Rich, generous adaptation of the book

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2005)

While I'm not too familiar with the book or the faithfulness of the film to it, I'm told by reliable sources (my sister) that it is faithful in important parts-such as the death of Aslan. I found the film very enjoyable and rewarding. While living in England as a little boy in 1981 or 1982, I saw the original BBC adaptation of the book and was blown away by it. Now I'm very curious as to what it was I saw that so amazed me as a little boy. Perhaps it will appear quite hinky or cheesy now-perhaps not. Be that as it may, this film I found very enjoyable. Adamson, the director of Shrek, uses special effects as they should be used-judiciously. While the effects were sometimes unconvincing-such as one shot in which the children are standing in the foreground with the sky behind them-possibly while the children were walking toward the White Witch's home.
By and large though, I found the film to be an exuberant and lively endorsement of the adaptation of books. The book is such a classic but yet it seems to have been quite happily received. I found the director kept the essence of the story-between good and evil-in focus and this holds the focus of the story quite clearly. Adamson keeps the compelling story front and center and does not get waylaid by the temptation to animate or enliven a film with flashy but ultimately unnecessary special effects. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch deserves an Oscar nomination, in my opinion. She was so effective that one can imagine that she might get hate mail in which her character is confused with her real personality. She seems scary and that is the sign that an actor or actress has fully inhabited a character. One really dislikes her and roots for Aslan and the children.
Ultimately though, I would give immense credit to director Adamson for restraint in the creation of this film. He could have easily submitted to the temptation to enliven the film with special effects but he realized that CS Lewis had already written a book that, if adapted quite honestly, would play powerfully by itself. This is a wonderful and inspiring film.