Excellent adaptation and heartfelt tale

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2014)

Sometimes certain films can leave a big impact on first arrival, but don't have the staying power to remain in public conscious. Despite a lot of comparisons to 'Lord of the Rings' (often unfavourable ones), I believe 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' is probably one of the best films to recommend to a young person starting out in live action fantasy films, and can stay as an exemplary adaptation of C.S. Lewis' first part of The Chronicles of Narnia.
During the London Blitz of WWII, four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, are evacuated to stay in a professor's house in the countryside. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers a wardrobe that leads to the frozen land of Narnia, and befriends the benevolent faun Mr. Tumnus. She learns that Narnia is ruled by an evil sorceress known as the White Witch, who has made the land "always winter but never Christmas", ruling with an iron fist. Her siblings don't believe her at first, but soon they enter into Narnia with her and become caught in a brewing war between the White Witch and the noble lion Aslan, and must save their brother Edmund and all of Narnia from the White Witch.
The performances from the young actors are all solid; Skandar Keynes manages to portray Edmund as a misguided boy and not wholly malevolent as both sullen and sympathetic, William Mosely and Anna Popplewell provide warm and earnest performances and work well off their siblings, but young Georgie Henley simply glows as the innocent and sweet natured Lucy with boundless emotion and charm and my personal favourite among the Pevensies. Thanks to the added backdrop of WWII, I believe they feel more realized as characters, and it parallels the Narnian war they find themselves in.
Tilda Swinton encapsulates the cold cruelty and commanding presence of the White Witch; her inhumanity and seductive ways can be pretty creepy. James McAvoy brings Mr Tumnus to live right off the pages and I can find no fault in his portrayal. I especially love his interactions with Lucy, bringing a truly innocent friendship to life. James Cosmo even cameos as Father Christmas! In terms of voice acting, Ray Winstone and Dawn French turn in humorous and likable beavers, Rupert Everett has a fun cameo as a fox, and Aslan's warmth and wisdom is conveyed by Liam Neeson's excellent voice work.
By today's standards many argue that the CGI is rather dated and in some instances not well rendered, but it is still reliable in telling the story rather than showing off special effects for their own sake. Thankfully Aslan is consistently emotive, well rendered and animated to the point where you can easily buy into the movie illusion. The digital artistry, New Zealand locations and physical sets blend together to create a lot of beautiful visuals from the lamppost in the wintry forest to the epic battle between Aslan's army and the White Witch. Considering Andrew Adamson's earlier involvement in the first two Shrek films, this was a rather smooth transition from animation to live action film, but not a perfect one. For me at least, there's something incredible about seeing so many fantastical creatures like centaurs, fauns, satyrs, minotaurs and dwarfs amidst griffons, werewolves, lions, leopards, unicorns and other creatures come together to fight for a land of pure fantasy. The accompanying music of Harry Gregson-Williams is gorgeous, with lilting, gentle melodies and uplifting choruses for the many awe inspiring scenes, and it really compliments the film.
While LOTR was a war epic with a serious tone, the final battle feels more like an act of hope, in which Aslan would still be with them in spirit, which fits perfectly with Lewis' allegory of faith. The religious subtext is present but it's not forced, in fact it's rather subtle when compared to the book and anybody may be able enjoy the film without feeling bludgeoned by the religious symbolism. I feel that because of the simplicity of the story and characters, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' feels less engaging and very slight compared to Game of Thrones or LOTR, which is why it skews best towards a younger audience. The focus is largely on the sense of wonder and discovery of Narnia as opposed to the war, unlike LOTR, which I never believed the filmmakers were trying to directly imitate. Ultimately 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is an inspiring and heartfelt film that manages to capture the spirit of Lewis and brings a grand fantasy world to life.