The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion Witch, and The Wardrobe | Review

Film will be hit with younger Potter fans and a bore for anyone with double-digits in their age.

Religious groups are tired of dealing with the whole coming-out-of-the-closet pandemic – but the closet in this narrative contains plenty of magical offerings for innocent minds. Tapping into the same gamut as the Harry Potter and LOTR movie-going trends where real physical characters interact in fantasy worlds; here Disney is in a take no prisoners mode. Bringing Shrek co-creator Andrew Adamson into the fold and by lavishly complementing C.S. Lewis’s classic children’s novel with colorful sequences that will stun those who still haven’t read the novel, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be a fun film for novices, but a long two hours for those who are used to popcorn kernels being stuck between teeth.

Divertissements for younglings will come from the m̩lange of different creatures, wide range in landscapes and the marvel of the make-believe and fantasy worlds from the perspective of the four child siblings. Adults might enjoy seeing which members of the animal kingdom are typecast in the good and evil roles Рhere the lion, a sneaky fox and helpful family of beavers are friendlier than bovine (hamburger meat) friends. Also worthy of mention, is to observe the glee of a child potentially wielding a weapon larger than a switchblade knife.

The adventure film makes a fine, sometimes seamless use of set design and CGI applications – however, it would have been nice to see a little more Jim Henson-like creations – especially in the comical beaver character which Ray Winstone voices with expertise. While special effects wizardry has a strong presence – it would have been nice to see Tilda Swinton get a more developed role – not a Glenn Close 101 Dalmatians extreme performance – but a little exploration as to why some portions of Narnia are ice-cold.

Pacing is a little sluggish, the film’s anti-climatic battle scene is perhaps a little too grand and tries desperately to mirror LOTR, but the set and visual design make the journey to the understanding of family values and sticking together a light one. Adamson stays faithful to the original source and fans of the novel will be somewhat pleased to introduce this film to future generations, but instead of packing the van up with the entire family, this should be a single-parent outing reserved for tykes that have only recently stopped wetting their beds.

Rating 2 stars