Children's Escapist Fare

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2006)

There's one good rule about the writing of children's stories, that you should never treat children like children. I believe that is the reason for the success of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia down through the years. And it's the reason for the success of this film, sure to take home some Oscar gold this year for special effects if nothing else.
Before writing this review I did a little research on C.S. Lewis. I found that he had started writing this first story of the Narnia Chronicles during World War II. Lots of British families did like the Pevensies, ship their kids to the country side to escape the bombing of cities. They sent them abroad if they could afford to.
What Lewis did was bring his Christian background and a vivid imagination in creating an escapist world for four kids who were in an unfamiliar area in the first place. These kids faced the real prospect of losing one or more parents and siblings. Enough of them did.
Like American kids grow up on cowboys and Indians, British kids grow up on Knights of the Round Table and Robin Hood. Add some animals who all have the souls of humans, some mythical creatures, a wicked witch, and the King of Beasts and put these four Pevensie kids through a magic door and you've got Narnia.
By the way I don't think it's an accident that Aslan, the Christ figure in the film is a lion. Remember the British national symbol is also a lion. Lewis didn't have the saviour of the kingdom be a Russian bear or an American bald eagle.
I'm also sure that the success of the first book had a lot to do with the fact that it was published in 1950 at the height of the Cold War which a lot of people thought could get hot any minute. Parents wanted escapist stuff for their kids and for themselves as well. I'll bet reading all The Chronicles of Narnia was a secret pleasure.
I think this film will be a guilty pleasure for a lot of folks.