Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
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A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2005 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
Somewhere between Hogwarts and Middle Earth lies Narnia, a
magical, mystical kingdom populated by fauns, satyrs, dwarves, dryads,
hags, nymphs, centaurs, trolls, and a particular nasty white witch.
It's a world made possible through the technical artistry of the
magicians at ILM, WETA, KNB, SPI, HATCH, Digital Dream, Rhythm & Hues,
and SOHO VFX, not to mention director Andrew Adamson.
Adamson, who helmed the irreverent animated fables "Shrek"
and "Shrek 2," might not seem the most obvious choice as the man
behind "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe," the first live-action installment of C.S. Lewis's beloved
children's saga, but it starts to make sense as soon as we encounter
the talking beavers, the first of many loquacious creatures on the
snowy side of the titular armoire.
I didn't spot an ogre or a donkey among said creatures, but Mr.
Beaver's witty asides are about as constant as Donkey's annoying
popping sounds.
The story, if you've never read it, is set during WWII, with the
four Pevensie children--Susan, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy--being sent to
live at a country estate, far away from the London bombings and air
raids. There, during a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy stumbles upon a
magic land while hiding in a wardrobe, and before long she and her
siblings find themselves key participants in a valiant struggle between
good and evil.
Many of us no doubt remember our ungodly disappointment--or undue
satisfaction--to learn that the Narnia chronicles were, in fact, one
large, seven-part Christian allegory replete with the betrayal,
torture, death (and subsequent resurrection) of its leonine, God-like
messiah Aslan at the hands of his oppressors. But the beauty of an
allegory is that you can always enjoy it for what it isn't, and the pre-
teens with whom I saw the movie had absolutely no notion of its
theological parallels.
Casting proves pivotal in Chapter One, with all four of the young
actors who play the children acquitting themselves admirably (the girls
have a slight edge over the boys, with newcomer Georgie Henley
especially good as little Lucy). Likewise, James McAvoy ("Wimbledon")
proves a compassionate foil as Mr. Tumnus, the conflicted faun Lucy
meets on entering Narnia for the first time, and Tilda Swinton is
predictably spectacular as the wicked White Witch, whose usurped rule
over Narnia is threatened when Aslan the lion returns to regain his
rightful place.
On the plus side the film is extremely faithful to Lewis's text,
with only some slight deviations (the children's journey to Cair
Paravel, for instance, was mostly arduous and very un-cinematic in the
book). Less convincing are some of the visual effects (even with that
plethora of acronym-employed artisans on-hand), which run the gamut
from special to so-so (including one particularly obvious blue-screen
shot atop a cliff). Likewise the battles scenes, while impressive,
pale in comparison to the similar warring sequences in the "Lord of the
Rings" trilogy and if it were up to me I wouldn't have "cast" Liam
Neeson as Aslan. A much less-recognizable voice would have worked
better.
Still, as the clearly planned start of another possible franchise,
one that only box office dollars will determine of course, "The
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" makes for a
strong first impression.
--
David N. Butterworth
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