Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy
Director: Andrew Adamson
Studio: Disney/Buena Vista
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 widescreen, 1080p HD
Audio: PCM Uncompressed 5.1, English DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1
Extras: Commentaries, Featurettes, Bloopers, Interactive Map
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Length: 143 minutes
Rating: ****1/2
The only real competition for the Narnia franchise would be the 1988 made for television versions, and while they were great adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ classic allegories, they unfortunately come up quite a bit short in terms of presentation compared to today’s standards of CG visual effects. This first of the trilogy from BVHE is the finest overall realization of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe yet, and is a true blockbuster from both audio and visual standpoints, along with some impressive acting from the four relative newcomers who portray the Pevensie children. Tilda Swinton is scarily effective as the witch, and James McAvoy offers perhaps the best portrayal of faun Mr. Tumnus to ever grace the big screen.
For those who might be unfamiliar with the basic storyline, the action begins in WWII London, during the German bombing raids. The mother of the four children, worried for their lives after a particularly close call, arranges to send them to the countryside for the duration of the war. Upon arrival, they’re greeted by a savage taskmaster of a housekeeper, who essentially prohibits them from touching anything in the massive estate. During a game of hide and seek, Lucy, the youngest, hides in a large wardrobe that occupies an otherwise empty room; there she inadvertently falls through the back of the wardrobe into Narnia. She encounters Mr. Tumnus, a faun-like creature, who invites her for tea, and then later informs her that he must turn her over to the witch. Lucy pleads with him, and he returns her to the location of the wardrobe and eventual safety. None of the children believe her incredulous story, until Edmund, the youngest boy, also enters the wardrobe and arrives in Narnia. Unfortunately, he encounters the witch, who bribes him with “Turkish Delight” to bring the other children to her, and unwittingly becomes a pawn in her aim for domination of Narnia. Ultimately, all four end up in Narnia, and become caught up in a fantastical struggle of evil against good, headed by the benevolent lion Aslan.
Some may be turned off by the overtly religious tones of the writings of C.S. Lewis, but the adaptation is pretty faithful to the books, and the movie is an absolute spectacle to behold in high definition. The success that this film enjoyed at the worldwide box office makes it pretty clear that quite a few enjoyed it on its entertainment merits. As a Blu-ray disc, it’s reference quality, with both picture and sound that offer a superior home theater experience. The image quality is nothing short of magnificent, and the uncompressed audio is equally satisfying. A second disc provides a wealth of extras, along with a really involved 1080p game that should keep gamers occupied for hours on end. On the negative side, this 50GB Blu-ray disc set a new all-time record for slowest load time of any disc in my collection. Granted, the payoff is well worth the eventual wait, but I can’t begin to tell you how agonizing it was to endure five-plus-minutes of load time. Despite the load-time issue [some recent players – including the PS3 – load more quickly…Ed.], very highly recommended!
— Tom Gibbs
