Classic Literature on the Big Screen

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2005)

I'm always skeptical about classic literature being made into movies. Too often there's a sense of disappointment when the end credits roll. Too much left out, too much changed, too much just /not right/ about it.
As I walked out of the theater today after seeing Chronicles of Narnia: Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I felt like I had just finished reading the book all over again.
The four children could not have been better cast. I was annoyed by them in the beginning and loved them by the end -- just as I did in the book. They're going to be highly sought after, should the choose to continue acting. Tilda Swinton could not have played the cold Witch better. Even the tepid Southern winters could not stave the chill down my spine. The c-g characters were alive. I swear they were. Even the wardrobe looked exactly how I imagined it.
Very little had actually been left out of the movie, nothing really changed. I'm having to reevaluate my opinion on books-into-movies. The movie is a bit intense for the youngest children, but then, so was the book. I look forward to the rest of the series.
8 out of 10 (from a very tough audience)