December 10, 2005
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Georgie Henley .... Lucy Pevensie
Skandar Keynes .... Edmund Pevensie
William Moseley .... Peter Pevensie
Anna Popplewell .... Susan Pevensie
Liam Neeson .... Aslan (voice)
Tilda Swinton .... White Witch
James McAvoy .... Mr. Tumnus
Ray Winstone .... Mr. Beaver (voice)
Dawn French .... Mrs. Beaver (voice)
Jim Broadbent .... Professor Kirke
Elizabeth Hawthorne .... Mrs. MacReady
People are, naturally, comparing the movie to the book. I haven’t read the book in over 20 years so I really can’t go there. There were people in the theatre who were (self proclaimed) Narnia experts. I heard them afterwards stating that they were very happy with the movie because they felt it faithfully followed the books and that, while they wished certain lines from the books had been included, overall, they were happy.
People will also compare this movie to Lord of the Rings. And how can you not? The majority of the movie was filmed in New Zealand, the director is from New Zealand, some of the same actors/stunt people were in the movie, and WETA did the creature effects and armor. Not to mention the fact that CS Lewis and Tolkien were literary companions and good friends so there are bound to be influences.
And of course, the majority of people are also talking about the Christian themes that are weaved throughout the movie. CS Lewis was a born again Christian (I hate to use that term because it makes him sound fanatical) so his stories all have some element of his faith in them. Yes, the Narnia series is allegorical, but they’re still good books. And it goes without saying that the movie will have those elements in them. There are a number of movies out there that all have the same themes of forgiveness, redemption, friendship, and Christ-like figures in them (the Star Wars saga comes to mind).
Now, with all that out of the way, I can move on to what I actually thought of the movie.
Special Effects:
Overall, the effects were fine. I think that a certain amount of wonder has gone out of the CGI these days because people are so used to it. When you see a big battle scene these days, you know that part or all of it is CGI and while you do get a sense of excitement of the battle, part of you knows that it’s not real and it takes away from your enjoyment a bit. However, the CGI was done beautifully in the battle sequences and for some of the animals. There were a couple of non battle scenes that you could tell were CGI and not done well, but I don’t think it marred the movie.
Acting:
The 4 children were excellent (and if you ever saw the BBC version of LW&W, by comparison, these kids should be getting Oscars), especially Lucy and Edmund. My only complaint about the characterization of Lucy was that they didn’t set her up enough as the kid who had a great imagination. I mean, the other siblings make mention of it when they’re in the country and they tell the professor that they don’t believe her, but I felt that Lucy wasn’t really fleshed out as a teller of tall tales so that there was more weight to the other children’s disbelief of Lucy. You basically don’t get any sense of Lucy until she steps through the wardrobe. And whoever cast the older Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund did a spot on job for Peter and Lucy. Older Peter pretty much looked like younger Peter, with facial hair and longer hair. Interestingly enough, older Lucy was played by the older sister of younger Lucy.
Tilda Swinton was excellent as the White Witch. She was very convincing as an evil woman who will do whatever she needs to get whatever she wants. So much so that it was almost difficult to figure out why it was so easy to lure Edmund over to her side.
I didn’t realize until the credits that Liam Neeson did the voice of Aslan. He did such a great job of drawing me into the character and not have me thinking “oh, it’s Liam Neeson.”
Plot/Storyline:
No holes as far as I could tell. And the pacing went along fairly decently although the movie did feel longer than its 2 hours 12 minute run time.
Summation:
Decent acting, decent special effects, good plot/storyline. I felt that the PG rating was a little low, especially for the amount of scariness and killing that was in the movie. Definitely worth full price to see it on the big screen.