...He's not a tame lion.

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2005)

I read all of these books very young. I have since reread LW&W a couple times since my teens. From reading them and the cartoon version that used to be shown on television every year before cable TV this story has always been a big thing with me. I saw the BBC version of this and I liked it because it really followed the story but it was like watching a play, with the silly costumes and the plywood sets.That version had two things going for it, a very neat and well sounded out Aslan and a wicked and convincing witch, this one over- acting to a perfection.So when I heard a long time back Disney was remaking this I thought, hmmm well have to see, I didn't think they would put out anything but cute fluff and I thought they would drown out Lewis' Christian allegory somehow. Well I was wrong.This movie is fantastic and a nearly perfect adaptation.The children were excellently directed and did not annoy me at all, which many child protagonists in film do.The little girl's expressions of wonder were actually believable.Edmund's treachery and the price he paid for it were right on, that kid that played him nailed some decent moments of complexity with the character.Peter and Susan were more shallow ,but those kids did them well, and I am sure we'll see more of both of those young actors as the grow. Aslan was a sight. The CGI made me think I was watching a real lion king.Neeson was totally perfect as his voice.Every time I've seen Liam in the last few years I've thought what a power he's become in acting, from silly crap in Next of Kin and Darkman to Rob Roy, Batman Begins, Kingdom of Heaven has been quite a career to watch.Now he has really nailed it for me, his voice giving the power and inflections that Aslan must have truly made the movie work.Only a few other actors could do the same and to have cast them would have almost seemed too cliché-ish,i.e James Earl Jones,Sean Connery. Now about Jadis.This woman that played her really gave her her own spin that as a whole did,in fact, work.The actress's stare alone was worthy of the white witch.In the BBC version the woman that played her over acted and was excellent in her attempts to cover her evil while trying to seduce Edmund.Well this Jadis was not over acted but was acted with a sinister style and a meanness that did give her over as the portrayal of evil to Aslan's good.Plus I liked her in her War Witch regalia. So In conclusion , well done Disney.This rivals LOTR in action and story if that what your looking for. Remember now, Tolkien's masterpiece was a thing in size and scope that is hard to comprehend, check out the Silmarillion for proof of this, he wrote Middle Earth's history from creation to LOTR, approx. 5000 years.Lewis work has no-where near the back story and history , I believe he meant to just get a out a good fantasy yarn with a Christ message.For deeper Lewis work read the Space Trilogy, the second book Perelandra could be made into a true horror film and it also is very Christian/Creationist based.Adam and Eve, Satan, and God are characters in this one.The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is great viewing , see this now.