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| The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005] | ![The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GG1J0SHEL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Andrew Adamson
Actors: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Sophie Winkleman, Liam Neeson
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £20.99
Buy Used: £3.19
You Save: £17.80 (85%)
New (22) from £4.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 297
Format: Dubbed, Pal, Widescreen
Languages: Danish (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Hindi (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Danish (Dubbed), Hindi (Dubbed), Norwegian (Dubbed)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Running Time: 137 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 8717418086527
ASIN: B000EPE7AU
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: April 3, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: This dvd is ex-rental
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| Customer Reviews:
A mix between The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter... April 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This film was one I had an idle interest in watching when it first came out, but so idle I never actually got round to it. But having seen posters for the new film and been advised to watch it, I eventually dedicated some time to The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. And it was worth it. I've not read any of the books either, so I really had no idea what it was about, except it was a kind of fairy tale type thing.
I found it sad right from the off as the children are sent away into the country during the war to keep them safe. The scene where they leave their mother I found particularly touching, especially as the oldest boy, Peter tries to be the man and say he'll look after everyone.
On arriving in the countryside where they are to live with a professor on his sprawling estate, the children are quite taken aback at the manner of his housekeeper, and decide to keep out of hers and the professor's way at all times. Given the house and gardens are enormous, they realise that's not going to be a problem. In fact, youngest girl Lucy discovers that the grounds are even larger than they deemed possible. As the children play Hide and Seek one day, Lucy finds an ornate wardrobe in a spare room and makes up her mind this is the perfect place to hide. Even more so when she ventures further into the wardrobe and suddenly plops into thick snow. Lucy has arrived in the world of Narnia. The little girl explores alone, and even finds herself a friend and has an adventure. On returning to the wardrobe so her brothers and sister don't get too worried, Lucy is dumbfounded when they hadn't even noticed she'd gone. Although Lucy had been in Narnia for hours, the other children were still playing that same game of Hide and Seek.
Realising she's found something rather special, Lucy tells her siblings the story. None of them believe her, and when she goes to prove it to them, the back of the wardrobe is predictably, solid wood. Frustrated and upset, Lucy insists she is telling the truth, but with no proof to back her up, she is forced to accept her family won't believe her.
Soon enough though, all of the children hide in the wardrobe after smashing a window in the professor's house. And this time, the gateway to Narnia is open once more. Delighted and smug, Lucy is in her element. And this is where their adventures really begin. It appears the children have stumbled into the middle of a war for control over Narnia - and their part is more important than they ever believed possible...
I'm glad I watched this. I won't say it was mind-blowing, but it was very good. And of course it's important to remember this is aimed at children, though there's no reason big kids (such as myself) won't enjoy it. The way I'd describe this film is a mix between The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, which given I'm a huge fan of both, is no bad thing. It didn't have quite so much tension as the other two, but as a PG, they wouldn't have been able to include violence or anything too scary!
Overall, I reckon you'll enjoy this if you're a fan of LOTR and/or HP and you love fairy tales!
A special film March 11, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I came to The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe with some trepidation as I adore the BBC series that was done some years ago and did not think it could easily be topped by simply introducing some CGI. I was right. However, in it's defence, it was better than I was led to believe it would be by other peoples responses to it. I think that if I had come to it fresh or just from reading the book I would have got on with it a bit better. One of the main problems I had with the film was the children themselves. Now I always found Peter and Susan vaguely annoying in the book/TV series for being too `goody-goody' so I wasn't surprised at my dislike for them. But Edmund had always been my favourite character by far and I found him detestable in this. And not simply in the way you are supposed as he is a traitor etc because, as I said, I liked his character in the book. Lucy I found a little too wide-eyed and vacant but she grew on me throughout the film. I think I just found her a little too young for the role, it made it a little unbelievable. Now to the other characters. Good job with the beavers, they were spot on. Mr Tumnus seems to have been transformed from a likeable if initially misguided character into a creepy slightly paedophilic figure which disturbed me somewhat. The wolves I found too `cute', nowhere near as scary as in the TV series (yes, ok, they were more realistic (especially since some real!) but not terrifying like they should be). Dwarves, ghouls, fawns etc all ok, didn't stand out as particularly good or bad. Tilda Swinton spot on as the white witch. Could not have thought of anyone better to cast in this role. She always has a menacing, slightly psychotic air which is perfect. Not convinced on Liam Neeson as Aslan, I thought a deeper, more authoritative voice would have been better but I got used to it. Now I don't know how long the TV series was but this film felt far too condensed - it's a long time since I read the book but I got the feeling there was a lot missing, I just can't quite place what. I also disliked the battle scenes, they seem to have fallen into the CGI trap of `lets show what we can do and how impressive it can be' rather than showing specific parts of the battle with key characters in detail. There was a little bit of close-up but nowhere near enough to show the true intensity of a battle. One thing I did like is that I found that they kept the whole Christian thing quite low key (I know others didn't think this from the posts on the message boards but I did). I never spotted this in the books as a child and when I learnt it as an adult it disappointed me greatly as I am not Christian and do not agree with Christianity. It ruined the books for me to a degree when I thought back over them and I thought they did a good job stopping it from taking over the film. Here's hoping they manage to improve on what they've done so far and make Prince Caspian better - hopefully the children will have grown into their roles more improving that side and I'm praying (excuse the irony!) that they avoid the `just throw CGI at them' approach for the battles. Overall, well worth watching if you haven't seen the TV series, otherwise you may want to avoid if that lies close to your heart!
