Saturday, December 10, 2005
Movie review
Walt Disney Films'
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
by C.S. Lewis
If you can get past the thought of a talking beaver wearing an armor breastplate charging into battle, you will probably enjoy this most famous of the "Chronicles of Narnia". Trust me, that beaver's not as incredible as you might think, he's actually pretty cool. Of course, you will also have to accept other creatures of the mythical land of Narnia such as fauns, satyrs, gryphons, centaurs, etc. along with all sorts of anthropomorphized animals, first among them being the magnificent Aslan the lion (voiced by Liam Neeson).
The story begins with four London children being sent off to a country estate in WWII England to avoid being bombed in the Nazi air raids. The Pevensie children are Lucy (Georgie Henley) Edmund (Skandar Keynes) Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Peter (William Moseley) in ascending age order. Little Georgie Henley as Lucy is one of the most engaging child actors I have ever seen. She not only lights up the screen when she smiles but as she does, for a moment, the world seems to have no troubles or cares. She is totally without guile or put-on, and if she keeps that she will one day make some man very happy indeed. The other child actors are certainly not inferior to Henley, but she can't help upstaging them.
One rainy day the children are playing hide-and-seek in the huge mansion and Lucy steps into a giant wardrobe to hide from her brother. As she moves towards the rear of it she finds herself in a snowy land of almost impossible beauty. There she meets Tumnus the faun, a very likeable creature who is almost as trustworthy as Lucy is trusting. Almost.
A little while later, brother Edmund also crosses over into Narnia and is met by the Queen, who we learn almost immediately is actually the evil witch Jadis, who has condemned Narnia to a perpetual winter without Christmas. Ed is captured by the witch and held as bait for the other Pevensie children. A prophesy in Narnia's past has predicted that the four will liberate Narnia from its hundred year winter and return it to normal climate and that the four will rule as sovereigns over the land. This of course doesn't sit well with the witch-queen, who has become accustomed to having her every command obeyed, so she plots to kill them all and retain her throne.
Reams of analysis has been written about C.S. Lewis' placement of overt Christian themes in his works, but it certainly doesn't hit you over the head. Aslan is obviously a Christ figure, and the fact that he sacrifices himself for the redemption of the Narnians is an obvious allusion to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But that being said there is no preaching; rather, there is a quiet undertone of "doing the right thing" throughout the story, and it is part and parcel of why the story is so powerful. Explains the film's co-producer, Lewis' own stepson Douglas Gresham: "C.S. Lewis' mandate, his main idea about writing for children, included the theory that if a book is worth reading when you're five, it is still equally worth reading when you're 50. So The Chronicles of Narnia was intended to be read to children and by children and also to be read by adults with great joy even to the last days of their lives." The Chronicles of Narnia was meant to serve as allegory in bringing faith to all. I wasn't aware of that when my son was in elementary school and I read parts of C.S. Lewis works aloud to him at bedtime. I just thought they were good stories.
Gresham contends that he has yearned for decades to make his stepfather's world of Narnia come to life on the screen, and in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe he declares he is totally satisfied. Directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2), "Wardrobe" is the director's first live action effort. He chose to film many of the exteriors in his native New Zealand, which automatically gives it a "Lord Of The Rings" sort of look, but much of the story takes place in magnificent snow-frosted woods that are actually located in the Czech Republic and Poland. Adamson's film is gorgeous, as befits someone who cut his teeth as visual effects supervisor on "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin", and it moves with certainty and grace from scene to breathtaking scene.
For the first time that I can recall, the aforementioned talking animals aren't grate-on-your-nerves phony. The wizards at George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic have seen to that. Cheers to the folks who brought it off. The first time you see and hear the malevolent talking wolves in this film, they could very well send a chill down your spine. Other award-winning visual effects teams come from some of the most highly esteemed facilities in the industry: Rhythm & Hues and Sony Imageworks along with ILM. While the filmmakers actually used a live lion in the filming, its face was computer animated to stunning effect.
There is some very realistic looking violence in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but there is also very little blood. Amazingly, it isn't missed. The "hack & slay" hand-to-hand combat looks as flesh-rending as anything in Gladiator. You just don't see any heads rolling or limbs flying. Because of the strong violence, it would not be a good idea to show this film to smaller children. Use your judgement, but I'd say seven or eight years old is probably a safe age for most kids.
Coming up against Peter Jackson's blockbuster remake of King Kong, "Wardrobe" will have its work cut out for it to "bring home the bacon" for Disney. I don't think it will have much trouble.
Comments:
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Great review! I hope you keep up the blog - good writers are hard to come by.
# posted by 
: 10:32 AM
: 10:32 AM
Allen,
Thanks for the kind words. as you can see from my "Why I haven't posted" post, I've been a bit preoccupied.
Even though I finished fifth, just out of the "money", my wife bought me the radio for Christmas!
I will certainly continue to post, as soon as I get back to some semblance of normal.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Dan
Post a Comment
Thanks for the kind words. as you can see from my "Why I haven't posted" post, I've been a bit preoccupied.
Even though I finished fifth, just out of the "money", my wife bought me the radio for Christmas!
I will certainly continue to post, as soon as I get back to some semblance of normal.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Dan
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