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Despite disappointment, 'Narnia' sure to be a hit
BY L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Dec 09, 2005 - 12:03:28 am CST

It’s hard not to compare “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” to “The Lord of the Rings.” After all, writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were fast friends who undoubtedly influenced each other as they wrote their epic stories of myth and imagination.

Tolkien’s more adult stories made it to the 21st century big screen first, exploding in nine hours of epic splendor, winning Academy Awards and setting a high bar for the cinematic adaptation of Lewis’ more child-oriented stories.

Unfortunately, “Shrek” director Andrew Adamson fails to get “The Chronicles of Narnia” up to “The Lord of the Rings” level, either in complex storytelling or intensity, even though he blatantly rips off some LOTR battle scenes and uses New Zealand for the film’s striking settings.

But because he’s making a children’s movie, Adamson’s battle is bloodless, just as much of the preceding action never quite takes its young protagonists to a critical edge.

Part of the difficulty here might be rooted in the material. Lewis’ book is a Christian allegory, and that survives intact, anchoring the final hour of the film. But until the Lion, the story’s Christ figure, emerges, there’s plenty of wandering in the wilderness for the English schoolchildren at the heart of the story.

Sent off to the country during the World War II blitz, the Pevensies, two brothers and two sisters, stumble upon an old wardrobe during a game of hide and seek.

Lucy (Georgie Henley), the youngest, goes through the wardrobe first and emerges in the snow-covered land of Narnia, meeting a talking faun, becoming enchanted, but not fully understanding what she has seen. Impulsive, selfish Edmund (Skandar Keynes) is next to enter, quickly falling under the spell of Jadis, (a perfectly cast Tilda Swinton), the White Witch who has thrown Narnia in a frozen world of war and chaos.

Eventually, skeptical elder sister Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Peter (William Moseley), the oldest of the bunch who is destined to become the story’s hero, join their siblings in Narnia and learn they are part of a prophecy that will bring down the Witch and restore the lion, Aslan, to power.

In order to fulfill the prophecy, the kids have to cross Narnia, dodging snarling wolves and keeping a step ahead of the vengeful Witch, who has captured poor Edmund. They do so with the aid of a pair of chattering beavers, just two of the talking, digitally created animals that fill the film.

Perhaps because Adamson directed the “Shrek” films, the talking animals are livelier than the kids, who are often stiff and never seem fully comfortable in their roles.

That may not be entirely their fault. The picture never really fires on any level.

Adamson and three others are credited with writing “The Chronicles of Narnia.” That’s never a good sign as it indicates that there was trouble developing a strong narrative in the screenplay and too many authors invariably leads to a bland result. It also says something when the big battle scene looks like it was lifted from Peter Jackson’s pictures and the film’s final moments come straight out of “Star Wars.”

All that said, “The Chronicles of Narnia” isn’t a disaster. It looks great and it is definitely a family film, with a PG-rating that invites the book’s young readers into the theaters. It also effectively conveys Lewis’ Christian allegory.

There’s no question “The Chronicles of Narnia” is going to be a hit, thanks in part to aggressive marketing from the same firm that pushed “The Passion of the Christ” in churches. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t disappointing.

Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.