"What were you children doing in the wardrobe?"

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2006)

This movie joins the legion of films based on books I was supposed to read as a younger kid, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a solid adaptation of the CS Lewis novel. For this uninitiated viewer, I found aspects of other fantasy movies sprinkled in the story, with some elements of greater theology thrown in there for good measure. Tilda Swinton plays the evil White Witch (though we never find out how she becomes so powerful or how she recruits her followers) who proclaims herself the ruler of Narnia. The kingdom resides in the back of a wardrobe in an English countryside home where four children flee to during World War II's Battle of Britain bombardment of London. While trying to hide from the housekeeper, the children enter Narnia where they become entangled in the war between the white witch and animals of Narnia, lead by a lion named Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson). The kids, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are used by the Witch to proclaim war against Aslan's forces, setting up a battle sequence right out of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. The prodding by the White Witch reminded me of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies, perhaps shedding light on the source material for George Lucas and his mythology. There is also an undeniable religious slant to the pivotal Aslan scenes, as the parallels between Aslan and Christ cannot be overlooked. It's not a bad thing, and critical viewing of this movie could be used to discuss stories of the Bible without overtly discussing potentially dicey topics. Overall, the movie is entertaining, though a tad long, I thought some scenes could have been trimmed, allowing the story to flow better. The beavers (voiced by Ray Winstone and Dawn French) are not only funny and bring some levity to an otherwise heavy movie, but the animation is top-notch, producing believable beaver tour guides for the characters and viewers. Lovers of the book will like this movie, while other viewers may be entertained in the levels of mythology featured in the movie and their relations to theology.