The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

d: Andrew Adamson
w: Adamson, Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

I have the vaguest of notions that I was a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia when I was a lad. I seem to remember checking out the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe often from the school library and watching the BBC programs when they aired in the early years of YTV. Alas, I couldn't recall any of its events to save my life. Aside from the title of the first book and the masthead, I don't think I retained any knowledge of the story or the series.

So I went into Disney's adaptation of C.S. Lewis' work with the slight anticipation of recapturing some lost childhood memories. It didn't happen. In fact, none of it seemed familiar, and at the same time, none of it felt very fresh either. Juvenile fantasy is hot in recent years with the successful adaptations of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and even the readapting of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but for all there successes, this one just falls flat. It doesn't fail, but it also doesn't succeed anywhere near as well.

There's a lot of rabble about the Christian allegory associated with the story, and it's heroic leader Aslan, the titular Lion, sacrificing himself and then later resurrecting (in what has to be one of the most flagrant, and absurd uses of deus ex machina in recent cinema, no matter what the original story says), and really it's completely played down. In fact, it's pretty much tossed out of the story, as I'm sure Lewis had made it much more conspicuous in his prose.

The general plot has a sibling quartet orphansevacuated from WWII-era London. Separated from their parents, they find a new home, and one day discovering that the wardrobe in their new digs is a portal to another land. There, for many years, the land has been ruled by the White Witch, but the arrival of the human children brings forth the prophecy, signalling Aslan's return and the inevitable downfall of the Witch.

And that's pretty much what happens. There's bits about brother against brother (as one of the children allies himself with the Witch in trade for turkish delight), and a lengthy introduction of each of the children to Narnia (which gets a little redundant) as well as some talking animals that help the children. It's fairly straightforward, and, to tell the truth, a little dull. What's more, the Disneyfication of the story means that throughout the entire battle sequence which dominates the final act of the film, there's barely a single drop of blood to be seen... and the battlefield looks entirely too pure for vicious sword combat.

The characters are archtypical, and they don't stray too far from that. Edmund, the traiterous brother gets redemption, but it's also the obvious path. Aslan triumphs, the White Witch gets it and it's a happily ever after with the possibility of sequel.

The production varied from excellent to poor, depending on the scene and characters involved with the scene. Mr. Tumnus (the goat-man) and most of the more innocuous effects were very well done, but a lot of the background compositing was awful, and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver didn't fare much better than if they were in Ice Age 2.

The acting, with notably Tilda Swinton as the Ice Queen, was solid. The children were exceptionally good, particularly Georgie Henley as Lucy and Skandar Keynes as Edmund. Liam Neeson and Ray Winstone provide vocal talent to Aslan and Mr. Beaver, respectively, and are consummate pros no matter what the role.

Quite frankly it was a long movie, and quite dull. It held my interest, but barely. Perhaps through my unconscious familiarity I could tell what was going to come in the story, and I was getting anxious for the events to happen... mainly so it would be over faster. It's nowhere in Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings league as cinematic entertainment.