Beautiful and faithful translation to film

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2005)

This version of the first Narnia chronicle is visually beautiful and in most respects, faithful to the CS Lewis book. The story is set up well, and it moves without losing any of the crucial plot details in the book. The four Pevonsie children are well-acted and believable, and the housekeeper is properly frightening.
However, there are some problems with the film adaptation that are less noticeable in the book. First, the Narnia of the film is almost too beautiful, pristine and serene, without any note of harshness of the 100 year winter caused by the rule of the witch, or the sense that the landscape has been depopulated by war. The return of Azlan to fight the witch with his army is introduced without comment on where he--or they--have been all this time. Finally, and perhaps most seriously, the resurrection of Azlan, which Lewis intended as a parallel to Christ's resurrection, is the pivotal moment of the book, but is made unbelievable in the film. Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, by expecting anything to be "believable" in a world populated by talking beavers, foxes, badgers, not to mention centaurs and fauns, and where everyone has lived through a 100-year long winter yet still believes in the eminent return of their lion king, but I was disappointed by the way the death and resurrection scene was handled.
That said, the film does a satisfying job overall of conveying the fairy-tale escape to Narnia. The casting is superb, with Georgie Henley as Lucy giving the most outstanding performance. Take a kid if you must, but don't miss it.