by Peter McManusThe Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has helped resurrect a film
industry whose slumping box office this year may have felt like
"always winter, but never Christmas."
The film based on the C.S. Lewis children’s
classic sold an estimated $78 million (CDN) worth of tickets on its
opening weekend, more than the next nine most popular films
combined.
Children, teenagers and adults have praised the
movie’s quality, excitement and faithfulness to Lewis’ Christian
message.
Set in war-torn England, the four Pevensie
children are sent to their uncle’s mansion in the countryside far
away from the bombings in London. When it rains in England, it
really rains, leaving the siblings with nothing to do. Out of sheer
boredom, they start to play hide & seek inside the massive home.
Thus begins the real adventure. Lucy, the
youngest, hides in a large wardrobe, pushes her way to the back of
the closet and steps into the magical land of Narnia.
Eventually, the three other children follow her
into this winter wonderland. A series of events drives them to
pursue Aslan, the true King of Narnia.
Aslan is a lion, but not just an ordinary lion.
"After all, he’s not a tame lion," one of his loyal subjects noted.
He is the ruler of Narnia.
However, the land is under a spell of the White
Witch, who has caused it to be always winter. She is trying to
prevent an ancient prophecy from taking place. The expectation was
that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve would come to rule
Narnia.
The film depicts the ultimate battle between good
and evil.
C.S. Lewis never intended this story to be an
allegory of Christianity, but the connection is obvious.
Straying only slightly from the original book,
the movie was magnificent. It captures the viewer right from the
start.
Computer animation has made this film seamless
and believable. The producers have magically maintained the
integrity of the story and its characters.
In the book, C.S. Lewis
wrote this introduction to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe:
TO LUCY BARFIELD
My Dear Lucy,
I wrote this story for you, but when I
began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a
result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it
is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will
be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take
it down from some upper shelf, dust it and tell me what you think of
it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand,
a word you say but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, –
C.S. Lewis
