The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Tuesday with Paul and his cousin. The film is a spot-on adaptation of CS Lewis’s children’s story / Christian allegory, right down to the little details, like how many mothballs fall out of the wardrobe when Lucy opens it and the titles of the books in faun Tumnus’s home.
My mother reads The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to her class every year, and I was raised on the Narnia series as well. When Aslan, the lion, appears for the first time in the film I was overwhelmed.
Looking at the film, I would go so far as to say it’s more fantastical (and colourful) than Lord of the Rings which limited the diversity of it inhabitants to humans, ghosts, hobbits, orcs, Nazgul, dwarves, elves and Ents. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the variety of magical inhabitants is far wider. One exciting, strategic battle scenes involve centaurs (stunning in their visual realisation), minotaurs, hags, griffins, fauns, dryads and all kinds of talking wild animals, including wolves, leopards, bears, rhinos and white tigers.
Very much in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’s favour is its excellent sense of pacing. Essentially everything in the book is covered in the film’s 2 hours 2 minute running time, but unlike the latest in the Harry Potter series of films, nothing is rushed.
Even though it’s a family film, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe doesn’t soften its edges. Just as with King Kong, people sensitive to animal abuse should brace themselves for some harrowing scenes.
With excellent performances by the children actors, and Tilda Swinton as the White Witch; polished CGI, particularly the way animals are handled; and characters you care about, it’s highly recommended. Hail Aslan.
My mother reads The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to her class every year, and I was raised on the Narnia series as well. When Aslan, the lion, appears for the first time in the film I was overwhelmed.
Looking at the film, I would go so far as to say it’s more fantastical (and colourful) than Lord of the Rings which limited the diversity of it inhabitants to humans, ghosts, hobbits, orcs, Nazgul, dwarves, elves and Ents. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the variety of magical inhabitants is far wider. One exciting, strategic battle scenes involve centaurs (stunning in their visual realisation), minotaurs, hags, griffins, fauns, dryads and all kinds of talking wild animals, including wolves, leopards, bears, rhinos and white tigers.
Very much in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’s favour is its excellent sense of pacing. Essentially everything in the book is covered in the film’s 2 hours 2 minute running time, but unlike the latest in the Harry Potter series of films, nothing is rushed.
Even though it’s a family film, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe doesn’t soften its edges. Just as with King Kong, people sensitive to animal abuse should brace themselves for some harrowing scenes.
With excellent performances by the children actors, and Tilda Swinton as the White Witch; polished CGI, particularly the way animals are handled; and characters you care about, it’s highly recommended. Hail Aslan.
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