The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Movie & DVD Review (2005)

(Originally published 2005)

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" startles with the intensity of its violence, which is surprising given its PG rating; the dramatic pull of its characters, which grab hold from the start; and the seamless incorporation of the special effects, which are among the year's best.

From director Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the script with Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, this stirring epic based on C.S. Lewis' children's book is filled with masterful touches that resonate. It likely will launch a new Disney franchise, so there is every reason to take note if what's to come is anywhere near as good as this.

As the film opens, we're in the midst of World War II, the place is London, bombs are exploding and the blitz is on, with the four Pevensie siblings--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--being whisked out of their home by their mother for the safety of the countryside.

There, in the large manor house to which the children retreat, they allegedly will be safe from war. But when the youngest child, Lucy, steals into a room that holds a wardrobe hidden beneath a tossed sheet, curiosity leads her inside, where she finds beyond the mass of fur coats a magical world of great beauty and greater danger.

The danger rests in the wicked Valkyrie warrior, Jadis (Tilda Swinton)--the formidable White Witch with the bleached skin, the black eyes, the jagged icicles for a crown--who has put the kaputs on Christmas throughout this netherworld called Narnia.

This most bitter, hateful of queens has turned Narnia into a snow-white wonderland frozen to its core, with its inhabitants--talking animals, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns, and any number of other assorted beasts, particularly two chatty, lovable beavers--eager to defeat her.

To do so, they will need the help of the Pevensie children, who must dig deep within themselves to find the necessary mettle to join forces with the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) and his army. A ferocious war ignites, with the White Witch rising to her full power and the Pevensies unable to escape their share of tragic consequences or some difficulty thanks to Edmund, who goes wrong in ways that won't be revealed here.

Alongside the trilogy to which it will be compared--Peter Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series--"Narnia" stands tall, building to an almost operatic tone. The comparisons are fitting since Lewis was a close friend of Tolkien's while each was teaching at Oxford. For those who have read the books, seen the movies or both, you have to wonder what was in the water at Oxford during the 1950s, when each man was crafting his tale. Whatever it was--likely a hallucinogen given the subjects at hand--when you fall into the worlds they created, you come away grateful for it.

Grade: A