The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [DVD] [Import] (2005)

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C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences arent knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

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Two-Disc Special Edition Features

Both the two-disc special edition and the single-disc editions feature a filmmakers' commentary and another one by director Andrew Adamson and the child actors. The exhaustive second disc in this version, however, is the main attraction here. One section, entitled "Creating Narnia," details the journey of Adamson from directing newbie (previous credits include Shrek and Shrek 2, but no live-action films) to helmer of a lavish production based on a beloved classic. How did he do it? By treating Narnia as a world that could actually exist in a parallel universe rather than a fantasyland. The behind-the-scenes documentary is quite engrossing, particularly when the visual-effects crew good-naturedly complains how Adamson's own background in visual effects made him simultaneously more respectable and more difficult to work with. A separate featurette on the child actors reveals how Adamson blindfolded Georgie Henley (who plays Lucy, the littlest Pevensie child) before bringing her onto the snowy Narnia set so that her initial reaction could be captured on film. Henley, who frequently mouthed her co-star's lines with them and sprouted several inches during production, proved to be the precocious handful of the bunch, but the documentary does a good job showing the wide-eyed elation you'd imagine children would have making such a film.

Eight different members of the film team (production design, cinematography, and music) also get their own featurette, and massive amounts of footage are devoted to the construction of the various creatures. There's even a virtual map of Narnia and a timeline to demonstrate the 15 years that pass in Narnia vs. the mere seconds back outside the wardrobe. One complaint: that author C.S. Lewis is hardly mentioned by the filmmakers. His own little featurette mentions once that he is a "theologian," but glosses over his top-selling books' ties to Christianity. Nevertheless, if you're debating which Narnia to purchase, you're better off investing in the two-disc version--a virtual closetful of goodies for fans of the film. --Ellen A. Kim

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