The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia had by the middle of December already generated some US$113 million in the US box office, thereby guaranteeing that Disney would continue its experiment in setting up a new franchise based on C.S. Lewis’s fantasy novels. It even managed to do better than King Kong in its initial opening, with the ape showing signs of fallibility, wear and tear (though a US $50 million opening isn’t that shabby).

This is hardly surprising on one level – Disney packaged the show with a big budget, and with a creative mix that left little to chance. Andrew Adamson, a New Zealand director, had already worked on the two Shreks, and leaving aside the fact that the second Shrek was only a shadow of the first, it means he’s done a lot of work with animated characters, handy given the number of CGI characters in Narnia.

The various kids are also well cast and do a good job with their roles – the vaguely dumb heroic blonde male character is neatly balanced by the more tortured dark haired boy, who is given to error, being a wayward sheep, while the girls are charming identification figures. Tilda Swinton plays a mean witch with panto style, while James McAvoy makes an engaging Mr. Tumnus, the fawn, who first banters with the kids by way of umbrella, toast and jam. Maintaining the English flavor, Ray Winstone and Dawn French voice a couple of cheerful helpful cockney beavers, Rupert Everett does a fox, and Liam Neeson is on hand as Aslan the brave and bold lion.

As for the plot, you surely must have heard about it by now, or you’ve been down a coal mine with the radio turned off as a way of avoiding the Disney hype. It’s world war two, and the kids are sent away from the bombing to a house to stay with a grumpy housekeeper and a mysterious professor.

After a little bit of character establishment, a game of hide and seek takes one of the girls into a wardrobe and through a bundle of furs into a strange, snow clad forest on the other side. That’s where she meets the fawn and the wicked witch, and gets to have a bite or two of Turkish delight.

Soon enough all the kids are through the magical wardrobe, and involved in a struggle against the witch and her evil rule of Narnia, helped by the cheerful, energetic beavers, and inspired by the brave lion who leads a strange group of mythological beasts in the final epic battle (showing how CGI is now a matter of course in such shows). The witch is a dab hand with a light stick that turns enemies into frozen blackened statues, but fortunately this seems to be a kind of living death rather than the real kind.

Though it runs too long, it’s a fair bet that fans of the novels, or kids wanting a fantasy life will find the show engaging enough. It’s done with color and style, and with a sense of timing. However by the time the plot drags along to the lion and the final battle with the witch (not to mention some ice flow capers), anyone over the age of 12 will begin to sense that this is fantasy wish fulfilment of a fairly basic kind. It lacks the kind of epic quality that distinguished Lord of the Rings, and the final battle is staged with the kind of fighting you might expect of Tolkein, but actually is a kind of ersatz Richard the Lionheart kind of medievalism which makes Tolkien's middle earth ravings seem vaguely Icelandic and convincing. The final battle is also a long way from the quaint, twee mood established by the very English umbrella clad fawn at the start of the show.

It gets downright Star Wars cheesy when the kids get gonged with being the kings and queens of the compass, not that this would trouble Lewis, with his monarchy worship and his Christian themed story of sacrifice for the greater good. Aslan the lion is probably the biggest bore in the show, what with his goody two shoes carry on, and his willingness to be strapped on the rock and killed by the cowardly witch, but just as in other fairy stories, he manages to get himself out of the fix with some deeper magic (it’s funny how the lion manages to come across like a character in King of Kings).

This probably works for kids, but might feel overly solemn for parents. Perhaps the main clunker here involves a few lines of biblically inspired dialogue, which will act as code to Christians, but seem a little out of place in the drama (‘what have we done’ doesn’t really serve the drama when the lion goes down – after all it’s what the wicked witch has done that’s the problem, unless you’re sold on original sin and collective guilt).

All this aside, the show serves its main audience serviceably enough for a holiday treat after Potter has been devoured and kids are looking for second helpings. It’s interesting now how New Zealand is constantly being deployed as a stand in for medieval England, or other worlds, while the English accents are a relief after a barrage of pulp Hollywood films. Australian contributions – cinematography was by Don McAlpine, design by Roger Ford – are solid, and add to the visuals.

I saw the show with a large crowd in the State theatre in Sydney at a preview, and the audience loved it, and applauded. I suspect parents will be more relieved that it keeps the kids quiet for a couple of hours than worry too much about how little there is in the fantasy for anyone able to see through the wish fulfilment, and (apart from the beavers and Swinton’s hamming) the relative humorlessness of the proceedings. In a way, this however is faithful to Lewis's relatively humorless writing.

There was very little rustling, except for the obligatory eating of popcorn and other goodies. And the nattering coming from the SBS reviewer sitting alongside us in the front stalls. What happened to good manners, especially from a reviewer, yabbering along while the show unfolds? Whatever she said about it, in a blonde way, you shouldn’t trust, because she wasn’t watching the show. She was chatting like she was on a break from fourth form, making the kids behind us seem like they were civilised enthusiasts for the arts. At least now I know why Lewis made the wicked witch a blonde … and just maybe the stereotypes and clichés he deployed are worth the outing … Now if I could just reach out with my magic laser light cow prodding stick ...

 

 escelente o filme recomendo

falkenback, March 27, 2006 5:01

 Enough with the Christian comparisons. So what if there are a couple of similarities between this and biblical stories? No story is ever completely original. Writers either consciously or subconsciously borrow bits and pieces from all sorts of sources. A couple of similar themes do not equal a Christianity pushing conspiracy but seem to prevent people from seeing the bigger picture. Get over it. It’s a great film. Anyone who spent their childhood crawling around the back of their wardrobe hoping to find another land will be captivated while seeing Narnia on the big screen and also will be well aware that it was Edmund and not Lucy who met the wicked witch and scoffed Turkish delight. And enough with the blonde jokes too!

Space Cadet, December 30, 2005 4:38

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