Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1665 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Hindi
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 137 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

DVD Description
C.S. Lewis' timeless adventure The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe follows the exploits of the Pevensie siblings -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter -- in World War II England, as the four enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of hide-and-seek in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants, but this world has become cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch's powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis' icy spell forever.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe marks the first live-action directorial effort from New Zealander Andrew Adamson (of the Oscar-winning Shrek and Shrek 2), and stars Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. The film also features the voices of Rupert Everett, Dawn French, Ray Winstone, and Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan.

Synopsis
Director Andrew Adamson gives a new dimension to C.S. Lewis's enchanting story with this long-awaited Disney adaptation. As the story begins, Mrs. Pevensie in order to keep her children safe during World War II sends Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmond (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) off to stay at a professor's country estate. Away from London and under the care of a strict housekeeper, they are instructed to stick to themselves and stay out of trouble. But when an innocent game of hide-and-seek leads young Lucy to a spare room containing a large wardrobe, she discovers something that will change their lives forever. Inside the wardrobe there is a world frosted with ice and filled with magical beings. Known as Narnia, the land is stuck in eternal winter at the hands of the cruel White Witch, played with great force by the pale, strong-featured Tilda Swinton. When she steps back into reality, Lucy struggles to convince her sceptical siblings of the things she's seen. After much disbelief, the others finally enter the world as well, learning that the creatures of Narnia have long been waiting for humans like themselves to appear and break the witch's spell. But in order to be of any help to the lovable talking beavers, fawns, foxes, and centaurs that they meet, the four will have to face betrayal by one of their own as Edmond cracks under the witch's tempting offer of unlimited Turkish Delights. Under the leadership of the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), can Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and the oldest, Peter, prove themselves heroes in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil? High-budget special effects, impressive performances by the film's young newcomers, and beautiful set design move this film far beyond previous television adaptations.

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Adaptation
There have been critics of this movie, and to a certain extent they have a point - The large battle scenes will never rival those of the Lord of the Rings, however, this movie was aimed at a younger audience as were the excellent books. When viewed in context, this movie hits the spot. From the first moment the Pevensie children set foot in the land of Narnia through to their return through the wardrobe this movie delivers an exciting and magical adventure.

The movie started in an inspired way with the Luftwaffe air raid over London introducing the audience to the reason why Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were staying with Professor Kirke in the first place, and then rolled on with a consistent and easy flow. The locations were magnificent, and the use of animatronics amazing - as were the CGI and CGI augmented creatures! A particularly nice touch was the way that Mr Tumnus shook away the snow from his hooves by stamping on the mat - his 'backwards' goat legs really looked the part. The witch was not as frightening as she could have been, but had I been six years old I'd have been terrified. Aslan was surprisingly lion like but managed to convey the majesty of the king.

I liked this movie and I look forward to the coming of "Prince Caspian" in 2008.

Enjoyable, but not great.
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.

Very enjoyable
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.