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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe review
2006.01.03 — Entertainment | Movies | Movie Reviews | by Andrew Cole
The Chronicles of Narnia. [official site] |
The CS Lewis fantasy classic comes to life in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, the Wardrobe, and the Galoshes; Episode 1: The Beginning, Wherein the White Witch Gets Hers, Oi. I think that's the title, anyway. I may have left something out. It stars a bunch of English kids you never heard of. It's directed by Andrew Adamson, the guy who is somehow not famous for directing both Shrek movies. And it's adapted by (gasp!) television people.
The kids... are great. Take note George "I never met a scowl I didn't like" Lucas. |
Somehow, this first of the giant Narnia media franchise films isn't ruined and actually comes off as pretty darn good. The kids—William Mosely, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and and Georgie Henley (by height, descending)—are great. Take note George "I never met a scowl I didn't like" Lucas. The direction is sweeping (actually, it's little televisiony, but you didn't hear it from me). And the writing is not filled with overwrought hand-wringing.
In tone, LWW feels like a cross between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Its scope is huge (from English kids fleeing the Blitz to a battle between the forces of the White Witch and the creatures of the forest) but its brutality is tempered by the obvious need to avoid frightening the little ones too much. This movie isn't for little children, tho. There's enough scary scenes to cause nightmares for sure. Tilda Swinton crackles as the imperious witch. Liam Neeson glows as the mysterious lion Aslan.
[I]ts brutality is tempered by the obvious need to avoid frightening the little ones too much. |
The story follows the children from WW2 London to an estate of "the Professor" in the countryside, a mysterious fellow in his own right who is guarded by an imperious housekeeper. Like all Englishmen, the kids are mostly harmless but do get themselves into a spot of trouble when they choose to hide in a strange old wardrobe
...Which, for younger readers, is a piece of furniture for storing coats and clothes, sort of like an armoire, but without the TV and DVD player in it; they were popular in the old days, before Benjamin Franklin invented the closet, I think.
[T]he female leads don't have much to do. I mean, really, they are given weapons by Santa Claus, for petesake. They should use them. |
The wardrobe is a magical portal to another dimension, where animals talk and people run around with no coats in the middle of winter, which is always, because it's been winter for the last hundred years, thanks to the nasty witch. For no clear reason, the winter begins to thaw, tho. There is a movement afoot to rise up against her, of course, and the children figure into it pretty strongly. You may be shocked—shocked—to learn that a prophecy is involved here.
The special effects are wondrous and the dialog is gentle and wise, but I was disappointed to find that the female leads don't have much to do. I mean, really, they are given weapons by Santa Claus, for petesake. They should use them. No one actually says, "You'll put your eye out, kid!" but it's definitely in the air.
I know there's a weak, silly, token use of Susan's bow at the end. Don't patronize me.
Much has been made of the story as a Christian allegory, but I found it a whole lot less preachy than the Matrix. Future episodes (and there will be future episodes) will probably get scarier and bolder as their audience grows up. If they hurry, they can probably catch Skandar Keynes before he grows a beard, but William Mosely is ready for college (or Iraq); I kept wondering how his character didn't get sent off to RAF flight school.
I never read the original novel, and so was surprised by the film's odd cheat of an ending of the sort I never find very satisfying. It's more forgivable here than in, say, Jumanji, but can't be less of a shock to its characters. In case you're wondering, the wardrobe is never explained (again, Jumanji), but at least we're likely to learn more when next we visit the magical land of Narnia.
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