A movie worthy of Lewis' classic story

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2005)

Narnia: a world created in the mind of C.S. Lewis and transferred onto paper to be shared with the rest of the world. For the longest time it was believed that his world, along with the world of fellow Inkling J.R.R. Tolkien could not be done any justice on a two dimensional screen. The imagination of the writer in combination with the reader was by far superior.
However, both worlds have come to life in a big way. Thanks to some spectacular CGI characters and landscapes, Narnia has been transferred from the pages of this beloved children's series onto the big screen.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are sent off to the countryside during the bombing raids over London. They are taken in by a professor, and find his house suitable for playing hide and seek. During the game, the youngest Pevensie, Lucy, discovers a wardrobe and finds her way inside, only to be transported to the land of Narnia.
While there, she meets one of the Narnian's, a faun named Tumnus. He tells her why Narnia is in the condition that it is, and then allows her to go back to her world.
Lucy then tries to convince everyone else of this world, but nobody believes her. Edmund is the next one to find his way into Narnia, and meets Jadis the White Witch. After giving him something to drink and some candy, she sends him back to bring his brother and sisters to her.
It then happens that one day all the children find themselves running for cover after a mishap into the wardrobe. It is then that the adventure begins.
Other than some scenes where it was obvious that a green screen was used, the integration of live action and animation was simply amazing. The mythological creatures not only looked real, their movements were fluid and extremely believable. And considering the cast was made up of mostly unknown names (other than a couple big names) the acting was superb on all counts.
It may not be a film quite on the scale of Lord of the Rings, but make a note that it is a franchise well on it's way for years to come.