Take-on of Lord Of The Rings but still really fun.

During childhood, I was a big fan of the C.S. Lewis books (only read the first three, though, that involve the Pevensie's) and when the trailer aired at the cinema, I couldn't wait to see this! I was really glad that Disney were the makers of this and, to be honest, they were the exact right studio for a film like this! It was absolute magic as far as production is concerned. The settings were just brilliant in Narnia but I was even more impressed with the settings at the beginning in World War II environment (also including the costumes as well). The make-up was really awesome as well and it rightfully deserved the Academy Award in that category. Despite how awesome The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is, the film does have its fair share of flaws.


Flaws such as the acting from the two older Pevensie's was really lousy, the film was clearly a take-on against Lord Of The Rings by trying to be epic. It is epic but not quite epic enough to feel real like Lord Of The Rings did. Plus, the final battle was too short and perhaps not violent enough despite it being based on a kids novel. Another flaw is that it was quite slow and took a damn long time to get going. It was like 35 minutes into the film where Lucy first entered Narnia by accident so think they could have cut it by at least 15 minutes.


When the Pevensie family are evacuated out to the country, they are unaware of the adventure they will encounter. During a game of hide and seek, the youngest daughter, Lucy discovers a wardrobe which transports her to the land of Narnia. Covered in snow, Narnia is full of weird and wonderful creatures, but is watched over by the evil White Witch, Jadis. When all four Pevensie children end up through the wardrobe, they discover that it was meant to be, as two daughters of Eve and two sons of Adam must join with the mighty lion, Aslan to defeat the evil White Witch.


The four young actors started in this one like the three leading actors did in Harry Potter: with almost no acting experience and because the book is so famous, they did have a lot on their shoulders. I think what surprised me the most was that the two older actors William Moseley and Anna Popplewell who portrayed Peter and Susan who perhaps had a better chance of playing their characters better than the two younger ones were both awful but the two younger ones: Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley who portrayed Edmund and Lucy were brilliant and they made them their own characters. I mean, William and Anna are meant to be playing the two big heroes but they really aren't and they were almost like hopeless muppets. I mean, there was no emotion and there was almost no attempt at trying to make this film as real as possible so, both of their characters are like plain and empty. Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley were brilliant as Edmund and Lucy. I am glad that they were the ones who entered Narnia first because we knew more about their personalities and made Narnia seem like a place of misery and evil. Tilda Swinton was simply fantastic as the White Witch! It is her bitter looks and often cold attitude that perhaps sealed her role in this film. She joins the list with Kathy Bates in Misery, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as another actress who delivers a great performance playing a psychopathic character.


Andrew Adamson who is perhaps best known as director of Shrek and Shrek 2, certainly does know how to make a satisfying children's film due to the success of those two Shrek films but he doesn't quite know how to make a serious story very epic without looking like a copy-cat by trying too hard (like he does against Peter Jackson and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. After the disappointing Prince Caspian, I am glad he was part of Voyage Of The Dawn Treader too. He was producer of that instead of director. The script was good but my oh my! There were some damn cheesy moments that did rock the realism of it a bit.


Overall, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe certainly is a film of pure fun and family entertainment and it did take me into a world beyond imagination. A lot better than its sequel and I would definitely decide to watch this on a day when I just need entertainment to see. Does live up to the book despite its flaws and for that, it is a film that I recommend and should be seen by everyone.