lame

Rating: 1/10 (12 December 2005)

very disappointed by this film. it's poorly written with unimaginative dialog; production design really below par - the white witch's dress looks like a trash can wrapped in drapery fabric; even the editing was sloppy (the kids are running from wolves, as the shot changes, we actually see them waiting on their mark when the director apparently says "action" and they start running again - lame!); special effects are really poorly executed - it has none of the "seamlessness" we were wowed with in lord of the rings (in one scene the girls are riding the lion as he runs full-tilt through a forest, the girls robes hang limp and motionless as if they are sitting on a chair...); even the character make-up was less believable than many "b" horror movies - tufts of fur glued to the fawn's arm look like plugs in a bad hair transplant.
the film relies far too heavily on the "cute" factor of the child actors without developing them as complex characters or giving them anything believable to do. bland but saccharine sweet, their performance frequently reminded me of old shirley temple movies.
might be o.k. for small children, but definitely not for the sophisticated child or adult.