very colorful... very what-the-public-likes... very empty... very American

Rating: 3/10 (4 January 2006)

I've been looking out for this film for some time, and was anxious to see it. Now i've seen it... and i've seldomly seen a worse book to film translation. Taking into consideration this is an incredibly good fantasy story.
The film itself looks great. Visual effects were cleaner then ever and everything was vibrant and full. Sure this is needed for this big a story. 3 CG companies worked on it, and it show's. They did their part perfectly... bravo, another step forward in CGI.
The story on the other hand - lacked almost everything that makes the book what it is. The book has a grand depth which makes these big fantasy stories work. It's not about the talking animals, but why they talk... it's not about the fact the 'god' is a lion, but it's about why he's a lion. This is what makes the book work on so many levels. The movie only worked on the shallow end. Aslan was far to weak compared to the book's character. The BBC version of narnia portrayed aslan as a being to be feared and loved at the same time - that is Aslan - incredibly powerful. In this movie he lacks the huge wisdom on one hand and the power on the other. A tame Aslan. Disney's Mufasa from the Lion King was twice as strong as this Aslan, and Aslan from the book is much more then Mufasa's character.
The audience had to laugh about the adult peter at the end of the movie - and that's about the worst thing that can happen to a story like narnia's. He resembles 'prince charming' from Shrek 2 - who was portrayed as a self-absorbed egotistic figure. Incredibly big flaw...
These are a couple of the bigger faults - but the whole movie is desaturated in the same way. If you read the book and find this film satisfying in comparison, please read the book again, because the book is meant to tell much much more then this movie does. This film ended up in the McDonalds-commercial category. Very sweet... very colorful... very smartly adapted to what-the-public-likes... very empty... no vitamins, just a short lasting good taste.
There were some good parts. The Lucy character was nicely done, and really made an imprint. The other 3 didn't... i couldn't describe their personalities if i was asked now. Which negates Lucy's quality.
I've seen about a zillion stars for this film, but i really, really don't understand. Maybe the big posters and the visuals indeed are enough. The quality of Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings must be very much underestimated if this movie gets this high a rating. Hope Disney chooses another director, because Narnia requires someone deeper... and less American.
Walt would never approve.