Good attempt to give a much-loved Narnia story the "epic" treatment.

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2005)

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe had already been filmed twice prior to this 2005 version, once as a rather mediocre cartoon in 1979 and once as a modest-budget BBC mini-series in 1988. It had never been done on a grand cinematic scale though, possibly because of the phenomenal expense and technology needed to bring it to life in a manner true to the essence of C.S Lewis' book. The catalyst for this latest attempt to tell the story was probably Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy. Having seen in Jackson's films what could be done - what monsters could be put on screen, how epic battles could be realised, how fantastical worlds could be visualised, and so forth - the folks at Disney decided that the time was right to have another go at this Narnia favourite, only this time they've thrown a mega amount of money at it, as well as every type of visual trickery under the sun. The result is certainly a stirring and well-made piece of entertainment, and easily the strongest adaptation of the story thusfar.
During WWII, four children are evacuated from bombed-out London to an old mansion in the countryside. They are Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgia Hanley). The mansion belongs to an old professor, and the children are warned by his crusty maid that they must behave perfectly whilst in the house. Pretty soon boredom sets in, and the children decide to play hid-and-seek to pass the time. Young Lucy chooses to hide in a wardrobe, but she gets quite a surprise when she finds that the wardrobe is actually a magical entrance to a fantasy kingdom called Narnia. One by one, all the children find their way into Narnia via the wardrobe, and they discover it to be a kingdom locked in a permanent state of winter by the evil magic of a powerful witch (Tilda Swinton). The witch has long ruled over Narnia, turning all who oppose her to stone. However, she has always feared the words of an age-old prophecy that states her reign of terror will come to an end with the arrival of four humans in her kingdom. Afraid that the children are the four humans of the prophecy, the witch deceitfully lures one of them - Edmund - onto her side and tries to turn him against the others. Meanwhile, Peter, Susan and Lucy travel across Narnia, evading the witch's wolves every step of the way, and eventually meet the mythical lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) who prepares them for the final battle against the witch and her monstrous army.
At 2.5 hours, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is a well-rounded and well-developed film, though perhaps a bit too long for very young audiences. The special effects work is pretty impressive on the whole, with a convincing gallery of beasts and some magical sets that really capture the child-like wonder of Lewis' stories. Some of the CGI effects in the battle scenes are a little obvious and detract slightly from the spectacle. The performances are good on the whole, particularly the four young actors and Swinton as the despicable witch, plus James McAvoy as the faun Mr Tumnus. One thing, however, that I found really unconvincing was the way that novice swordsmen like Peter and Edmund managed to cope so well on the battlefield.... surely the witch's army would have despatched with the pair of them quite comfortably if they'd fought so inexpertly?? It is an enchanting tale which has stood the test of time, and thankfully the scripters have stuck to the story faithfully in most aspects. On the whole, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is a good, solid family film and a long overdue effort to do a version that is worthy of the source novel.