Narnia made me happy.
As a followup to my December 7 post about the then-upcoming Narnia film, I am relieved to report that
TLTW&TW (or should I just call it
LWW?) was delightful. I was not turned off by the Christian themes nor bored by a storyline and effects package that could not help but pale in comparison to
LOTR. Instead, I felt myself transported into a children's world of Christmasy magic.
This is not as good a movie as
LOTR, but technically it is arguably a better adaptation, with few deviations from the expected. It felt just like the book to me. Although the battle scene is extended onscreen from its brief mention in the book, this is counterbalanced by the added material near the beginning of the film which deepens the characterization of the four Pevensie children. Speaking of which, I was very impressed with the young actors here, especially Georgie Henley as the real protagonist, Lucy. And they looked remarkably like siblings! Unfortunately there is one scene late in the film which breaks the realism created by this careful casting, but the effect is important, as familial love and loyalty is as big a theme as any in this story.
Speaking of those big themes.
The Lion: Aslan. For one, absolutely gorgeous CG animation on this guy. He looked like a real lion (though I wish the other talking animals were as carefully rendered, and why oh why couldn't they have made the faun's ears move?). His infamous "Jesus" scenes had the exact same effect on me as they did ad a naive 9 year old reading the book - powerful, not preachy. You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate this story; it's enough to be a cat lover. And the overall plot of the movie doesn't really resemble anything in the Bible. In fact, the only time my secular/Buddhist friend and I exchanged smirking glances was when Father Christmas showed up to give the children their weapons. (Okay, a little context for the appalled uninitiated: under the false reign of the evil White Witch, there hasn't been Christmas in Narnia for 100 years despite perpetual winter.) The "War on Christmas," in Narnia if not on earth, is very real. "Long Live Aslan!" Father Christmas says before riding away, "...and, Merry Christmas!" [Cue Bill O'Reilly applause]. But this sequence is true to the book, and even five years ago it would not have provoked the same reaction. It is unfortunate for the film that it arrives in the year "Happy Holidays" has solidified its political connotations, making the movie seem more conservative than it perhaps intends to be.
The Witch: Perfect performance by Tilda Swinton. Like Galadriel's evil twin, she dominates her scenes with a chilling combination of regal bearing and barely suppressed madness. It is too bad she won't be appearing in the sequels.
The Wardrobe: What makes Narnia different from Tolkien is its grounding in the real world.
TLTW&TW in particular is a story of magical discovery - ordinary British children stumbling upon an entirely new world, a pastiche of mythological creatures and "Deep Magic." What 9-year old doesn't want to be Lucy? And this is ultimately a childrens' movie in the best sense. The best part of the film are the scenes between Lucy and the faun, Mr. Tumnus, when she first crosses the threshold into Narnia. Here, the movie comes closest to capturing the childlike combination of wonder and belief. Some critics have complained that Narnia feels nowhere near as vast as Middle Earth, or that the talking beavers are too twee. To me, they are missing the point. This is meant to evoke a child's fantasy, and in the end, the movie succeeds because it remains more childlike than childish.
Some minor qualms:
1. I know I have just praised this film as fundamentally different from
LOTR. Yet it is clear that this would not have been made without Jackson's trilogy as precedent, so I was surprised how many shots (I counted 4, excluding the battle) had been lifted directly from
LOTR. At one point the Witch ends a scene by saying "We have work to do," in the same tone as Saruman once did. If this was all intended as an homage, it wasn't necessary.
2. I think I blame George Lucas in the '90s for the advent of overlong movie titles with colons. "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" is unwieldy at 11 syllables. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is far worse (12, plus repetition). "Harry Potter and the Insert Occult Object Here" (9-12) is forgivable because the books have the same titles and the annoying colon is absent. But "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" (17) takes the cake. We get it!! It's part of a series. This is not an academic thesis; it is a movie, for Aslan's sake. Stop with the colons.
3. Really. Could we get the fauns to move their ears next time?
Posted by Trailhobbit
at 1:23 PM EST
