Review of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) by Daniel M — 10 Nov 2013

"For Narnia, and for Aslan!".

The Narnia book series written by acclaimed Christian author CS Lewis are some of the most beloved children's books out there, particularly the first book, The Lion. The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The book was such a timeless and flawless story, and when it was announced that Disney was making a film version, there were concerns on whether they can pull it off, but in the end, not only was the film a massive smash, but it's actually an enjoyable fantasy adventure.

The film is about the Prevensie children, Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley), who are sent to the estate of a professor (Jim Broadbent) during WWII. During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers a mysterious wardrobe, which inside the wardrobe, is a magical land called Narnia, filled with talking animals and snowy winters, due to an eternal curse made by the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton), where there's no Christmas. After more encounters, the rest of the children become involved in the problems in Narnia, due to a prophecy involving four human children with power and uses the help of a faun named Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), some wisecracking beavers (one voiced by Ray Winstone), and the true Narnia ruler Aslan the lion (voiced by Liam Neeson), in order to defeat the evil witch once and for all, though it proves to be difficult Edmund has a crush on the witch.

The film also features Kiran Shah as the witch's dwarf servant Ginarrbrik, Elizabeth Hawthorne as the professor's servant Mrs. MacReady, James Cosmo as Father Christmas, Rupert Everett voicing a fox, and Dawn French voices Mrs. Beaver.

First off, visually, this film is incredible. Never before have I seen the most realistic portrayal of snowy landscapes. It's beautiful cinematography, probably some of the best in the 21st Century. The special effects were provided by Weta Workshop, who's also best known for their incredible visuals in The Lord of the Rings films. While LOTR visuals were extremely mind-blowing and far superior, Weta still succeeds in creating first-rate visuals for the world of Narnia. During a chase sequence involving wolves, I was literally believing those were real wolves appearing on screen threating to eliminate the children. Mr. Tumnus the faun had really believable faun legs, the lion Aslan look super realistic, and an action sequence involving flying eagles is as stunning as the flying eagles in LOTR. And speaking of action, Narnia features a stellar climactic battle sequence that showcases Weta's phenomenal digital creations at the highest levels. There's also a phenomenal score featuring epic themes and emotional levels all around by the vastly underrated Harry Gregson-Williams.

The acting was solid, but nothing truly to praise much about. The two biggest stand-out performances here were Tilda Swinton being menacing and brilliant as The White Witch and Liam Neeson giving an emotional vocal performance as Aslan the lion. Looking back, I was thinking Neeson actually was the lion cause he brilliantly handled the role well. James McAvoy was decent as Tumnus, but was nothing special. And Jim Broadbent as a memorable small role as Professor Kirke. What about the actors playing the Prevensie children? Well, they're OK. Starting out in the business, they were actually not bad, but they were not 100% flawless like Neeson and Swinton are. Georgie Henley was cute as Lucy and probably was the best of the four children surprisingly, but did not handle emotions really well. William Mosely was OK as Peter, particularly in the awesome battle sequence, but was bland when it comes to handling family matters. Anna Popplewell was mostly really annoying as Susan. When she started screaming in tense moments, it got me wanting to grab some super strong ear phones to drown out her screechy voice. But the worst offender? Skandar Keynes as Edmund, the one who wants to fight for the witch. Keynes' poor acting skills didn't make me truly shocked about his betrayal and if I had met the kid on the street, I would have kept him chained in the dungeons for all eternity. But, like I said, these four child actors were just starting out, and they weren't completely horrific as child actors in the past (those kids in Jurassic Park... cough cough...), but there have been far better child actors (Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, just to name a few).

Problems that I have with the actual film include the story being really slow and boring in places (particularly the scenes with the beavers, which is funny cause they build up to the main story), the children arguments aren't really emotionally challenging, and the epic scope is extremely similar, I thought, to Lord of the Rings. When looking at the battle scene, LOTR was being in my brain, and the funny thing is that the LOTR trilogy are cinematic masterpieces. But still, this isn't bad; it's more suitable for younger children who are too young for darker moments in the world of Middle-Earth and is much, much more enjoyable than similar fantasy film Neverending Story. Christians, such as myself, will love it for the references to The Bible (Aslan being a clear reference to Jesus), but even for non-believers, there's still things to enjoy in this fun fantasy adventure.