 Very enjoyable November 3, 2007
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is a really lovely film- very watchable, great acting, good message. As a family film I prefer it to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter etc by a mile- the main reason because it just leaves a really nice taste in the mouth at the end. Oh the kids loved it too....
Good stuff.
I must admit the talking animal was very fascinating August 19, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've never read the original artwork by C.S. Lewis, so my review can by no means assess how true the movie actually is to the original. My kids mildly enjoy this movie and I find it quite interesting. `Narnia' is a good film due to the books and not something that can be credited to the movie's producers. The fantasy and the power of magic that pervades the story might make any child's eyes gleam in admiration and amazement. This needs to be appreciated and makes `Narnia' a nice Christmas movie as well.
The characters are somewhat indifferent, save for little Lucy played by Georgie Henley. The remaining three siblings -- Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Peter (William Moseley), and Susan (Anna Popplewell) also done a good job as well but their characters wasn't as convincing as Lucy's. The two male actors in particular seem a bit overcharged with the movie's scope. They act decently in a way that would definitely suffice for a movie of lesser dimension. This is probably due to a lack of sophistication in terms of the kids' acting skills. Maybe the casting department should have chosen more experienced actors instead of utter newcomers but they had to start somewhere. I can imagine what a challenge it was to process something as huge as Lewis' `Narnia.' It seems to me that the producers wanted to jam as much input into the story as possible, which hampered the natural development of the plot. How can you expect the two boys being good at fighting with their swords in a huge battle? Why are the main characters rejuvenated when they re-enter the wardrobe? In addition some scenes were indeed very corny and too stereotypical for me - even young kids can expect a bit more. The deep emotions were not really influential, which brings me back to the inexperienced actors. What save `Narnia' was the magic of it all. Talking animals, beautiful landscapes, funny dialogs, themes of redemption and courage - this is something to be appreciated, as it might inspire children and adults alike. The movie is an eye-catcher in terms of wonderful visualizations that does justice to Lewis' perception of `Narnia.'
"The Chronicles of Narnia" is a unique story that had room for improvement, but hopefully they can work at it the second time around. Still, with intense battle scenes, menacing encounters with the witch and her minions, and the seemingly fatal injuries suffered by major characters, it seems to me that this film pushes its PG rating to the limits but who am I to judge.
 Babyish response to the 'fantasy novel' movie craze!! August 16, 2007
3 out of 15 found this review helpful
I don't really have much to praise this movie for, to be honest i don't think the makers of this movie made it because of a genuine enthusiasm for the work of C.S.Lewis at all. I have given it two stars because it wasn't too bad a thing to watch, but that is if you forget it is supposed to be THE narnia chronicles by THE C.S Lewis based on THE books. It is far too babyish, cute and 'american' to be even compared to the books. In fact it is only a spin off of society's latest frenzy for fantasy movies, apapted from books, featuring childish characters who go to war, facing dragons, griffins, talking animals and even more computor-graphic reliant 'good and evil'. The modern soundtrack is pathetic, the whole americanised, disney, cutesy, modern-cockney-slang using computor generated beavers and mafia-esque wolves is just irritating, and the 'altered-to-be-family-friendly-doubtful-arguing-trust-love-friendship' etc bonds between the four children was stomach churningly dim witted.
The visuals weren't even that good either, and yet the film relies on them, since they haven't even adapted the original story to anything worthy of credit either.
The only thing i can really think of that impressed me was how Aslan was adapted, even then he comes across as a real life version of the Lion kings Mufasa... The white witch is alright i suppose, just too mumsy and calm to be considered a really terrible, evil, threatening villainess.
I think that if your going to adapt a series of books as majestic and as imaginative as The Narnia chronicles than you should do it with equal, memorable majesty and originality.
The big battle scenes, the variety of make up clad beasts, the twisted forever present theme of little people from a little place going off into the big bad war torn world, its all too familiar with the Lord of the rings, Harry Potter and eragon etc. ITS BORING.
People are dying of starvation out in the world, and yet we western people spend millions of dollars on unfaithful, rapid, cliched, fast-food movies like this... it really is well, rather stupid.
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