Leave it to Beaver(s)

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2005)

A truly inventive, oft times breathtaking journey into the fertile mind of C. S. Lewis. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is refreshing; it tells a "simple" story in a simple manner yet is anything but simple. Four siblings need to be placed in a home during the blitz in WWII and come to the huge manse of one Professor Kirke. There they find a huge wardrobe which sometimes acts as a portal to another world. I never read these books as a child but will go back and read them now. The story is allegorical and symbolic to be sure, but for those of you that do not want to be bogged down with that - have no fear it isn't needed at all to enjoy this. The rest of the story takes on a Lord of the Rings scope as good vs. evil in the form of the four youngsters(now in a mythical world called Narnia) and aided by Aslan a giant of a lion fight the wicked White Witch and her evil minions for supremacy. Director Andrew Adamson, also from New Zealand(like Peter Jackson), is able to pull off much in this his first full-scale non-animation film. Previously he directed both Shrek films. Adamson hits a couple of slow patches early on but his world that he created comes bursting to life on the screen with vibrant colors and weird, fairly believable characters. There are many weird creatures such as a centaur, a pair of cockney-speaking beavers, and a pack of deadly wolves. The film ends with a typical battle scene but that is done rather well at any rate. What makes this film work besides the energetic direction and the imaginative script is the acting. The four children all do a reasonably good job: a must when having youngsters perform as protagonists. None of them is particularly detrimental. The young girl playing Lucy is particularly good. Liam Neeson lends his mighty voice to the Lion - a feat of filming. The two digitally created beavers are also most impressive and bring lots of subtle laughs to the proceedings. But the real star if you will is Tilda Swinton giving lessons on how to be wicked and look as pale as ever. Swinton plays evil almost too well. Jim Broadbent plays the professor and even though his role is minor, his presence is necessary. A very good film.