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The Lion Does Anything But Sleeps Tonight |
 I
don't really know how old I was, but I do know that when I
discovered the world that was Narnia, I ate it up like a black
hole, voraciously inhaling every morsel of C.S. Lewis'
brilliance that I could
Many years have passed, and now myself a writer, I find the
books rear their pretty heads in my memory constantly, some
times a merely happy thought, sometimes meaningful reference in
my own writing.
The Chronicles of Narnia were the perfect adventures for a
young child, boy or girl it didn't matter. All that
mattered was that in Lewis' imagination, a child could be
royalty and an entire world's fates could rest on their
shoulders. A kid could be king, hero and child all at
once, all these roles fitting together perfectly. |
And to me, this is the shot that does it all. - CDM |
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Friday night, opening night, I and a group
of friends, several of us Narnia fans from childhood,
several uninitiated, several Potterheads (not me, and this
film proved why... get some heart, Harry), several LOTR
maniacs, all of us movie buffs. I was blown
away. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe proved to
be the very excitement I myself imagined as a child.
All the action that flew through my head, the intensity, the
humor and the magic existed there on the screen the same way
it had all those years ago, before I'd ever read Tolkien and
hadn't before known that in a well-worded world of fantasy,
all one's dreams could be made real. And there, Friday
night, glowing on the screen under direction by Adam
Anderson whose previous credits were simply the Shrek films,
came to life Narnia, the first adventure and it was very
true to me. The action erupts as the movie
fades in and frankly doesn't stop for much until the end.
An over two hour long movie, Narnia pulses with life from
beginning to end. The acting, which I've seen called
wooden in several reviews is perfect, three children playing
so real the fascination and wonder a child would feel in
finding a world through a closet, and Edmund's character
just as sullen and childishly spiteful as a child named
Edmund ought to be. Georgie Henley deserves
special mention, having brought the lovely and sweet
Lucy to life with such an adventurer's spirit and such a
reality that one had a hard time noticing her acting because
she hardly seemed to be acting at all.
Through the entire movie tears trickled down my face, for
every reason they should have. Some of the tears were
for the books, that I was so glad to have them on the screen
so well presented. Some were for the danger, very
real, very evil with no punches pulled. Some were for
the heroes, children in very real danger who knew that evil
must be stopped no matter the consequence. Some were
for Aslan, one of the greatest creations of imagination and
love ever put to paper. But most were for excitement
at all these elements so smoothly integrated and made with
such care. The CGI, which many people were
worried about, was almost perfect. Except for a few
overwhelmed seconds, the special effects were believable,
the CG animals breathing and moving just as realistically as
the real animals. The battles were exciting, life or
death and the children were treated like children should be
in such fantasies: like adults. Narnia was everything
it should be and Anderson proved himself a fan and a lover
of the text. I can only pray the producers
are smart enough to learn from the Peter Jackson and shoot
them all at once, with the same director/writer/production
team and barrel through them to keep the action and the
magic alive. But, if for some reason, they
don't, if they blow it and ruin what could be the greatest
series of children's fantasies ever made, then, whatever:
I have the one I really wanted. Three cheers,
five stars and a HUGE to Walden Media and Disney for
bringing to life my childhood dreams. I think, though
one can't be sure, that C.S. Lewis would have approved.
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By Edwin
Hopkins
Email Mr.
Hopkins
HUGE
Many people I talked with before and after seeing The Chronicles of
Narnia have told me of their experiences reading the C.S. Lewis book
series while in school. When I was in school I had never even heard
of it. So when I found out that Disney and Walden Media were
planning an adaptation of the most popular second book, The Lion,
the Witch and the Wardrobe, I decided to check all seven out of the
library on audio. After reading all six Harry Potter installments
and most of Lemony Snicket’s Unfortunate Events, Narnia provided
another world of fantasy I could enjoy.
There have been animated and made for TV movies of this classic
tale, but none on such a grand scale with the advantages of CGI
technology. Of course it takes considerably more than realistic
fantasy created on a computer to make a good film. And The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe delivers, combining all essential elements
into a powerful, spiritual story relating directly to Jesus Christ.
As World War II reaches the shores of Great Britain with a
devastating air raid on London, Mother Pevensie gathers her four
children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, and sends them away to live
with professor Kirke (played affectionately by Jim Broadbent) in his
palatial mansion for safety. Upon arrival at the train stop they’re
collected by the cantankerous Mrs. MacReady who frostily runs down
the mandatory rules of the household, amounting to practically no
fun at all for these active siblings. They decide that a game of
hide and seek in this spacious home will cure the boredom. |
| Lucy finds her way into a room, empty except for a large
decorative oak wood wardrobe. When she decides this is the perfect
hiding place, she steps in and almost immediately enters the wintry
world of Narnia.
Like Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Narnia was given
carte blanche by churches across the country. And rightly so. It
proves conclusively that Disney is still capable of producing good,
clean family entertainment despite it’s mainstream-ism objected to
by various religious groups.
As I mentioned above, I had listened to Narnia audio books.
However, I’m glad for the time gap between the book and seeing the
film. I wanted to enjoy it without being nickpicky about what was
left out although, as short as this novel is, everything could have
been included. |
DVD
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| Georgie Henley is by far the darling of the Pevensie
children as Lucy with her perky cheerfulness and genuine innocence.
You’ll believe she emerged from the pages of C.S. Lewis’s book and
onto the big screen. She becomes the unlikely catalyst for the
wondrous adventure that follows, having tea with the faun Mr. Tumnus,
then returning to tell her story to, at first, unbelieving brothers
and sisters. When they discover that their little sister hasn’t
been playing a game or imagining things, Peter, Susan and Edmund,
after crossing the threshold, learn that all four of them are key
essentials to a prophecy declared long ago in Narnia. Naturally they
are reluctant to accept this initially due to their inexperience.
But as they move on into this icy world cursed by the evil White
Witch, each one manifests courage and abilities beyond anything they
could imagine.
Andrew Adamson proves he’s as good a director of live actors as
well as animated ones( He helmed both Shrek films). Being a formal
visual fx supervisor for such films as Batman Forever helps too
apparently. Blue and green screen are commonly used devices in films
nowadays and Adamson melds them and live action with true pragmatic
precision. He manages to keep that same comic wit so prevalent in
Shrek.
Tilda Swinton counterbalances this humor quite effectively as
the White Witch Jadis, whose icy spell threatens to keep Narnia in a
wintry “wonderland” for all eternity. She aptly portrays her nice
and not-so-nice personalities when dealing with Edmund, preying on
his desire for power- and Turkish delight.
Aslan, voiced by Liam Neeson is the imperial, Christ like figure,
the force for good in this world whom you root for to defeat Jadis.
He may be computer generated, but astoundingly real on screen
guiding the two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve in the raging
battle for Narnia.
I have no idea why it took four writers, including Adamson, to
pen the screenplay for such a short novel. Nevertheless the script
works well in scenes and character. I’m looking forward to the
next installment, Prince Caspian which, as of this writing has
already been greenlit and is in production.
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