Too violent for kids, too immature for adults

Rating: 3/10 (2 May 2006)

I watched this DVD because I'm a fan of the LOTR films and CS Lewis apparently wrote similar content to Tolkien. I've never read any of these books though. As a film, this movie fails. It starts of well, the initial scenes with Lucy and the Fawn are delightful and magical. In fact there are probably 3 good performances in this film, Lucy who's acting is a joy to behold, the Fawn guy who does a decent job and Orlando or rather the White Witch who plays the part of an evil witch - just right.
Special effects were not extraordinary by any means. LOTR - FOTR, had better effects by far, while the battles in Narnia were, I think too violent for the target audience. The film is just not serious enough for a mature audience but too violent for little kids, I'd say. There isn't enough substance to this film and it seems to lack spirit, except for a few moments (like Lucy and the Fawn).
I don't think this film teaches anything about Christianity, and I personally think Sailor Moon is more Christian than the pagan celebrations depicted here but then again I never read the book so maybe it's just a fault of this film. Overall - OK for kids, if you don't mind them having to put up with violence like little Lucy having a dagger (to kill orcs with). Fantasy fans should rather watch LOTR, I guess. This film is superficial kitsch, but then again, it's Disney so what can one expect?