The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2006) Review

By the time the crew of last week's big DVD, King Kong, finally get to Skull Island, this adventure is already in full play. And that's just one of its own many king-sized charms.

The battles of King Edmund © Walt Disney Pictures

Before we get to evaluating the three most obvious things about The Chronicles of Narnia - you know, that lion, that witch and that wardrobe - it's worth pointing out a trio of less clearly labeled but no less formidable aspects of this thrilling family adventure.

First off, this $196 million co-production between Disney and Walden Media is billionnaire Philip Anschutz's first certifiable cinematic out-of-the park home run, or out-of-the-stadium cricket ball if you prefer. Everything about this production, from the writer-director they chose (Shrekmeister Andrew Adamson), to the four authentic kids they found (Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell), to the seamless special effects work they weave, is spot on. Then there's the fact that Adamson has managed to top the comic relief of his Dreamworks colleagues' Madagascar penguins with a pair of crumpet-loving, tea-drinking beavers.

A magnificent mane © Walt Disney Pictures

But the real centerpiece of originality for this first of what promises to be many Narnia big screen episodes is the climactic battle scene pitting every single denizen of this Medieval-like world against one another. By Adamson's own admission, the inspiration for this was to sort of pull off a Braveheart-for-kids, and he succeeds in a way that on paper would seem impossible. It's violent and it's not; it's scary, but not too much; everything is at stake, but minus the one or two horrific images that could inspire pre-tween nightmares.

OK; now back to the more obvious stuff.

The Lion: In the months and years leading up to the release Narnia, much was made about the novel and film's religious elements of Christ-like suffering and resurrection, via the arc of Aslan the Lion (voice of Liam Neeson). Stories coursed through the media about the way in which Disney had enlisted the same west coast PR guru who handled The Passion of the Christ to grassroots the film to churches and religious groups around the world.

But a funny thing happened to this film on the way to the sacrificial altar. Twenty out of the twenty-five people kept behind for an early September focus group grilling gave Narnia a rave, and all of a sudden the Internet chatter became all about the quality of the film, not the finer points of its Catholic calibrations. And of course, now here we stand on the eve of the DVD release with a worldwide box office of $718 million and a sequel, Prince Caspian, in active pre-production.

God Save the Narnians © Walt Disney Pictures

Now don't get me wrong. For those newbies coming to the DVD with a full awareness or curiosity about this aspect of the C.S. Lewis oeuvre, all the images are there, plain to see. But for a whole separate set of family moviegoers who are not familiar with the seven books, the scholarly analyses and such, it was and will again absolutely a non-factor. It's not lorded on too thick (pun intended), and so the non-religious renters and DVD purchases can come to this aspect of the film afterwards, via Google, IMDB and any other self-help Internet portal you can imagine.

So, Narnia is the best of both worlds: a spiritually faithful hymn that can be sung along to by those who already know the words, and tapped along to by those who just dig the music.

The Witch: With Imelda Staunton now officially on board to play Professor Umbridge in the next, fifth Harry Potter film, kudos to Narnia for beating its fellow seven-novel UK brethren in one department by choosing adjacent actress Tilda Swinton (The Chumscrubber, Constantine) to portray the wicked White Witch. This is a broomstick babe for the ages, although her preferred weapon is H2O; she's right up there with the venerable Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz.

Further extending the Potter comparison, in terms of nuances and layers, Swinton actually manages to out-Voldemort you-know-who in Goblet of Fire. This really is one of the great children's flick portrayals of a fairy godmother gone to seed. And if you like what you see in this department, be sure to then also rent Young Adam on DVD and watch it after the kids are safely tucked away in bed, wardrobe locked of course. Her work opposite Ewan McGregor is one of the other highlights from her 40-plus film pantheon.

The Wardrobe: Finally, this film stands as Exhibit A in how to deal with the reality-bending conceits of a family film: just go for it. No need to have some chunk of expository dialogue about how the back of the armoire was blown out by a German World War II bomb, and then because of that and the accumulated static energy of mink fluff coats, it...; and no need to even for a moment pause and sort of allow the audience to wonder if this could ever really happen.

Because the ultimate wallop of Wardrobe is that it doesn't matter. Like its adjoining magical UK-inspired kingdoms Neverland, Wonderland and Hogwarts, it's just there. The only real catch is that the adults of these worlds are too busy with their mundane day-to-day lives to either notice or still have enough innocence left to unlock it.

DVD Extras: Audio Commentaries by actors Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell with director and co-writer Andrew Adamson; and by Adamson with production designer Roger Ford and producer Mark Johnson. Other Extras include "Bloopers of Narnia" and "Discover Narnia Fun Facts."