We found a theater in Mazatlan that had "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in English and went together as a family on opening night to see this classic tale. All of us in the Sherman family really enjoyed the picture and felt that the director did about as good a job as could have been done by a Hollywood film studio.
Lucy stole the show! All of the other characters were well casted, but Georgie Henley, the 10 year old girl who plays Lucy, was an absolute feast to the senses with her wide-eyed sense of wonder, innocence and child-like faith. Peter, Susan, Edmund, Mr. Tumnus, the White Witch and Aslan were all a hit, but Lucy was the show-stopper.
The White Witch played by Tilda Swinton had "ice in her veins" and was the embodiment of seductive cruelty. She, like many other tyrants throughout history, sees people, creatures and the environment as all existing as a means to an end. Aslan's world is utilitarian to her as she consumes everyone and everything around her to strengthen her hold on power.
Aslan's voice is done by Liam Neeson and provides an excellent combination of gentleness, wisdom and power. The one criticism of Aslan that I have is that we don't see or hear enough from Him. There is some very important dialogue cut out of the picture which diminishes Aslan's presence as the awe-inspiring character He is in the books. The director comes close, but falls a little short on this account.
The special effects are great and do a good job of making the creatures of myth and magic come to life in a believable way. However, with all of the advancements in CGI which currently exist, it is almost impossible to create a CGI character that is flawless. Aslan for instance is close, but I still had the feeling that He was digital lion.
The one missing element that may be impossible to remedy in any future Narnia films is the wonderful witty narration of Lewis himself. Throughout the books he inserts little quips and quotes that are key to making the Narnia series what it is. Without a narrator reading directly from the books, I'm not even sure it would be possible to capture this effect. Of course doing this would probably slow the story down a bit and quite possibly lose some of the younger viewing audience.
The positive element in all of this is the simple joy of being able to go back and read the books and know that there will always be certain little treasures hidden within the pages of these classic stories. The film adaptation is very good and well worth seeing in the theater, but the books will always be just a little better. Even so, "Aslan is on the move!"
I now understand why Lewis never wanted the books made into any kind of visual production.
ReplyDeleteAre you savoring your last few days in Meh-he-co? Is that why there is no new post here? We are missin ya'll sumpin' fierce! Can't wait to lay some hugs on ya. :>
ReplyDeleteI was in Hollywood during the release of the movie staying right across from the Kodak Theater and talk about keeping a promise that was SOOOOO hard to keep. I could have seen it at the premier on the largest screen where the acadamy awards are held BUT NOOOOOO..... I had promised Drake I would wait and see it with him.At the time of the promise who would of known I could've been in that set up. But I did stand outside and let the fake snow fall on me and was in awh at the set design inside the theater to look like you were in Narnia. It was sooo tempting. But I was so glad I waited. We had a blast.
ReplyDelete