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

Year:  2005

Filming:  Color

Length:  143 minutes

Genre:  Adventure/Christian/Family/Fantasy/Inspirational

Maturity:  PG (for fantasy violence and some scary imagery)

Cast:  Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie), Skandar Keynes (Edmund Pevensie),William Mosely (Peter Pevensie), Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie), Tilda Swinton (Jadis, the White Witch), James McAvoy (Mr. Tumnus), Liam Neeson (Aslan), Jim Broadbent (Professor Kirk)

Director: Andrew Adamson

Personal Rating:  5 Stars

***

    In addition to the content itself, some films hold special significance because the nostalgic childhood memories they drum up. In the case of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, my fondness for it derives both from this and the fact that I think the producers did just about everything right in bringing C.S. Lewis’s Christian classic to life for a new generation of youth.

    Georgie Henley stars as Lucy Pevensie, a British refugee child fleeing London during the Blitz in WWII. Along with her older siblings, Peter, Susan, and Edmund, she is sent to live at the estate of a mysterious professor in the English countryside. While playing hide-and-seek in the mansion on a rainy day, Lucy stumbles across a large wardrobe which she chooses as her hiding place. To her amazement, she discovers a magical land covered in snow on the other side. Studying a lamp-post stuck in the ground, she encounters a quizzical faun named Mr. Tumnus who invites her to have tea with him at his home.

    But what should be a peaceful environment is under the icy spell of Jadis, the White Witch, who styles herself Queen of Narnia. She is afraid of humans because of an ancient prophecy that they will bring about her overthrow, and orders all those who encounter them to turn them over to her. Tumnus intends to this, but he soon comes to be quite fond of Lucy, and helps her escape back through the wardrobe. When Lucy returns to the "real world", her siblings refuse to believe her fantastic story. However, she manages to return to Narnia and is followed by her brother Edmund, who encounters the White Witch first hand.

   

    Playing on the boy’s rivalry with his siblings and love of Turkish Delights, she manages to convince Edmund that she wants to adopt him and asks him to bring his siblings Narnia to be his “servants” when he reigns as prince at her royal palace across the mountains. Reuniting with Lucy before exiting the wardrobe and returning to their world, he proceeds to deny that he has ever been to Narnia, making his sister look like either a liar or mentally unstable.

    However, eventually all of the Pevensie children found themselves drawn into the wardrobe and the magical kingdom on the other side. Befriended by the very chatty Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Lucy and her siblings are informed about the prophecy that puts them at the center of Narnia’s redemption. But when they are encouraged to rendezvous with the all-powerful lion, Aslan, on the other side of the country, Susan insists that they return to the real world before any of them can get hurt.

    But Edmund has already started on his way to the ice palace of the White Witch lured by her false promises of a princely life. Instead of finery, he is ordered to divulge the whereabouts of his siblings, which he does, still not completely aware of the Witch’s intent. Then he is thrown into her dungeon where Mr. Tumnus is being imprisoned. Meanwhile, the beavers and Pevensies manage to escape Queen Jadis’s wolves through an underground tunnel and are told that Aslan is the only one who can possibly save their brother from the White Witch.

    As they embark on the perilous journey across Narnia, signs of life are gradually returning to the icy landscape. Father Christmas, who has not visited in generations, brings the children presents of a serious nature: Peter receives a sword and shield; Susan, a bow and arrows; and Lucy, a bottle of special nectar that has the power to heal all wounds. When Father Christmas comes and goes, it becomes increasingly apparent that spring is coming to Narnia. Meanwhile, the White Witch realizes her power and fading and becomes even more desperate in her methods.

