Director: Bill Melendez

Summary: Four young children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are evacuated to the country house of an old Professor. Whilst playing 'hide and seek' Lucy enters a wardrobe and discovers the magical world of Narnia, where an evil witch has pronounced herself Queen and rules over the fawns, beavers and mystical creatures of the kingdom. She has cast a spell over the land so that it is always winter but never Christmas. Only Aslan the Lion can help them restore the seasons to Nania.

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Reviewed by: davybozal24-7
Posted on May 23, 2006 8:37 PM

Produced and animated by Emmy - Award winner Bill Melendez .
This spell - binding classic will have adults and kids enchanted
alike .

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C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobemakes 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 Wardrobetells 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 Shrekfranchise, 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. Narniais, 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 aren't 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 Potterfranchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narniadoes contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary From Director Bill Melendez And Producer Steve Melendez, Interview With Steve Melendez, Storyboard To Screen Comparisons, Production Background
Release Date:	November 7, 2005
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	O P T D 0218
Keywords:	Animated, Classic, Book, General, Witch, Lion, Wardrobe, Animation, Childrens, Based
Genre:	Childrens