Faithful to all who venture into Narnia

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2005)

When I had first heard that "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" would be hitting theaters, I practically shouted with glee. It had been about seven or eight years since I had read all the books, and the upcoming film persuaded me that now was a good time to revisit the land of Narnia, which I encourage all to do (it takes a steady-paced reader only three to five hours to finish the book).
I had anticipated that the movie was going to add its own bits and pieces here and there, since the book is not so heavily detailed on the actions of its characters (the emotions and feelings, however, C.S. Lewis delves into particularly). I was correct in assuming so, but I believe the additions to the movie were very effective from the cinematic storytelling standpoint, the only scene that seemed a bit far-fetched being the melting ice river. Overall, the movie is a faithful representation of what the book is, which is what I had hoped to see upon watching it.
Though apprehension comes with knowing the movie will star four child actors, the children did exceptionally well with their roles. They were not perfect by any means, but their overall performance was crafted very well. The voice acting was superb, and even though I always seemed to imagine Aslan's voice as a much deeper, booming voice, Liam Neeson delivered well and stuck on to me after a few moments.
The computer generated effects were mostly outstanding. Yes, the battle scene was definitely not as glamorous as Lord of the Rings, but the size of the battle in Narnia was just right; ultimately, much of it was left to the imagination of the director and screenwriters, since C.S. Lewis covers it only briefly. What they did come up with fit well into the scheme of the film.
I believe that the film is best viewed right after having read the book. Though many movies based off books have failed miserably in the past, today's slew of movies is being helped greatly with modern technology and the fantasy genre in particular (a la LOTR and Harry Potter) benefits well from it. Narnia has now reached its time for the same conclusion.