>> CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
You enjoyed the cartoon, you were spellbound by the BBC adaptation, hey, you might have even read the book. So isn’t it about time you were seduced by the big screen version too?
Yes, the classic C.S. Lewis tale is back with a sweet escapism more tempting than a box full of Turkish delight.
Now Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter mania have swept the globe, transporting delighted audiences to enchanting realms, it was only a matter of time before Narnia and its strange assortment of fauns, dryads, beavers, giants, centaurs and beasts came along to stir up the global appetite for fantasy.
A contemporary and fellow Oxford don of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis’s series of tales, grounded in a world we recognise, are far more child friendly than the Lord of the Rings series. While the relentless struggle between good and evil is also a pivotal theme in Narnia, it is Christian allegories rather than Nazi parallels that Lewis interweaves. But that doesn’t mean Narnia is no more than a neatly dressed Sunday School lesson. Lewis was more interested in entertaining children rather than preaching, and entertaining should certainly be the word on your lips after the motion picture has cast its spell on you.
It is World War II, and while London suffers constant threats of Nazi air raids, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are evacuated from the city to the home of an eccentric professor in the depths of the countryside. Playing a game of hide-and-seek one day, Lucy stumbles upon a wardrobe with rather more inside than some moth-eaten coats and last summer’s flip-flops. Oh yes, she finds herself in the magical land of Narnia, a captivating world populated by such curious creatures as dwarfs, fauns and talking beavers. Narnia is in the grip of an icy spell cast by the White Witch, Jadis, which means it is always winter and never Christmas.
On Lucy’s return to Narnia with her siblings in tow, the children discover that they are the key to breaking the evil curse. Teaming up with Aslan, the godly lion, they face a climactic battle that will free Narnia forever.
Utilising the technology the Narnia series has been waiting for and boasting a cast of stars, Shrek director Adamson promises a treat for the imagination.
Beccy Matthews