would be a major spoiler.
The mythology in NARNIA is also enjoying to watch. It seems like a mix of Greek, Roman and western European mythology. I must say every shot that includes a Griffin is marvelous. This mythology of creatures also insures some key characters being animals. And some of my favorites include two talking beavers who happen to be marries. Also the character of Mr. Tumnus is a very nice one who seems to contribute to the plot greatly although not too many people noticed that.
I would have mentioned Aslan in the previous paragraph since he is also a talking animal, but because he is the god of Narnia and an amazing character that has gone down in fantasy history, he deserves a paragraph for himself, although maybe only a book would be able to do him justice. Aslan is the god of Narnia and like the god that religious people believe in on earth, he is completely mysterious. Its not always clear why he does or doesn't do the things he does or doesn't do, but it does always seem to work in the end. Aslan, along with all the other Narnian creatures, is created amazingly by the film makers. There are so many incredible shots of him. He is also voices perfectly by Liam Neeson.
I think what makes me respect this film so much is the fact that there was so much love that went into making this film. And of course that is a very important ingredient in film making.
So I would definitely recommend this film to everyone, watch it, and buy the DVD. I got the 4-disc edition and its great, if you're a fan you should buy nothing less than the 4-dosc set. It includes more special features than the 1 and 2-disc editions plus it has a feature-length documentary on C.S. Luis, the author of the beloved NARNIA book series.