“Narnia” is less a religious film, and more an exploration in to reluctant heroes fighting for good. I mean, let’s face it here, people, if not for the prior success of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the quickly sputtering “Harry Potter” franchise, we wouldn’t have this Narnia here with us. I mean was there a real point in making this film other than cashing in on this classic novel series? Based on C.S. Lewis’ classic novel series, the first of many involves four children escaping the Nazi regime and hiding out in their uncle’s mansion. While playing hide and seek one day, the youngest, Lucy wanders off in to the wardrobe. She wanders, and wanders, and enters a land called Narnia, and thus the adventure begins for these four reluctant heroes.
As fantasy nut I was especially fond of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” because of its mixture of menace and innocence. Watching these children accidentally delve in to this foreign world, and then be forced to fight this incredible war is what fantasy is made of. Adam Anderson paints a wonderful vision of the land of Narnia, and it’s an innocent place when juxtaposed to Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Though I prefer the latter, Lewis’ world is well fleshed out. The emotions of these children coming of age after separating from their parents is heartbreaking and once they begin blooming in to these warriors before our eyes, the progression is engrossing to watch, and there’s plenty of great character development that help us identify with these individuals. Each child has their moment in the sun and their parts to play in the ensuing war, but my favorite was Peter, who became a natural leader and is forced to lead a war after circumstances beg he does.
There are some simple but likable performances, especially from Georgie Henley who is utterly adorable as Lucy, the reluctant heroine who witnesses this war and engages in battle. The story is watched by four different perspectives: the unsure brother, the outcast middle child, the beyond her age realist/cynic, and the wide-eyed optimist. The incomparable Tilda Swinton is gorgeous and menacing as the white queen, the dark force of Narnia tempting the pariah Edmund in to her allegiance. There are also plenty of utterly amazing special effects that make for some fantastic imagery children will eat up with a spoon, particularly the animals. The best of them are Aslan, the leader of the forces of good. Aslan is obviously a reference to Jesus Christ (Hence the crucifixion in the second half), but he’s an idyllic hero, he’s just, and does what he has to because sometimes there are demands for it.
His adjustment to these children is natural and bold, and the incredibly animation paired with Liam Neeson’s ace voice work make it an amazing combination. That said, I just can’t see this happening for six more films mainly because the world of Narnia just isn’t interesting enough to be seen for seven two hour installments. All of which will continue taking liberties with its story. I was never a proponent of religious themed films, though. Disney, after creating this film, touted this to Christian churches and even held private screenings at churches, so the genre, and the story basically alienates any of its audience of a different religion whom choose to dissect the meanings. And it’s that sneakiness toward subtle allusions to the bible that kept me from really enjoying it, because I just couldn’t help but think of the Jewish and Muslim kids whom wanted to see this and felt slightly out in the cold by the film revering the Christian faith.
CS Lewis was a devout Christian who inserted religious themes in to his story as subtle religious propaganda. Beyond that, the world of Narnia is basically superficial comprised of typical elements that never add a sense of originality, which would explain why Tolkien’s world became the zeitgeist for fantasy, and not Lewis’. It’s all just basic fantasy fodder. There are your talking animals, elves, dwarves, fauns, Santa Claus, minotaurs, all elements from mythology, theology, fairy tales and whatnot and not a true ounce of individuality or originality. Lewis’ world was fun to look at, but nothing ever came to life and stood out. It was all just pretty underwhelming in the end, and it’s a shame that this couldn’t have been stronger. “Narnia” is fun once I ignored the none too subtle religious aspects. With fantastic special effects and an interesting story, while Lewis really doesn’t achieve Tolkien’s wonder or imagination, the world he draws is engrossing enough to warrant a watch.