The new Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie was much better than I expected. I have been raised all my life with the Chronicles of Narnia stories, from having the books read to me as a young child, to seeing the BBC versions, to reading the books for myself as I got older, to listening to the stories as radio dramas put out by both BBC and Focus on the Family. I would have to say that I am quite familiar with the stories, and because I am so familiar with them, especially the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, they have become rather blase and...well...boring. But seeing the new movie really breathed new life into the story.
First of all, I must say the it is more than a thousand times better than the old BBC movie version (referred to from now on as the BBC MV), and, if you have seen that one, disregard it and forget it ever existed. The acting, the casting, the effects, and the scenery were all quite bad, but in the new one they are just about perfect. In the BBC MV, I really disliked Mr. Tumnus, the faun. He was so wooden, cold, and had no depth to him. I didn't feel sorry for him at all when he was betrayed by Edmund and arrested by the White Witch's secret police. I could really care less. However, the new Mr. Tumnus is quite a different story. I felt like I knew him and could feel for him and the things he was going through from the moment Lucy screamed upon meeting him. Instead of being a character of no consequence like in the BBC MV, he quickly became my favorite. I must admit that I rather liked the added scenes with Mr. Tumnus as they added so much more depth to his character. (I must also now go into hiding as no self-respecting Narnia purist would allow me to get away with writing such blasphemous thoughts.) In fact, I think that the director and writers did a good job with the most scenes that they added to the story as they made the characters, the children especially, more dimensional and endearing.
The biggest fault that I have with the movie is the fact that they changed a couple lines so that it was the hope that the children's coming brought that was thawing the eternal winter and not the fact that "Aslan is on the move." The focus of the story was definitely the children and not so much the lion who was the king over all Narnia. They took away most of the mystery, excitement, enchantment, magnificence, and power associated with Aslan, at least as I saw it. They still did a good job, though, and I have to give kudos to the movie's makers for making such an almost explicitly Christian-themed movie. The death and resurrection scene was still powerful and moving, even if it wasn't the movie's focus.
One thing that I found really interesting and that helped me gain a new perspective on the tale was the people sitting behind me in the movie theater. They had never heard the story before so they were coming to the movie with fresh eyes and minds. Hearing their comments throughout the movie was like hearing the comments and exclamations of a little child making new discoveries in a world that has become commonplace to adults. It is wonderful to know the joy of rediscovering the familiar in new ways, and that is exactly what the new movie version of The Chronicles of Narnia has helped me do.
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I am proud to say that I have seen the movie also. Although I am not like some others that I met at the movie theater that had already seen it and had come back for seconds.
I loved most of the movie except for the part you pointed out and the way that the leaves told Peter and Edmund about Aslan's death.
The part where I almost cried was not where you would expect. It was at the beging of the movie when they were being bombed. Why I cried was because my Grandpa was in the Airforce, although not on the same side as those in the movie, and he just died last year.
Another part that made me fully understand something was when they were draging Aslan to the Stone Table and all those around him were mocking him and such. I never understood what it must have been like for Jesus when he was going to be crucified and all those around him were mocking him as well. I think it just made me fully understand what it would feel like.
I enjoyed the movie very much. I am very glad that I got to go see it. I am aslo proud to say that I went on opening day, although it was the next day by the time it ended.
~C
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