If you are judging Narnia based on kid’s movie standards it’s pretty good. If you are judging it on adult standards or against the heavyweights of the fantasy genre it comes up somewhat lacking. So which is it kid? What camp are you in? Choose sides now because if you don’t stand for something you stand for nothing.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is the heartwarming tale of four youths trapped in a magical fantasy land. They are forced to take up arms against a white witch ice queen (Tilda Swinton). Tilda is highly freaky in this role and shouldn’t be viewed under the influence. Got that parents? Back to our regularly scheduled plot; along the way the kids make friends with many a furry creature and learn life lessons too. It’s a PG fest for the youngsters with nothing too controversial or complex to hinder the viewing experience.
The above statement is the precise issue I have with the film. It’s too straightforward. Too basic. Not enough big themes for the big brained. I’m not saying Narnia isn’t well executed I’m just saying it’s a kid’s movie through and through. I wish it had the double entendre skill of Monsters, Inc. or the epic range of The Lord of the Rings but it doesn’t. Narnia is a good film and nothing more. It will win the first weekend and then get King Konged right out of town.
The kid actors in Narnia range from annoying to effective. The most notable is Georgie Henley who plays Lucy, the youngest of the foursome who has a heart bigger than the whole land of Narnia. She’s irresistibly cute as the tiniest member of the family. Her big eyed smiles will crack even the most coldhearted of viewers. I’m forced to grade this movie on a curve because of her Dakota Fanning like precociousness. That said, her older sister is annoying as hell. Anna Popplewell plays Susan; the worry wart sibling. She’s a real wet blanket, that one. Lastly James McAvoy is well cast as Mr. Tumnus. He drips with sweet courage. CS Lewis would have been pleased with him (So long as we can confirm he’s a Christian of course).
The kids will really like Narnia. The scenery is beautiful and the good guys are clever and kind. The bad guys are overtly cruel and easy to hate. I could easily imagine having some junior mints and thinking how darned special that lion was if I were a kid again. The fact that nothing really happens in the film isn’t a fatal flaw because we’re not the target audience. The little tykes with sugar plums in their eyes are. The kids who can’t sleep Christmas night will get a big charge out of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Everyone above twelve will just have to suck it up and sacrifice a few hours.
It’s the least you can do for a kid who’s been good all year.