    The Pevensies finally reach the resistance camp and meet Aslan, who agrees to help them rescue their brother. After Edmund is taken to safety, Aslan has a private talk with the boy and tells his siblings that his betrayal is not to be spoken of in a gesture of forgiveness. But the White Witch calls a parley and demands that Edmund should be delivered to her for execution according to her ancient claim on all traitors. Aslan offers himself in exchange, and slain with a dagger on the great Stone Table. Meanwhile, Peter must rise to the challenge of leading the army of Aslan in his stead, even though he is almost certain of defeat. The result is the ultimate battle of good vs. evil to determine the fate of Narnia and the power of sacrificial love in the face of blinding hate.

    Although I disliked the Narnia books in my youth, this movie gave me a fresh perspective and deeper appreciation for the mind of C. S. Lewis. I am impressed with the way he managed to lace Christian allegory into a children’s fairy-tale in a way that could be appreciated by anyone, and watching the film actually made me wish I could have a conversation with the author. Also, as I mentioned, memories from my childhood makes me get a little emotional revisiting the wardrobe and its many wonders.

    There will be constant comparisons made between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings film franchises with regards to both plot and visuals, and LotR will always win the prize for more complex and sophisticated contest on both accounts. But here’s the thing: they really shouldn’t be compared since they are totally different entities. Tolkien wrote the first “adult fantasy”, and as such the movies have an almost mythological feel to them. Lewis meant his Narnia to be more of a classic bedtime story containing a profound message of redemption through a Christian allegory. Both accomplished what they intended, and both should be appreciated as such.

    While both may be edifying and deeply religious pieces of classic literature, for me personally, I find LotR a much more disturbing thing to watch, and if I just want to enjoy myself, I’d happily go for Narnia any day. For a family-friendly fantasy flick, I thought this had a nice balance of human emotion and decent special effects. Some of the CGI may have been a bit cheesy in some of the scenes, but overall I thought it was tastefully handled. I was especially impressed with the majestic climax in the battle sequence which was achieved with sweeping grandeur but barely any gore. 

      For a family movie for young people (I hesitate to say “children” because I’ve seen it shelved it the “Teen” section, and I think that fits just as well), the acting was pretty good. I’ll admit that the way the children interacted with the "mythical creatures" struck me as a bit hoaky, and their manner of speaking in general used modern lingo as opposed to the type speech used by British people in the 1940's when the story is supposed to be taking place. But for what it was, it was definitely decent enough. I particularly found Tilda Swinton to be the perfect pick to play the White Witch, because of her ability to deftly switch from gentleness to wrath. I also thought the relationship between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus was darling, and they had a good chemistry on screen.

  

    Anything involving Aslan appealed to me. I was a bit leery at first how the film would portray the Great Lion, since it would similar to the difficulty Biblical epics have with portraying Christ. But I think the producers clinched it. He is not only powerful and awesome, sacrificial and sorrowful, but also capable of joy and laughter. He is “real”. Liam Neeson did a great job on the voice, and the computerized lion really looked like a lion. My two favorite scenes involving Him prominently have to be his parley with the witch and subsequent death on the Stone Table. I love His line: “Don’t speak of ancient magic to me, Witch; I was there when it was written!”  

    The execution sequence is quite intense, and I think fully earned the rating “PG” for this film. The details of having the minions of darkness cut off Aslan’s mane and beat him before strapping him to the Stone Table brings Christ’s torments vividly to mind in a new way. Also, I found it poignant that a boy named Peter should be chosen to lead the lion’s army in his absence. C.S. Lewis was not a Catholic, but he had a high-church view of many things. I cannot help but wonder if perhaps it was an intentional reference to “the rock” on which Christ said He would build his Church. Even if it wasn’t pre-planned, it’s worthy of being pointed out as another layer of interpretation.

    The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a delightful family film and spiritual exercise. Perfect for Easter, it still achieves what Lewis intended, giving the timeless story of Christ fresh color through the medium of a fairy-tale. Standing out as a technical achievement in contrast to the BBC adaptation from the ‘80s, it may not be Tolkien, but it is a triumph in its own right, and a finely-crafted addition to the fantasy genre.  

Peter Pevensie (William Mosely) prepares to lead Aslan's Army