The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was the first book in a series by celebrated British author C.S. Lewis who was stated as saying he never wanted a live-action film made from his fantasy series.  Speed up fifty years when Disney decided the Narnia books would make a great film franchise a la Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter books, besides Lewis’ wishes.  In Disney’s defense, Lewis probably would be singing praises with this incarnation of his book since his idea of effects circa 1959 consisted of shooting small spiders and making them look like giant killers.  Visual effects have come a long way, baby, and I’m sure Lewis would be as awed by what the effects wizards were able to put up on the screen as today’s audiences.

It boggles the mind to think of the sheer volume and complexity of the effects that bring animals to life and create new half-breeds such as centaurs, fauns, and other eclectic beings.  It’s amazing just knowing that Aslan, the Lion of the title and central figure of the story, had over twenty layers of fur to make him seem as real as possible and, in my opinion, they achieved that very fete.  In this day when digital effects are used quite frequently in all films, it is interesting to note that an epic film such as Narnia requires many different companies working in tandem to achieve what is needed to bring the story to life.  For instance, Sony Pictures ImageWorks was in charge of animating the beavers and making Mr. Tumnus’ feet that of a goat; Rhythm & Hues Studios created the big battle scenes, and Industrial Light & Magic handled many other elements that when brought together create a whole new world.

A film can have all the greatest effects in the world that razzle and dazzle, but if they don’t service the story, they are all a waste and simply a sideshow.  Fortunately, Narnia is a captivating fantasy that moves one emotionally and entertains the mind.  If it is a movie geared more to kids than King Kong, the other big effects film out now (see my review), so be it for it can be as equally enjoyable for both children and adults.

Narnia could be considered Lord of the Rings: Light as it captures many of the same elements as JRR Tolkien’s (a fellow Oxford cohort of Lewis) trilogy, but it does so purposely in order to tell a story from a real child’s perspective (or, in this case, four siblings’). Thus, the story is more relative to a kid than a view from a totally made-up being such as a Hobbit.  Where Tolkien wanted to take you away to a whole new world, Lewis’ aim was to make you keep one foot back in reality.  He also wrote the Narnia books as half fantasy and half allegory to help teach a spiritual message to children, but Disney, even though they’ve taken advantage of marketing to Christian audiences, has kept this film from being preachy, and the spiritual elements are those that you could claim are in other fantasy films, such as Star Wars.  Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is pure, fun entertainment for the entire family but with none of the cheesiness that comes with many family entertainment films.  It may not spring a cult following like the LOTR tales, but with many more books to base films on, it will certainly be a fun and fantastic world to visit every couple of years.

Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, and Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan, is now appearing nationwide and makes a great holiday treat for the entire family or for all of you with a little kid inside.

Rich Burlingham