By Alice Flegel
One of the great children's classics by C.S. Lewis, is brought to the screen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Set in wartime England, its plot has the four Pevensie children sent out of London for their safety. They end up in the country house of the eccentric Prof. Digory Kirke, and like all children removed from their usual source of fun and amusement, they're bored, bored, bored.
Then one day, Lucy begins poking into things, and one of them is the very odd wardrobe of the professor's. What she sees inside, is not the professor's clothes, but a world encased in snow. The others of course, don't believe her, since they haven't found anything half so interesting. But eventually they give in to their own curiosity, and all enter the wardrobe to find themselves transported to the world of Narnia, where an evil White Witch has created an eternal winter, that will never see a Christmas.
Meeting up with the kind and caring lion Aslan who rules the strange land, the children begin their trek towards defeating the witch. But along the way, one will fall behind and join the very forces of evil they are trying to defeat. Amongst the mysteries of talking animals, mythical creatures and magic spells, the children must free Narnia from the perilous cold, and one of their own, from dangers that could destroy them.
This movie was extremely engaging from beginning to end, even at a long 2 hour and 20 minute running time. Perhaps, it's because it was one of my favorite novels growing up, but the young actors were quite engaging and Tilda Swinton was superb as the White Witch.
Just one note of caution to parents: The movie was rated “Parental Guidance Suggested” and parents should be aware. The movie definitely has numerous violent scenes and it’s certainly not for little ones.
Director: Andrew Adamson
Producers: Perry Moore, Philip Steuer, Andrew Adamson
Starring: Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, James Cosmo, Jim Broadbent, Elizabeth Hawthorne