Had the chance to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe last weekend, which is part of the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis at the cinema. I’ve always revered this series of books and regarded them as far superior than that of Harry Potter (no personal offence, Potter fans!). But this film adaptation left me (and P) with mixed feelings. Sadly, there was no after-cinema excitement and there was nothing that lingered on afterwards.

By the way, there might be spoilers for those who haven’t seen the film yet on the rest of my post. Oh, and may I post a disclaimer now, the rest of this post is my personal opinion of which, I claim no expertise or any other commercial responsibility for it.

Rightey…

WHERE DID IT GO WRONG?

The Baddies
It felt that they re-created the uruqhai (of the LOTR fame) army for the Witch Queen. Why do the bad guys always look like someone smashed an egg in their faces? I mean, there was a cyclop, a bull… I certainly didn’t have these images in my head when I was reading the book.

The Beavers
Well, mix of right and wrong here, really. I just didn’t picture the Beavers to have an East London accent! Hardly cockney though but I suppose it was effective for their characters… talk about freedom of cinematic expression!

Mr Beaver: Aslan… he’s the big geezer…

Wrong Sequence
I don’t know what Disney’s plans are regarding the rest of the Chronicles. But if they are bringing all 7 books into the widescreen, then they have got the order of the books wrong. They should have done The Magician’s Nephew first, although this book was published after The Lion… also, one could argue that The Lion… is undoubtedly the most popular of the series. But having the chronology of the stories right would make it easier for the audience to follow. Besides, why else would you think Prof Kirke knew about the wardrobe, hmmm?

Stage Production
There was a particular scene where the backdrop looked like a painting. I think it was when the Beavers took the 3 Pevensies to Aslan’s camp over the mountains. When the camera was shot back at the children, the view of the mountains behind them looked fake.

WHAT MADE IT RIGHT?

Edmund
Bravo to Skandar Keynes for capturing the true essence of Edmund Pevensie! From the moment he came on screen and being such a big pain for Peter (played by William Moseley), I felt goosebumps. It was exactly how I imagined and pictured Edmund. The part where Keynes really hit the homerun was during the Turkish Delight scene…

Mr Tumnus
The whole look and feel plus the portrayal of James McAvoy of this dear faun was just excellent. Loved to hooves, in particular!

So and so … that summarises my thoughts on this film adaptation of Lewis’ book. I am glad that the film industry had taken notice of this great book but borrowing from P’s opinions…

I wished I hadn’t seen it to keep all my memories of the book pure.

Do I recommend it? Well, if you have read the book, think several times. If you haven’t, read the book first!

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