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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (or to use the abbreviated title, The Lion TWAT Wardrobe) is The Lord of the Rings for kids. I didn't like that one either.
The Lion TWAT Wardrobe will be enjoyed immensely by children - it is very much Lord of the Rings for kids. However for adults that don't know the story, after the first "magical" make-it-nice moment, all suspense disappears, because you know that whatever bad things happen to the characters, they'll just make up some crap to make it OK again. This trivialises the story and ruins much of the effect that had taken so much effort to build. Add to this the vast over-use of the whiney little brats and the criminal wasting of Jim Broadbent on top form and the only conclusion possible is that this is a flawed fairytale. I enjoyed this film: I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: - despite its flaws, I expect most viewers to enjoy it. Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: - kiddie fare. To enjoy this film you should be: a kid or a passive CS Lewis reader.
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Your commentsThe comments printed here are not necessarily the views of Forwardcharm!
I can recall reading The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe as well as the other Narnia books some 30 years ago, so I had expected a lot from the movie that unfortunately never appeared.
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There are two problems. First, kids. Kids can't act as well as adults, with the
occasional exception such as Freddie Highmore and Dakota Fanning. It's not their fault, they're just kids and they're
nauseating. The second problem is the crunching of the story into movie form, losing vital elements along the way.
I don't remember the book, so my understanding suffered hugely for these omissions. The big sad scene with Aslan the lion,
for example, comes across as spineless and lazy, because the groundwork was all missed out and the solution consequently
comes across as a cop-out. It's not as if every minute
was precious - at least fifteen minutes of the opening could have been ditched as it takes far too long to get stuck into
the Narniaction. Once the plot does get going, the kids become embroiled in a battle between Aslan (Liam Neeson) and
the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), but at no point is it clear why Aslan is the good guy and Chilblane-Tits is the bad guy.
Sure, the witch has a bit of a temper on her, but all we're told is that both sides want the land of Narnia - we don't
know why. Aslan must be good because his mane billows gallantly in the breeze, I suppose. This inspires the kids to
gallop off in support of Aslan with a kind of religious fervour that makes people fly planes into buildings.
I don't want my kids to learn that kind of lesson. I especially don't want your kids to learn that kind of lesson.
Tilda Swinton has always been an unorthodox player and this stereotype helps her portrayal of the evil White Witch.
All the adult actors, particularly Ray Winstone and Dawn French as the beavers, are very good and Liam Neeson's commanding
lion voice seems to go straight into your brain without needing to trouble your ears. Rounding off the highlights, James
McAvoy is simply excellent as the faun Mr Numnuts (or something like that). The kids are a shame, but what can you do.
Even having the eldest one look like John-boy from The Waltons didn't help. Special-effects-wise, there is a plethora of
marvellous visuals in the second half, with barely a frame passing without some kind of computer enhancement. Some of these
are fantastic - such as the wolves and the realisation of the centaurs and gryphon - others are pretty shabby, such as the
backdrop when the kids look over the frozen river. As with most animal effects nowadays, the running and jumping movements
are shaky too, as if gravity has a migraine. I'm being picky though - overall Narnia looks fantastic, just like a fantasy
world should.
