The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (2005)

 

You could very well do a lot worse with a fun Christmas tale than this one. In fact, this first entry in the adaptation of CS Lewis' works is actually pretty darn good, in several respects. You get a cool and heartwarming tale of personal growth and some magic and creatures thrown in. What's not to love?

This film wastes very little time in exposition dumps, which is pretty refreshing, to say the least. We get right into it with a bombardment of London during the Second World War. We get to see the Pevensie family and very soon we get a sense of the relationships between the four kids: Peter is the surrogate father, Susan is the logical one, Lucy the youngest with a big heart and lots of fantasy, and Edmund is the odd one out. You get this without everyone constantly spelling it out. 

Their mother sends them to stay somewhere else for their safety, a rather common practice during this time. They end up in a massive mansion, where only an elusive professor and his housekeeper reside. The kids are soon bored out of their minds, but during a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy hides in a closet and somehow ends up in a mystical land called Narnia. It is winter and she meets up with a faun called Tumnus, who gives her a little lowdown: the country has been in the grip of winter for a hundred years due to a White Witch who claims to be the queen. Only the arrival of 2 sons of Adam and 2 daughters of Eve will bring an end to her rule and will let the mythical lion Aslan return.

Things get complicated when Edmund is captured (partially due to his own fault) and the witch gets wind of the massing army, poised to stand against her. Things get heated and it will end in a big battle between creatures in league with Aslan and many dark beings that side with the witch. 

What this film gets very right, is the constant sense of wonder. This remains the case throughout, as you will constantly see gorgeous sights and new creatures. The amount of detail and work on display here is pretty bloody impressive. Despite a few wonkily composited shots, a lot of the environments and sets are actually there, as well as a great amount of creatures. You will see fauns, satyrs and minotaurs and oftentimes they are truly people in costumes and animatronics and they look darn good. 

Yes, I'm partial to minotaurs. There's probably a fetish for this as well. Just grab the bull by the horns then.

And yes, Aslan is pretty much all CG, but darn it: he is one of the best looking ginormous lions you'll see on screen. That he is voiced by Liam Neeson is a nice bonus, as he has the gravitas for the role.

Actingwise, it's okay. The kids do a fairly decent job, but they're still kids. It's funny how the originally obnoxious Edmund is probably the best actor of the quartet. Supporting characters are done by a fun cast, with James McAvoy as the best known. Well, nowadays he is. Who also is pretty spot on, is Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. She manages to elude this menacing aura that really works in the story. Talk about great casting.

'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe' is a wonderfully fanciful adventure that manages to reach young and old. It's heartwarming and fun and it's pretty hard not to have a good time watching this.