Well-Made And Enjoyable But Slightly Disappointing Adaptation Of Fantastical Children's Classic

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2009)

The Pevensie children - Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan - are evacuated from London during the Blitz to a rambling country house. There they discover a magical wardrobe which leads into a mystical land called Narnia, where it seems they are destined to free the inhabitants from the tyranny of a cruel witch
This is the first theatrical filming of C.S. Lewis' classic fairy-tale, and is the faithful, big-budget, spectacular imagining it deserves, as Narnia with all its talking beasts and myths and legends are brought vividly to life. It captures the essence of the story well, as the children stumble into the adventure and shudder with anxiety and disbelief as they learn that they are monarchs in waiting, expected to do bloody battle to save the kingdom. It also doesn't water down all their faults; Lucy is sweet, but Edmund is greedy, petty and jealous, Peter is pompous and stiff, and Susan is just a bit boring. Henley and Keynes are both very good as the younger children, Neeson is an inspired choice for the voice of Aslan and McAvoy is terrific as the faun Mr Tumnus. Swinton is odd as the Witch; her blank, imperious looks are ideally suited and she is suitably nasty, but she never quite dominates the proceedings as she should. I guess this isn't my favourite fable - it's well written and imaginative, and I like the religious allegories, but I tend to agree with the criticism of Lewis' writing as too conservative and morally superior, which is reflected in the film. It does have a great score by Harry Gregson-Williams however, and was shot in a myriad of differing locations - the Czech Republic, Poland, New Zealand, Los Angeles, Shropshire and London. All in all then a mixed bag; a spectacular but not entirely successful adaptation of a terrific yet flawed children's classic. It's a treat to watch, but not nearly a match for Peter Jackson's J.R.R. Tolkien films or the Harry Potter movies in my view. A word on chronology; this was the first of the seven Narnia books (written in 1950), but the events of the prequel, The Magician's Nephew, take place before it. This movie has since been followed by a film of Prince Caspian, which is the fourth book chronologically, but was the second to be published. Confused ? The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe was first filmed as a British TV serial in 1967, then as an animated TV-movie in 1979, and then again as a BBC serial in 1988.