A truly beautiful film

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2005)

When Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings into an epic trilogy, I knew that someday soon my favorite story as a child would come to life. This film is everything I could have hoped for. The special effects were amazing. When the various creatures spoke, it didn't seem like a puppet was speaking, it seemed like the animal was actually speaking. And I don't think anyone has ever managed to make CG fur look this realistic. I am also very impressed with the centaurs. They blended a real person on what was probably CG horse. These centaurs were about 100 times better than the last centaur I saw, which was in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This is also a wonderful film about forgiveness and how families will always stand by one another, even in the darkest of times. This aspect of the film is well acted by all four children in the leading roles. No film is perfect, however. There is at least one shot where the children are very obviously against a backdrop, though I do think there is at least one shot like this in every effects laden film. And while the centaurs are quite impressive, what I think are supposed to be Minotaurs are not impressive at all, they just look like guys in big fury suits, which is probably what they are. There has also been a lot of controversy about how this is some sort of Christian propaganda story, which it's not. It's a fantasy just like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars. I'm really surprised more controversy hasn't been raised over the fact that you basically have children leading others into battle. This idea is kind of a risky notion in today's political climate. This idea will probably go over most children's' heads, but it is definitely something to think about as an adult. I saw this film in an auditorium full of children, parents, grandparents, and teenagers and the end was met with thunderous applause. This is a truly beautiful film that appeals to the young and the old in all of us.