The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (PG)


09 December 2005

Magnificent - that's the only word for it. The big screen adaptation of CS Lewis' masterwork is an astonishing sight and is thankfully incredibly faithful to the original novel.

Like many people, I was completely besotted by The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. It was read and re-read about five times during the space of about 18 months and it was one of the first books that I persuaded my children to read on their own.

It was because of this life-long love affair with the book that I approached the launch of this film with a high degree of trepidation. My feeling of unease was not helped by the fact that the trailer makes the film look like Lord of the Rings 2.

But, happily, all my fears were allayed within the opening few minutes. Suddenly, we are in the middle of an air raid in war-time London - in a few well executed scenes we know the characters of the four Pevensie children and why they are escaping to the country.

The casting of the children is spot-on and they make an engaging quartet - even though they don't always get on and hot-headed Edmund is determined to bring disaster down upon them all.

The assured nature of their performances is all the more amazing when you realise that William Moseley (Peter) and Georgie Henley are making their professional acting debuts with this film.

Escaping from the Blitz, the children are billeted on Professor Kirke (Jim Broadbent) and his fiercesome housekeeper Mrs MacReady (Elizabeth Hawthorne) and during a game of hide and seek during a rainy afternoon Lucy (Georgie Henley) discovers the wardrobe is a portal to Narnia - a mystical world ruled over by Jadis (Tilda Swinton) - the White Witch and self-declared Snow Queen.

Having had tea with a faun, Mr Tumnus (James McAvoy), Lucy races back to the wardrobe to enthuse about her adventures with her brothers and sisters - unfortunately they don't believe her - not until they all tumble into Narnia's snow-filled landscape while hiding from Mrs MacReady after a stray cricket ball smashed a stain glass window.

But they quickly discover that all is not well. Mr Tumnus has been captured by the Snow Queen and, to their surprise, a pair of beavers, voiced by Ray Winstone and Dawn French, declare them to be warriors and future rulers of Narnia.

These quirky rodents inform them that they have been instructed to take them to Aslan - the mysterious lion who is the only creature that the White Witch fears.

The visuals are stunning. The combination of dramatic ice-filled New Zealand landscapes and cleverly-blended CGI work bring a freshness and beauty to the movie that will leave you breathless as well as lending the story that much-needed fairytale look.

The effects work is not overdone - even with an army of centaurs, minotaurs and talking animals. The visuals have a believability about them which does anchor this fantastic tale in some form of reality.

The casting is excellent. The focus of the film lies squarely on the shoulders of the four children and the young actors each create a distinctive individual character. They come across as a blend of a contemporary child and a member of Enid Blyton's Famous Five - in other words the perfect CS Lewis hero.

Although it is a bit unfair to single out any one of the four for special praise but Georgie Henley is absolutely wonderful as Lucy, the youngest of the four and the trigger for their adventures. She has an openness and a freshness that looks completely genuine and therefore absolutely believable.

Tilda Swinton is an inspired choice for Jadis - The White Witch. The casual way with which she dispenses death - along with her cold, hard stare and elegant demeanour, had one child behind me in floods of tears for about half the movie. Her performance, which is devoid of any spark of warmth, will automatically gain her notoriety as one of the classic villains of the cinema.

The battle sequences towards the end of the film are both heroic in a Boy's Own adventure style, but also carries with it a real sense of danger. The creatures are fantastic, but they are also frighteningly real and the medieval fighting style means that our young heroes are very much at risk.

The Snow Queen, secure in her chariot, reveals herself to be very handy with two sharp-bladed swords and wants the children dead.

Finally it is the realisation of Aslan, Mr Tumnus and the other magical creatures which makes this film work.

I avoided watching the BBC series because I was worried that they would not be able to achieve this - but with Shrek's Andrew Adamson behind the camera, a lot of care has been taken into making these creatures incredibly believable.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is another wonderful blockbuster which the whole family can enjoy. We've certainly been spoilt for choice during the last six weeks and it makes you wonder why if the Hollywood studios can conjure up magic like this why do they consistently make a right pig's ear of the summer movies?

This will undoubtedly be a holiday classic for years to come - a wonderful achievement - just sit back and enjoy.

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