An onscreen representation or adaptation of the Narnia by CJlewis was a daunting and tough task .. so when it came out, thank god I waited for the DVD. ( I live in this stupid place where movies come to theatre so late and with heavy editing).
Watching this movie was like dreaming with the eyes wide open ... the start is not any indication of what is coming next in the movie. The movie starts with this .... it is world war II and london is being bombed. The characters ... the human characters in this movie are 4 kids, one family, but varied as the colours of the rainbow. The Eldermost is Peter, a child growing up too quickly. Then there is this sceptic Susan, trying to play the role of a mother at this time of crisis. Then we have a rebel in Ed the younger brother. And how can I neglect the darling of the movie LUCY. Due to the bombing and air raids, the children are sent to a Professor Kirke, a distant relative of theirs in a small village. The children obviously hate the war, though we see the look in the eyes of Peter when he sees the soldiers at the station. It is evident he too dreams of being a hero some day. So at this mysterious place, what can they do when it is raining outside? They play a game of hide and seek.... this is when Lucy finds this mysterious wardrobe in a room, once inside the wardrobe, she finds a whole new world of Narnia. The scene in which she enters Narnia is very beautifully cinematographed (due to this scene, I want to be in New Zealand the soonest I can!). I was going through the trivia section in IMDB, and it says the reaction of Lucy were genuine... she was brought to the sets blindfolded...
So here Lucy meets Mr. Tumbus the faun... a quite shy, some what wimpy character. They become friends and Tumbus has to follow the rules of the evil White Witch ... he is to bring any human in the woods to her. But try as he might, He cannot turn in this cute girl. She spends a lot of time in this new world, so when she returns, she finds that the time had almost stood still for the time she was in there... The world of Narnia is timeless. .. she tells the others about Narnia, how ever upon inspection, they find nothing ... one day Ed follows her and lands in the same place... how ever he runs into the evil witch ... she has enchanted him with her magic and promise of making him the king of Narnia .. one day while trying to hide after breaking some things, the foursome get into the wardrobe and get into Narnia....
I could describe each and every scene ... but I think I should be precise from this moment on ... so the deal is they are in this world which is ruled by the evil witch who calls herself the Queen of Narnia... The cute Mr. Tumbus is gone, arrested for treason .. so we find that the lands of Narnia are under a very long winter ... and there is a prophecy that two brothers and two sisters will defeat the evil witch and peace will return to Narnia. But Ed is misled .. and betrays them .... what follows is a journey in which these four rediscover themselves ... every animal in this place talks, we have all sorts of mythological characters and even the trees talk ... They are to meet Aslan the prince of Narnia who is the only hope of Narnia ever becoming free .... they are helped by a beaver couple, a fox... they encounter many hazards in their journey .. there is even santa claus... who gifts them magical items ... however Ed is in the clutches of the witch, so some how he has to be rescued ... and Narnia won back from the evil witch.
How this is done?? well if I have managed to create any desire in you to watch this movie, I am not going to spoil it by giving details ... from now on I will start wrapping up.
Aslan , Voice provided by Liam Neeson, is a great character.... a very powerful one too ... almost human, make it superhuman, he is brave and he is knowledgible, When he dies ... the movie becomes very interesting ... his resurrection came as a surprise .. but was totally believable... In his absence, Peter has to lead, can he lead? will he defeat the witch? Ofcourse he will ... but with a little help ...
So .. the movie is great ... no second thoughts about it ... The ESP of the movie is its cinematography and special effects ... if follows the footsteps of LOTR, and in some ways betters it ! can you believe it? Well in my view it does better ... every one is entitled to their own opininion... Cinematography is A class .... watch it in multiplex or better a DVD on home theater ... but a DVD no less ..... you would love it ... like I did .... it is very well made ... and I am betting on it to win some oscars...