Has it's Flaws, but Still A Lot of Fun.

Rating: 7/10 (24 January 2006)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the tale of 4 children in London who get sent to live with a professor in the London countryside to avoid the bombings of World War II. There the youngest, Lucy, finds a magical wardrobe that is the entrance to another world called Narnia, a vast landscape of eternal winter placed under a spell by the evil White Witch (who is portrayed marvelously by Tilda Swinton.) Her siblings, Peter, Edmund, and Susan all do not believe her, until one day they all find themselves tumbling through the wardrobe themselves. Once in Narnia, the White Witch, who is the self-proclaimed ruler, tempts Edmund to betray his siblings in exchange for goodies. As the other 3 try to find Edmund, they come to find that as children of Eve, they are the ones who will fulfill the prophecy of Narnia and bring end to the 100-year winter.
Narnia: tLtWatW, like many other series of books set to film, feels a lot like a demo to something much larger. Much like the Harry Potter series with The Sorcerers Stone, this film works more like something that is setting the solid foundation for the Narnia's yet to come. The film has a very surreal and intriguing feel, yet it lacks in a lot of critical areas, such as acting and development.
The cast of Narnia is almost entirely made up of unknowns and that works both for and against it. With the obvious sequels due out, we now have a lot more time to know and love the 4 Pevensie children. However, their time in tLtWatW is obviously spent getting a feel for what is expected of them, and that isn't to say that makes their performances bad per say, just curiously lacking. The character development of Nanria is hurt primarily by the hurried pace of the film itself.
From the very beginning the viewer doesn't care too much for the overly obnoxious Edmund, and the film never really gives Edmund time enough to make a second impression. Also, the advancement of courage displayed by Peter, while admirable and enjoyable to watch, unfolds in too short of a time without much reasoning. The roles of the children, with the exception of the always-lovable Lucy, just cant seem to keep up with the fast passed enchantment of Narnia.
While the look of Narnia itself, at first glance is stunning and quietly beautiful, a closer look shows a much more static environment that leaves a lot of room for capitalizing on in the next installment. For pure enjoyment sake, Narnia looks great, and has a lot of nice touches, but to achieve the level of the aforementioned Harry Potter sets (who was also lacking in its first attempt) there is a large amount of static to be removed from the sets and a higher level of set to actor interaction that must be achieved.
The good thing however, is that with the previously mentioned, none of them are particularly big enough details to take away too much from the overall look and feel of Narnia.
It might sound like I am I being a bit hard on Narnia: tLtWatW, and I really don't mean to be. This film is a lot of fun and has a lot of enjoyable aspects. The creatures the children come across; the beavers, Mr. Tumnus, the Nanria equivalent of Santa Clause, a centaur, the frightening and magical White Witch and of course the great lion Aslan, are all beautifully done and are what really make Narnia so much fun.
The special effects are another aspect of the film that deserve a lot of credit, they are done extremely well by sfx group WETA, and they are the backbone in bringing the world of Narnia to life. There is one particular scene where Edmund calls an archery air strike on the advancing enemy, an air strike that shows the magical transformation of arrows into phoenix, that is very much applause worthy.
The only fault that I hold Narnia: tLtWatW inexcusable on is the uneven bridge between the literature and the film. The film adaptation of Narnia leaves a lot to the minds of those who have not read C.S. Lewis's novel. When Lucy first enters Narnia she encounters Mr. Tumnus not 15 feet from the wardrobe entrance, which is in no way secretly hidden from the inhabitants of Narnia. If the land of Narnia is under the curse of eternal winter, why don't the Narnians just leave? Is it because they are forbidden to go through the wardrobe? It can't be because they don't know about it, with 4 children just passing through it and all. And why is there a war waging in Narnia, what happened there? It's the obvious questions like these that director's just cant chose not to answer on the assumption of everyone already knowing the story.
All in all, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a film, if not taken too seriously, can be a lot of fun for everyone watching. While the film lacks in a few areas it has more than enough in its favour to make it worth your time. There are not many films today that can be honestly enjoyed by the whole family, and Narnia is one of those films. Narnia: tLtWatW left a lot of room for advancement, and with other obvious future Narnia films yet to come, we can expect fantastic things from this series.