Book released: 1950
Book written by: C S Lewis
Film released: 2005
Actors/ Characters: Georgie Henley / Lucy Pevensie, Skandar Keynes/ Edmund Pevensie, William Moseley / Peter Pevensie, Anna Popplewell /Susan Pevensie, Tilda Swinton/ White Witch/ James McAvoy/ Mr. Tumnus, Liam Neeson/ Aslan
Summary: They opened a door and entered a world--Narnia--the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy is the first to stumble through the back of the enormous wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old country house, discovering the magic world beyond. At first, no one believes her. But soon Edmund, Peter and Susan, too, discover the magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. And in the blink of an eye, they are changed forever.
Book to Film Review
Reading and watching this story again brought back so many fond childhood memories for me. As a child I loved the land of Narnia and all the goings on there, the thought that as a child you could walk through a plain old wardrobe and be transported to a magical and fantastical land was inspiring and C S Lewis , in my opinion, was a genius to have taken such an ordinary thing and make it so enchanted.
What first struck me as different about the book and the film was the opening. The book opens straight away with:
"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office."
C S Lewis does not expand on the children's lives before evacuation whereas the film opens with a brilliantly tense and dramatic scene of an air raid during the London blitz. As a kid this scene terrified me and to this day the fear of the air raids resonates through the screen and serves as a truly strong opening to the film as the audience is thrown right into the action and story.
Harry Gregson-Williams, the film's composer, also brilliantly creates a sense of magic and drama in his emotional and epic score which never fails to throw me into the world of Narnia.
The cast of children played by, Georgie Henley (Lucy), Skandar Keynes (Edmund ), William Moseley ( Peter )and Anna Popplewell (Susan) were excellent in the roles. I thought they captured the essence of each character perfectly. Henley was incredible as the role of Lucy and it breaks my heart when she returns from Narnia and none of her siblings believe her. She is deserving of the role particularly upon Lucy's entrance to Narnia. This is one of the most famous chapters of the book and the adaptation of this chapter on screen was equally as magical. Henley not only acted the role of Lucy perfectly, portraying her innocent and wonder-struck nature believably throughout, but she was also visually accurate to the role.
The entire movie for me embodied the world of Narnia and the characters in it impeccably. From the lamppost in Lantern Waste to Aslan's Camp and the White Witch's Castle each setting was visually stunning and just as I pictured when reading the book.
I was very impressed with the performance of Tilda Swinton in the film. The White Witch, or Empress Jadis, is a cold, calculating and cruel woman at her core however she puts on a sickly sweet facade which she uses to lure in weak minded persons such as Edmund, I personally do not think he is weak minded after his encounter with Aslan but when he met Jadis he definitely was. I was on edge whenever the Witch came on screen due to Swinton's excellent portrayal of the character, she walked with a confident and purposeful glide and her eyes were filled with evil intentions- enough to make anyone's blood chill. The film encaptured the sense of fear residing in Narnia during her reign perfectly especially in the Beaver's Dam.
Perhaps my favourite character of the book and the movie was Edmund. Keynes, again, performed the role brilliantly. Edmund is conceivably the most goodwill and strong characters of all the Pensive children, he is the only one to overcome temptation. He starts the book and the film as a selfish boy who has it in for his older siblings and bullies Lucy because he can but emerges a kind and selfless character. I respect characters that overlook their flaws and desires and help those hey love and care about- a synopsis that perfectly sums up Edmund.
As I've gotten older I have become increasingly more aware of C S Lewis' religious background and how he incorporate Christianity in The Chronicles of Narnia. The most evident moment of the book/ film when Lewis used religion for inspiration is the 'Stone Table scene'. Aslan is clearly a representation of Jesus/ God and so when he offers himself up as a sacrifice for Edmund's betrayal it is a obvious allusion to Jesus' death and resurrection. This scene has always horrified me with the pounding drums and the fiery colours I feel as though the film gets across the mounting tension and fear far better than could ever be written down.
For me this film version of C S Lewis' The lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was a near perfect adaptation and the world created on screen was a terrific testament to the book written.
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