Disneyfying a classic

Rating: 3/10 (12 December 2005)

There've been quite a few rave reviews of this film, but many of them are raving about the story. The story is undeniably excellent -- there are reasons it has stood the test of time. It's powerful and resonates to adults and children alike.
This adaptation, however, was tremendously disappointing. Adamson made the strange choice of cutting out or glossing over several moments in the book that, while small, were pivotal indications that the children were in the process of maturing -- growing from the uncertainty and fear of childhood to the strength and responsibility of young adulthood. This was an important theme in the book; by removing it from the movie, the children are boring, static, and mostly unchanging. Protagonists that do not change through conflict don't make an interesting story.
Moreover, due to this being a Disney film, there was no blood or actual violence. This is a book with violent and bloody moments -- battles, deaths, and a pivotal scene of torture and sacrifice. In the movie, at the end of this sacrifice, Aslan looked like a cuddly stuffed animal, not a broken, dead victim. When Edmund was stabbed, there was a little spot on his shirt; no actual blood. There was no sense of the danger Edmund put himself in to destroy the Witch's wand if you couldn't see the repercussions. Why would Disney option a story with crucial violent and bloody scenes if they weren't willing to depict them?
The CGI animals were beautifully done -- the beavers, Aslan, Mr. Tumnus. Excellent. No surprise from the director of Shrek. But the green-screen work was some of the worst I've seen in the last ten years; I dread seeing this on DVD if it looked that bad on the big screen.
That said, I'd give high marks for the acting. The children did very well with what they had, Mr. Tumnus was one of the high points of the film, and Tilda Swinton took my breath away every time I saw her. Aslan was very well-voiced. Good acting can make up for a whole lot of sloppy directing.