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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 New: £3.98
You Save: £17.01 (81%)
New (18) Collectible (1) from £3.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 106
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 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not as good as the BBC series. August 6, 2007
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
My girlfriend and I both watched the BBC series when we were younger and had high expectations of the film, We felt that the film didn't do the story justice and would recomend the bbc version.
 Enjoyable, but not great. March 10, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is Disney's attempt at buying into the fantasy franchises that have become more and more popular recently. The success of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy has helped open the door for classic books, especially those that will involve swords and sorcery, and some of these have been more successful than others. Thankfully this is a qualified success, almost very good but not quite.
This film is the tale of the four Pevensie siblings evacuated from London during the dark days of the blitz. Peter is the eldest and is trying to be responsible for his younger sisters and his moody and often irresponsible brother Edmund. Susan, the eldest sister is the sensible one while young Lucy is friendly and imaginative. When placed in the home of an elderly professor they accidentally discover a wardrobe that acts as a magical gateway to the land of Narnia where it is always winter, never Christmas thanks to the dark rule of a White Witch.
The scenery is one of the stars of this film with bleak ice castles, snowy woods, beaver dam-houses, and grassy plains all being extremely easy on the eye. A large part of the film was shot in New Zealand and the same craggy fields that so vividly brought Middle Earth to life do so again here. The effects are also generally good, the film employs a number of fantasy creatures and talking animals and if these had been badly rendered it would have failed. There are a few dodgy looking beasties, especially in the eye-popping final battle scene, but for the most part they're well done- especially the important animals like the beavers, wolves, and of course the eponymous lion Aslan.
The cast vary greatly in their quality and its one of the films failings. The children are the focus of the movie and needed to be very good. However, not all of them are up to par. Georgie Henley manages to avoid the trap of being too cutesy that so many child actors fall into and invests her Lucy with a likeability that the film would have struggled without. Similarly, Skander Keynes as Edmund is also very good, conveying the greed, selfishness, then fear and eventual heroism with conviction. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Anna Popplewell, whose "sensible" Susan is merely whiney and annoying, and William Moseley as Peter, more wooden than the wardrobe in the title of the film. The supporting cast is strong, Jim Broadbent only appears for a few minutes but suffuses his scenes with warmth. Liam Neeson provides the voice of Aslan and does well enough, similarly James MacAvoy puts in a good performance as Mr Tumnus, a faun and Lucy's erstwhile kidnapper and first friend in Narnia. The best performance though comes from the ice cold Tilda Swinton who, even when she's practically dripping with malice, never becomes a caricature and always convinces as Jadis, the White Witch.
Overall The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a decent film with a strong moral message about family togetherness and responsibility that is good for kids. While mostly bloodless there are a few moments that might be a bit strong for younger children, especially in the final battle. Its impossible not to compare this film with the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and it fares pretty well against this esteemed competition. This is also only the first in a series of films so there's plenty of opportunity for improvement. As a stand alone film its solid, enjoyable, pretty, and bears repeated viewing which is all it needed to do.
Relief it was not spoiled February 23, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was extremely nervous about seeing this as the book had such a huge impact on me, and I regularly re-read the whole Narnia series. However there was very little to complain about. The book is faithfully rendered in spirit and plot, and Narnia does come to life on the screen. Obviously everyone who loves the book has their own fixed idea of how things should look - for me it was the original, 60's illustrations. My white witch was whiter, my faun older, and I thought Aslan had a few dicey moments which made him look as if he was chewing gum - otherwise wonderful, and I was relieved at the excellent casting of the four children
Very Good Translation! February 8, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Not being familiar with the director of this film, and imagining how hard a live action film translation of the book would work out, I was very skeptical. But my love of the books crossed over into my great respect and admiration for the film. Plus it's just darn entertaining. Usually enjoying movies with more adult themes, fantasy type films just don't really interest me. But having read all of C.S Lewis's collection as a child, I was very curious about the film. Such wonderful storytelling. Have now introduced my kids to Lewis's world. My favorite film of 2005.
Doesn't compare to the BBC serialisation January 9, 2007
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
One useless motionless animatronic lion, two distinguished thespians dressed in beaver outfits and plenty of crap pasted on animations when you can't afford the special effects. Faded are those precious childhood memories of Sunday afternoons in front of the TV, watching the BBCs serialisation of The Chronicles of Narnia. Now in the glorious age of digital computer wizardry we have a film so realistic it loses some of its magical fairytale quality. However, the film still delivers a powerful and unambiguous story.
The film follows the four Pevensie siblings who are evacuated from the horror of London during the Blitz to stay in an old mysterious country house. It is the youngest, Lucy, who climbs into the wardrobe and finds herself in the magical world of Narnia, brimming with bizarre talking creatures, all under the spell of the White Witch.
In an attempt to reverse recent trends Disney (using the imagination of WETA (the team behind Lord of the Rings) and director Adam Adamson (the genius behind Shrek)) has splashed $150 million on taking C.S.Lewis' children's classic to the big screen. For a director who has earned his name working on fantasy productions, you'd expect fun. Check. Drama. Check. A visual scale and wonder reflecting the majesty of the book. Unfortunately not. The early scenes in the woods feel more magic tree [air freshener] than magic forest and the queen's magisterial ice palace looks strangely similar to my undefrosted freezer.
The film is scripturally streamlined and also shows willing to slow things down to feature some poignant scenes - such as Aslan's sacrifice on the stone table. However, the movie again falls short with the cinematic highlights being few and far between, leaving the film feeling understated and lacking in emotional gravitas. That is at least until the climactic battle which, as expected, is the film's high point and does feel suitably epic with all manner of wonderful magical creatures doing battle. The simple joy of seeing vertically challenged evil henchmen facing up to mighty rhinos is worth the ticket price alone.
Any shortfalls the film has are certainly made up for by some terrific acting and the old cliche of never work with animals or children can be put to the back of your mind - finding talking animals can never be an easy task for a casting director. The children also shine in their roles and are sufficiently restrained as to surpass the tweeness of the BBC serialisation. A great supporting cast make the acting a joy to watch - Tilda Swinton is inconspicuous but still chilling as The White Witch, Liam Neeson is credible as the noble Aslan and James McAvoy is a lot less camp than you'd imagine as the bumbling Mr.Tumnus.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a dynamic and warming adaptation which should set the pace for the entire franchise, though don't expect a new Lord of the Rings.
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