The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Release Date: December 9, 2005 Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Director: Andrew Adamson
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen
McFeeley Starring: Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Georgie Henley, Skandar
Keynes, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley, Rupert Everett, Ray Winstone, Dawn
French, Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy MPAA Rating: PG (for battle sequences and frightening moments) Official Website:
Narnia.com
Plot Summary: C.S. Lewis' timeless adventure
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" follows the
exploits of the four Pevensie siblings -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter -- in
World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe
while playing a game of 'hide-and-seek' in the rural country home of an elderly
professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, peaceful land inhabited
by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world
cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a
noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the
White Witch's powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that
will free Narnia from Jadis' icy spell forever.
The film marks the first live-action directorial effort for New Zealander Andrew
Adamson (the Oscar®-winning "Shrek," "Shrek 2"), who also co-wrote the
screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Ann Peacock (HBO's "A Lesson Before
Dying") and scribes Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. The film is produced
by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer.
To bring his dazzling vision to the screen, Adamson has secured the talents of
Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Donald M. McAlpine, ASC, ACS, Oscar®-nominated
production designer Roger Ford, seasoned costume designer Isis Mussenden, film
editors Sim Evan-Jones and Jim May and composer Harry Gregson-Williams.
Four children enter through a gateway, circa World War II, into a snow
filled-landscape inhabited by fauns, beavers, and wolves. The White Witch (a
strong Tilda Swinton) rules this land of Narnia which is cursed by eternal
winter. She is trying to thwart a prophecy that humans will one day redeem
Narnia, but with help from the king of the animals, Aslan the Lion (voice of
Liam Neeson), the four children have arrived in fulfilment of that prophecy.
Gateways in movies make for interesting and entertaining stories (think Back
to the Future and the less satisfying The Time Machine (2002) and
Stargate). They tread the impossible and implausible, such as Wardrobe’s
gateway into Narnia, but in Wardrobe the event is less convincing and
believable than the fun-filled escapism of Back to the Future, which wore
its gateway device on its sleeve. In contrast, Wardrobe knows its own
importance. The dialogue revolves around grandiose statements and grave
pronouncements but there is light comic relief from an animatronics invention:
two beavers, and the adorable cutes of the younger of the children, Lucy. The
pace and style hinders action and momentum, or in other words this is slow going
and dull. It does not even look like a blockbuster apart from a latter end (and
short) battle sequence, the only such sequence in the film.
Based on C.S. Lewis’ children’s fantasy book, one of a seven-part series called
the Narnia Chronicles, this was purported to be a Christian allegory,
although the filmmakers (including director Andrew Adamson) have stopped short
of calling their film that, even though this movie could be interpreted in such
a religious vein, particularly Aslan the Lion’s death and resurrection. Other
analogous interpretations, involving Biblical conjecture, could be offered. But
what is obvious is that the children escape into a world much the same as the
World War they have inherited, and are challenged to take their courage in grand
royal fashion. This is atypical Hollywood heroising, too. But, the heroes (and
their performances) are puerile enough not to score and therefore lessen the
dramatic impact of what is at stake in the plot.
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Release Date: December 9, 2005
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