A very faithful adaptation of the book, but I wasn't overly impressed

Rating: 6/10 (3 January 2006)

I left "Narnia" feeling kind of cold. I loved the books as a child, and most specifically "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which I read numerous times when I was young...but no matter how faithful the adaptation is - story-wise - some elements don't fit into place.
I think it's one of those books that is better off left as a book. The themes and actions that take place in C.S. Lewis' Christian allegory do not translate well to the screen. I felt that something was off. The direction by Andrew Adamson ("Shrek") is commendable, but the second half of the movie is very bright, the animation throughout is quite poor (except for Aslan), and the final battle comes across as utterly silly.
Also, by squeezing the book into a two-hour movie whilst still retaining the essence of the novel, Adamson's film lacks cohesion. It all happens too fast. The characters are rather thin and I felt as if some scenes were handled poorly. For example, when Edmund first meets the White Witch -- if you were a young child who had just stumbled into a world inside a wardrobe, then told by a queen you were going to be the king, don't you think it'd be hard to conceal your excitement? Instead, Edmund returns into the real world, and the only hint we get that he's thinking about Narnia is when a very poor exposition scene occurs with Peter pointing out how Edmund is sulking about.
The course of action in the film is poorly developed as well. One minute they're reluctant to fight, the next minute they're armored up. The problem is that with a two-hour film like this, it's hard to develop the characters. In a novel, it's easier - the general narratives of novels make us feel more attached to the characters. WATCHING them is much different - and it's hard to take their decision to join Narnia's battle against the White Witch very seriously at all.
Also, maybe I was the only one who noticed that young Georgie Henley (who plays Lucy) was always smiling. Not just a happy smile, though. A wicked smile, like she's just played a trick on somebody and ready to savor the revenge. It's kind of creepy. When she cries at the end, it still looked like she was ready to stab someone in the back and break into a maniacal laugh.
Am I being harsh? Probably a bit too much, yes. It's just that coming from a child-at-heart who loved this particular book years ago, I feel the adaptation as a whole is simply mediocre. I felt disattached from the characters, I thought the animation was poor, some scenes were handled poorly, and the final battle was a joke.
Overall, it's worth seeing if you like the book(s). I was personally disappointed by the film, but it seems - judging from its IMDb rating - most people weren't.
Hopefully the sequel will be better.