Starring: William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Liam Neeson
Year of Release: 2005
Running Time: 150 minutes
I read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis when I was in primary school so I couldn't remember much of the story when I decided to reread the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series. I only recalled being transported into another world and enjoying embarking on an otherworldly adventure along with the four protagonists. Interestingly, the books were not written in the order in which they were originally published (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was first published in 1950). The "correct" order is still disputed although while some argue that Lewis himself felt that the order didn't really matter.
The first film adaptation of the series, however, is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. After rereading the book, I decided to see how the classic was adapted to the big screen. Overall, I think it is a fine interpretation, with breathtaking scenery - locations included Poland, Czechia, New Zealand and The US - a superb cast who brought the characters to life (especially the talented Tilda Swinton as the wicked White Witch), and impressive special effects that made the animal characters almost as real as their human counterparts. Indeed, Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian argued that the film "unfolds the slim book into a rich visual experience that is bold and spectacular and sweeping, while retaining its human intimacies".
The story begins when four siblings head to the English countryside to live with Professor Digory Kirke - presumably a much safer environment than London where bombs are raining down from Nazi fighter planes. It's already clear that one of the children, Edmund, is going to be problematic; he comes across as annoying and unlikeable. On a rainy day, the children play what will be a life-changing game of hide-and-seek.
The youngest, Lucy, discovers a wardrobe and things it will make a perfect hiding place. She moves further back into the myriad of fur coats inside the wardrobe until she finds herself in a winter wonderland. She meets a faun named Tumnus, who explains that she is in Narnia. Ignoring all "stranger danger" common sense, Lucy follows the shirtless faun (red flag!) to his home for a cup of tea and is subsequently roofied. She wakes up to an anxious Tumnus who tells her that he is kidnapping her as per the instructions of the White Witch. But he has a change of heart and helps her return to her world.
Naturally, her siblings don't believe her tall tale and basically call her a liar. Edmund is the first to learn that Lucy was not lying after he follows her back into the wardrobe and into Narnia. He has a disturbing encounter with the White Witch who bribes him with a hot drink and Turkish delight, hoping he will bring his siblings to Narnia - and to her (again, a red flag that the powdered-sugar-lipped Edmund ignores). However, when Edmund and Lucy return to their world, Edmund is an ass and pretends he doesn't believe Lucy's Narnia stories, which sends her into a meltdown.
After accidentally breaking a window with a cricket ball, the children frantically try to escape the wrath of the crotchety Mrs Macready by hiding in...you guessed it, the wardrobe. And so begins their adventures in Narnia - and some apologies to Lucy - which include:
a prophecy that the children will defeat the Witch and restore peace to Narnia
the King of Narnia in the form of a lion named Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson)
a jarring sacrifice
husband and wife beavers
a bunch of ripped centaurs
a pack of vicious bloodthirsty wolves
a bizarre meeting with Santa, who gives the children some age-inappropriate gifts
a brotherly betrayal
some really ugly dwarves and equally hideous giants
an epic battle between good and evil (of course)
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