 C.S. Lewis once wrote that the idea for the Narnia books came to him from images: "a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen in a sledge, a magnificent lion." From these mental pictures he created the Land of Narnia. Now that computer effects are commonplace in today’s films (which seem to make the impossible possible) the world waits with baited breath to see if the big screen adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ classic novel can live up to today’s expectations.
With the massive popularity of the Lord of the Rings movies, I suppose it was inevitable that we would eventually find a plethora of classic books being adapted in to films. In this case we can make an exception because adaptations of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe were made for television as far back as 1967.
 For those who are not familiar with the story of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, it tells the story of 4 sibling children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy), who are evacuated from war-torn London to the safety of a country mansion owned by Professor Digory Kirke. By way of playing a game of hide and seek brought on by boredom, Lucy finds herself transported to the world of Narnia via a mysterious old wardrobe. Eventually all the children find themselves enveloped in the adventure that is to follow as they explore the magical world, and discover that Narnia is in a constant season of winter because of the tyranny of the White Witch, Jadis (a part originally offered to Michelle Pfeiffer). With the help of the various mystical creatures they encounter, they take the decision to help the oppressed people of Narnia by way of the leadership of the great Lion; Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson).
In some respects, it could be argued that the Narnia books should have been converted on to the big screen a long time ago. Unfortunately, I feel the release of the Chronicles of Narnia will be somewhat overshadowed by a simple case of bad planning/timing by the film distributors. It is due for UK release on 9th December, just 3 weeks after the latest rendition of the Harry Potter saga. Some people will say; what’s wrong with that? Well, because of the fact that the new Harry Potter film is being heavily advertised at the moment, there is not much sign of Narnia, as Harry Potter is dominating the media. So, not only does this leave only 3 weeks to do a hard sell advertising campaign, you also have to consider that the other Harry Potter films have created the usual influx of Potter mania. It is therefore a likely assumption that we will still be in the height of Potter mania when The Chronicles of Narnia is released and I fear that this will take some of the shine off what looks to be an excellent fantasy adventure movie.
In addition to the film boasting some fine acting talent and picturesque settings, it looks like spectacular effects are the order of the day. Just from seeing the theatrical trailer we can expect to see talking animal characters, not only in the form of the great lion Aslan, but also beavers and the white witch’s wolves. We can also expect to see Mr Tumnus – a man from the waist upwards, but with the legs of a goat and hooves for feet. Also featured are Centaurs (half man, half horse), Minotaurs (the head and body of a bull, but stands on two feet like a man), Cyclops (a gigantic one-eyed creature standing over 7 and a half feet tall) and Minoboars (similar to a Minotaur but with boar like features). All these make for an effects extravaganza, which I hope, doesn’t end up disappointing!
It was in 1988 that the last TV version of this popular story was tailored from the book by the BBC. It is currently available to buy in the UK, but in my opinion, it was badly cast and badly over-acted which was disappointing for such a promising adaptation.
As for the books… well, it is strongly alleged that the full set of all 7 books have been highlighted for film development. This news however, leads naturally to the question; if the rumour is true, why not start from the very first book? - Yes, that’s right folks, for those who haven’t read any of the books (myself included), The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe was the 2nd book in the Narnia series! Granted, it was the first to be written, but it isn't the first in the sequence of the chronicles. It would seem that the reason why the 2nd book is being adapted first is simply because it is the most popular book in the series, the book that is the most well known in the series, and if you ask me, the one that is guaranteed to generate the most money of the series, so why not cash in early! - A bit of a cynical view I know, but with Hollywood’s track record of churning out films for the sake of making money; can you blame me? Ultimately, to me, this is good news as I feel that a decent base is needed for any fantasy adventure series and you don’t get a much stronger base than this set of classic children’s novels. I just think that, people like me who haven’t read the books might want to know more about the first story, how it all started and thus have a better understanding of where the tyranny of the White Witch came from.
As a little taster to introduce you to the series, let’s take a little peek at the books as they are best described, on the Narnia Books web site (books.narnia.com):
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Book 1 - The Magician’s Nephew
Digory and Polly discover a secret passage that links their houses, and are tricked into vanishing out of this world and into the World of Charn, where they wake up the evil Queen Jadis. There, they witness the creation of the Land of Narnia, as it is sung into being by the Great Lion, Aslan.
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Book 2 – The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find their way through an old wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There, they unite with Aslan to fight the White Witch and save Narnia from perpetual Darkness.
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Book 3 – The Horse And His Boy
Shasta escapes from the land of Calormen with a Narnian warhorse, Bree. Along with Aravis and her horse Hwin, they uncover a Calormene plot to conquer Narnia and must find a way to save Narnia and its people. |
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Book 4 – Prince Caspian
Troubled times have come to Narnia as it is gripped by civil war. Prince Caspian is forced to blow The Great Horn of Narnia, summoning the help of past heroes, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Now they must overthrow Caspian's uncle, King Miraz, to restore peace to Narnia. |
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Book 5 – The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
Lucy, Edmund, and their cousin Eustace, are magically transported onto the ship, Dawn Treader, where King Caspian is searching for the seven lost friends of his father. On the voyage, the children meet many fantastical creatures, including the great Aslan himself. |
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Book 6 – The Silver Chair
King Caspian's beloved son Prince Rilian has disappeared. Aslan sends Eustace and his school friend Jill to Narnia on a quest to search for the young prince and defeat the evil Witch. |
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Book 7 – The Last Battle
A false Aslan is roaming Narnia, commanding everyone to work for the cruel Calormemes. Can Eustace and Jill find the true Aslan and restore peace to the land? The last battle is the greatest of all and the final struggle between good and evil. |
In conclusion, I am expecting the new Narnia film to be a very big success despite the bad timing of the release being so close to Harry Potter. It now remains to be seen where they decide to go from here in terms of any continuation of the franchise, in that, at some point we can expect to see a prequel (yes another one!). In the long term, I am expecting it to be a series of films that will stand the test of time, but I suspect that this will be because of the strong base of C.S. Lewis’ imaginative stories, rather than the Hollywood dramatisation.
The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is on general release in the UK on 9th December 2005.
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