The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Reviewed by NICOLE SEIFERTH

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Walt Disney Pictures & Walden Media
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Release Date: December 9

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a beautiful film. Narnia, the fantasy world in which the majority of the story takes place, is fully realized and, even more impressive, fully real. When a gryphon, a bird out of myth and legend, lands beside one of the few humans in the film, there’s nothing about the creature that looks digital or drawn – that bird really seems to be there.

The story on which the film is based is well known and beloved by many. Young Lucy Pevensie discovers an old wardrobe that leads to the world of Narnia. Her brothers, Peter and Edmund, and sister, Susan, eventually find their way to Narnia, as well. They encounter a multitude of wondrous creatures there, including Aslan the Lion. The children all have their distinct strengths and weaknesses, but weakness is most evident in Edmund, a sulky and unlikable boy who, in particular, discovers the meaning of redemption during his time in Narnia.

Layers of meaning have always been key to this story’s magic for people of all ages, particularly Christians. The Christian allegories in the story have been debated since the book was published. Episcopalians can claim another level of attachment to the book: the author, C.S. Lewis, was a fellow Anglican.
The filmmakers have done a good job of allowing viewers to discover the story’s depths for themselves. If you’re looking for those layers, you’ll find them. If you just want to enjoy a great holiday movie, you can do that, as well.

A word of caution, though, about this “holiday” film. This is not a movie for very young children. The same technology that makes the mythical creatures seem real also make it very disturbing when they are hurt or killed. But take your older children or go by yourself. And pick up the book again afterwards. More than anything, that’s what the movie made me want to do. It’s been awhile since I’ve read any of the Chronicles of Narnia, but I remember Lewis’s world as being so rich and vivid that no movie could truly do it justice. This film, though, comes pretty close.