The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

A-

My first exposure to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was an animated version of the movie made in 1988 and shown on TV. It is such a great story that I was instantly hooked and read all of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles books. So I was certainly looking forward to what technology and a big Disney budget could do in this latest version. I didn't make it to the theaters and instead bought the DVD. Reviews were generally positive, but I think the theme of Aslan as Christ only added hype and religious polarization to a story that is really above the fray.

Having seen the earlier movie (IMDB shows there were two others preceding the one I probably saw) and read the books, there weren't going to be a lot of surprises, but I still enjoyed it. The Lion King kind of set me against movies featuring kings who do nothing to deserve their position, and it kind of bugs me that the four kids get so much reverence for doing so little. Still, I think that's part of the set-up that they have just fallen into a situation and what would a normal kid do when suddenly crowned king (or queen)?

The animation is very good, with some very lifelike images. Aslan looks as regal as any lion ever has. So close on the heels of Lord of the Rings, I don't think the timing of this movie is great. Instead of four hobbits, there are four kids, but otherwise the story and scope are essentially the same, good and evil creatures coming together in a giant CGI battle sequence, which is all a diversion for the actions of a small group of central characters.

So while I do enjoy the story, maybe time has left me a little jaded. A book of great imagination (by the author who wrote it and the reader who pictures it) loses something when all of that is shown to you on the screen. I'll give the movie an A- for a great story and execution, but it still left me a little underwhelmed.

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