"This Way for the Numnums." Or maybe not!

Rating: 6/10 (20 January 2006)

Expectations aside - lets just look at this movie from a technical aspect. The settings were lack-luster and Narnia seemed didn't look at all enchanted. The characters were weak and performances lame (with the exception of Lucy and Mr Tumnus). For 4 children to suddenly find themselves in a magical land they seemed to take everything in their stride and were pretty unfazed by the strange creatures and environment around them. When they were told they were part of a prophecy and were to become Kings and Queens of Narnia they didn't bat an eyelid or ask 'WHY??' or 'Who is this White Witch ... how did she become the ruler of Narnia ... Who is Aslan?' In fact none of these essential aspects of the story were explained to the viewers. A movie is a story that unfolds and should involve the audience ... if we're not informed then we can't really connect with the story. And please ... Santa gives weapons (of mass destruction) to Children!! hahaha The pace of the movie was way off ... slow to start and then too rushed, which didn't help with character development.
Is it just me or did Narnia seem like a tiny place ... there was no sense of scale.
Beaver's cockney rhyme really irritated me. I guess it's the Shrek 'laugh here' device that's supposed to be funny - but it was corny as hell.
There were two saving graces for me - the whole Mr Tumnus scene (beautifully acted with lots of subtle nuances)and the White Queen's gimp, well not him but his priceless line "This way for the numnums!" I laughed my ass off at that.
Anyway I was disappointed in general but I'm sure kids will love it for what it is - a pure Disney fantasy, but for me I'm sorry to say a poor adaptation of a classic book.