The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

AMG Plot: Four siblings — Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley), and Susan (Anna Popplewell) — are sent from their London home to the country estate of an eccentric professor in order to ensure their safety during World War II. The house is very dull, except for a large, ornate wardrobe discovered by young Lucy during a game of hide-and-seek. Venturing inside of it in the hopes of finding a hiding place, Lucy is transported to a snowy alternate universe: a magical world called Narnia. The land is populated by talking animals and ruled over by the benevolent lion god Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), but sadly, the world is also in a state of perpetual winter. The white witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton), lustful for power and governed by narcissism, has cursed Narnia with a tyrannical decree that it will always be winter but never Christmas. Now, the children must fight alongside Aslan for the salvation of Narnia, but one of them, seduced by the charisma of the white witch, may choose to fight on the wrong side. — Cammila Albertson

AMG Review: This noble adaptation of C.S. Lewis' classic novel is both graceful and fun. The studio, however, may have shot itself in the foot by extolling the Christian symbolism of the script in order to avoid a fundamentalist backlash against all subject matter dealing with magic. Without being forced to bear this apparent intention of the author in mind, the audience is in no way obligated to interpret the events of the film this directly. There is obvious spiritual and perhaps even moral subtext, but this is not a heavy-handed movie and the ultimate meaning is left up to the viewer. What is undeniable about the film is the fantastic depth of its characters, surpassing Lord of the Rings in many places. Each of the young actors involved are real and organic, never relying on cuteness or sappiness for audience approval. This goes doubly for eight-year-old Georgie Henley, whose charm, talent, and ease could K.O. Dakota Fanning in a single round. Tilda Swinton surpasses all expectations, playing the part of the evil, fascist, narcissistic, glam-rock White Witch so well that both children and adults alike are likely to feel a combination of fear and hatred every time she enters a scene. A film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia seemed like a natural step after the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, since these works of literature were created around the same period of time and by authors of fantasy who were known to have been friends. The overall tone of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, however, is more suitable to younger viewers than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, containing far less violence and less generally dark material. The plot itself is also less complex, and the timeline is far simpler, but these changes do less to make the film unsuitable to adults, and more to simply invite children to join its viewership. — Cammila Albertson