Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Skandar Keynes (left), and William Moseley in a scene from the movie, 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. - CONTRIBUTED
THE CHRONICLES of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the C.S. Lewis novel by the same titles, roars with rich sentiment and wit. The film is beautiful to look at and entertaining, combining comedy, drama and action. It is down right enjoyable. It is a story of love, loyalty, fantasy and heroism.
Though the quest to conquer evil in a land peopled by mythical creatures brought beautifully to life by wonderfully rendered CGI may allow the story to bear some similarities with the Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia is a much less bloody version. As such, it maintains PG friendliness without losing its entertainment value for adult audiences.
A TRULY FANTASTIC TALE
The story works for the same reason that Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings do. It is a truly fantastic tale (literally) that plays with both the ideas of good versus evil and the underdog overcoming great odds. It is a world where animals are not just animals. They speak, fight and love just as people do. There are your regular animals like horses, hedgehogs, wolves, foxes and of course the great lion. There are also mythical beasts such as centaurs, fawns, gryphons and unicorns.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, the four Pevensie siblings, two daughters of Eve: Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) and two sons of Adam: Peter (Skandar Keynes) and Edmund (William Moseley), find that after entering a wardrobe, whose magic is in more than its beautiful craftsmanship, they become the stuff of legends. Even so, they are unable to leave behind the nature of sibling rivalry as the older children attempt to parent the younger two.
Though their parents had sent them to live with their uncle to avoid World War II, they find themselves in the midst of another battle, this one of mythical proportions. They are guided in their battle against the White Witch, by the lion, Aslan.
A BEAUTIFUL SCRIPT
The combined efforts of Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely create a beautiful script. The dialogue is wonderful with several great lines that ought to walk out of the cinema perched on the lips of the audience. Additionally, the story is wonderfully peopled by great characters, which only enhance the stimulating dialogue. Through effective CGI and Liam Neeson's voice, Aslan is magnificent, beautifully representing both the majesty that one would expect from a lion as well as that of the messiah figure.
Of course, all the good guys in the world would be absolutely worthless without a villain worth fighting. Tilda Swinton, who had also portrayed Gabriel in Constantine, creates an absolutely fabulous White Witch. You delight in despising her from the moment you meet her and she proves to be deliciously wicked. Her secret police, the wolves, are also quite delightful.
With this film, Disney may have found the gold mine it has been searching for, and this allows it to launch into the year by year sequels at a point when The Lord of the Rings trilogy has ended and Harry Potter is coming around to the last tales. The film is certainly good enough to once again enthral fans of the book, while bewitching new fans.
