Memories unlocked

Rating: 8/10 (24 September 2006)

Chronicles of Narnia, a movie that will stay with me forever and ever. Why do I say that? Well it gave me back a memory that I had all but forgotten. The memory of seeing the cartoon with my grandmother when I was a little girl.
Starting off in the United Kingdom, four children named Peter (William Moseley), Lucy (Georgie Henley) Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) are in the crossfire of a war between Americans and the Nazi troops of Hitler. They are shuffled out of their home in London to a country home of Professor Kirke (Jim Broadbent).
Once there they find that life there is very dull and bleak. Until the youngest child, Lucy, finds a wardrobe that takes her to an enchanted forest ruled by an evil witch. Right from the start she makes a friend of Mr. Tumnus,(James McAvoy)the Faun. She goes back and tells the tale, but her siblings don't believe her.
That is until the second youngest child, Edmund, follows his sister to the forest. Once there he meets the evil white witch (Tilda Swinton) and her coachman Ginarrbrik (Kiran Shah). The witch gives Edmund something to eat and drink and then allows him to leave.
One day later all four children go to the forest, thanks to Edmund and a fly away racket ball that flew into the window and broke an armor suit. Once there they go and find out that Lucy's friend, Mr. Tumnus, was taken by the white witch, for treachery. They then meet up with Mr. Beaver (Ray Winstone) and his wife Mrs. Beaver (Dawn French).
Edmund goes to the white witch's castle, only to be disappointed and captured by her. You see, she wants to make the prophecy which tells of two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam coming to Narnia to stop evil and make peace happen again not happen. Edmund meets Mr. Tumnus and then he is whisked away to find his family.
The beavers take Peter, Susan, and Lucy to see Alsan (Liam Neeson), the great lion. He will help them in getting back their brother. The white witch kills Aslan, only Aslan doesn't die, he is brought back, because he wasn't a traitor.
The climax of the film shows Peter, Edmund, Aslan, Susan and Lucy fighting the White Witch (with a wide assortment of creatures called Hags, Red and Balck dwarfs, Centaurs, Fauns, Satyrs, Cheetahs, foxes and wolves.) and winning back the peace of Narnia. Fifteen years later they are riding threw the woods, looking for a white stag. Lucy finds the way back to the wardrobe and they return to their young selves. The ending shows the Professor telling Lucy that she cannot get back into Narnia. That he already tried that and it didn't work.
I found this movie to be a good memory for both young and old audiences. It doesn't only give memories, but it brings back old ones. It is fun for the entire family, old and young. I had to give this film an 8 out of 10. Can't wait for the second one to come out.