The Magical World Next Door
Chronicles of Narnia Brings Classic Story to Life

Always winter, never Christmas. Under a terrible curse by the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), Narnia has been blanketed by snow for a hundred years. Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley) discovers this frozen land in her journey through a magical wardrobe. So begins the Narnia Chronicles, by C.S. Lewis, the classic children's novels beloved by readers for generations. Now, at last, the first of the Chronicles, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has come to the big screen as a live-action film.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Peter, Susan, and Lucy meet the great lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (Disney Pictures, 2005)

Directed by: Andrew Adamson
Written by: Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy

Rated PG (for battle sequences and frightening moments)
Running time: 140 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 10 out of 10.

Set during World War II, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe follows four children sent away from their home in London during the Blitz. The four children -- Lucy, Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) -- find themselves the houseguests of reclusive professor (Jim Broadbent) on his country estate. While stuck inside on a rainy day, the children begin a game of hide and seek. The youngest, Lucy, finds a spare room with an unused wardrobe where she hides and finds that the wardrobe opens into another world.

In the snowy forest of Narnia, Lucy meets a faun named Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy) who invites her to tea. He tells her about the White Witch -- the self-crowned Queen of Narnia -- who has ruled the land for a hundred years. She has turned Narnia into a frozen place where it is always winter but never Christmas. He explains that the Queen has decreed that any humans should be captured, lest the prophecy concerning the end of the Queen's reign should come true. Although he should kidnap Lucy, he cannot. He has become her friend, and he decides instead to help her escape.

Lucy is led out of Narnia and emerges back in the spare room. To her surprise, the hours she spent in Narnia took no time at all. Her brothers and sister refuse to believe her story, but soon Edmund and then all four, find themselves in the magical land beyond the wardrobe. To the surprise of the children, the creatures of Narnia greet their arrival as a sign that the Queen's reign will end and Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) will return.

The film is filled with action and suspense. Although there is a lot of violence, it is mostly in battle scenes. Those scenes are relatively kid-friendly, free of blood and gore that would appear in a more realistic war. For hardcore fantasy buffs, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe may seem tame by comparison to The Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe captures the imagination like any good fairy tale. What child wouldn't love to find a doorway to a magical world? Mythical creatures, talking animals, and magic infuse the story with a fantastic dressing that makes the Chronicles of Narnia wonderful. The special effects are top notch. Everything, from talking animals to fantastic creatures -- such as a minotaur or a unicorn -- are tremendously realistic. The height of the computer effects is in making Aslan real. Not only is Aslan realistic as a lion, he is believable as a talking lion. His whole manner exudes intelligence and thoughtfulness. It was the expressions in his eyes that hit me the most.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe deals with very profound themes on a level that children understand but can find deeper meaning in as they grow older. There is an obvious Christ allegory in Aslan. He sacrifices himself for one of the children, but because he was innocent he does not stay dead. He rises up and wages war against the White Witch -- the evil that has plagued the land since his departure. Regardless of the religious undertones, however, this is not a religious film. It deals with the same themes (good vs. evil, sacrifice, war, and love) that most fairy tales do.

Few movies can move me in the way The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe does. The Chronicles of Narnia were an important part of my childhood, having read them at a very impressionable age. I spent a number of years opening closet doors in hopes that one would lead me out of our world and into the next. I longed to walk with Aslan through the halls of the castle Cair Paravel. To see this timeless classic made real on the silver screen has made me believe in magic again: the magic of Hollywood to bring the fantastic to life.