The movie won over this skeptic

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2005)

I should start by saying that I LOVE the books. They are among my favorite books of all time and I still re-read them as an adult. I've worn out copies of some of them. So, when I say I was skeptical, it was not of the story, but of the ability to translate it onto film and do it justice. I was terrified that Aslan would end up being silly - and the story doesn't work if Aslan comes off as silly. I was worried that they would make so many story changes that I would no longer recognize it and would spend the entire movie comparing and contrasting the book and the movie. On the flip side, I was worried that it might just not work on film for people who didn't know the books. But, my doubts are cleared up.
This is truly a masterpiece. There are some flaws. And some differences between the movies and the books. But there is nothing that guts the characters or the story or the world of Narnia. Well, there is one thing. It is in some ways a minor thing. But, in C.S. Lewis's Narnia, NO ONE would EVER ride a Talking Horse except in an emergency (the battle would qualify, the later scene would not) and if they did, said horse would not be wearing a bridle. The Talking Beasts of Narnia are free creatures just like all of us - the implication that Phil becomes "Edumund's" horse is just flat out contrary to the rules Lewis established for the way Narnia works. It sounds like a small thing, but to those who really love the books, it is no small thing - it is a very big thing, actually. That said, big thing or not to the world of Narnia, it is a very small part of the movie, so I can overlook it. The rest of the movie was magnificent.
My only other nitpick is that they didn't give the White Witch blood red lips - the one descriptive piece Lewis gave about her - and he gave it several times. I also found it difficult to believe that Edmund would be deceived by her beauty and apparent kindness, as he was in the books, given the way they played her. But, that aside, the performance was outstanding.
The children were absolutely wonderful. I thought the effects were terrific. There were some logic inconsistencies - like why the White Witch doesn't just kill Edmund so there are no longer four to sit in the thrones ... but that's an inconsistency that is never explained in the books, either, so I must fault Mr. Lewis for that one.
Some of the changes are for the better. For example, Lewis's blatant sexism is gone, much to my relief (I always had to overlook that in my enjoyment of the books - rather like his blatant racism in the books that address Calormene). Some changes, I suspect, were for pacing reasons. Some were to explain plot points without a narrator (like showing the air raid and bomb shelter sequence). None of them cut the heart of the story or of any of the characters, however and almost none of them were inconsistent with the work of C.S. Lewis. And THAT is what I was really worried about.
I love the nods to book fans - the little details that people who hadn't read and re-read the books would miss - Lucy leaving the wardrobe door open, and Edumund shutting it ... "he's not a tame lion".
My only other comment, and it has nothing to do with the movie really, is that someone really needs to teach Alanis Morrisette (I think it was her) how to pronounce "wunder kind" - she butchered it repeatedly and it was distracting.
In the end, I walked out of the theater relieved - and planning to see it again, and buy the DVD and hoping that they would make the rest of them. So, yes, it was a big hit with me! And Alan Lee did another superb job designing a magnificent movie!