Narnian Delight
The following is a condensed snippet from boxofficemojo.com, detailing the huge success of The Lion, the
Witch, and the Wardrobe:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe helped melt a box office in winter. With a
dose of broadly appealing fantasy based on C.S. Lewis' famous novel, overall business was up 15 percent
from the comparable weekend last year.
Narnia drummed up $65.6 million, exceeding industry expectations in the $50 million range. The opening was
the second-biggest ever for December behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Audiences generally liked the picture, grading it an "A+" in CinemaScore's opening night surveys, which
also showed that the "subject matter" was by far the top reason people saw the movie.
I'm so excited the McDonald's Narnia toys come out today!
Click here for my official review of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!
All my life I've waited for a live-action studio release of The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it represents the finest in the earliest modern fantasy
novels; As authors of both series were best friends and wrote their respective fantasy tales at the same
time, it is natural that many things are mirrored in each others' work. Even though I like
the Lord of the Rings novels, my preference was always for the land of Narnia.
Admittedly the seven novels comprising Lewis' vision are slim and relatively devoid of the
cultural and historical details that Tolkien drenched his fantasy with. This amount of abstraction
allowed my mind to define the look and feel of the land of Narnia on a much more personal level.
Tolkien's rich detail though amazing in feat, actually narrowed the world of Middle Earth
in my mind.
So needless to say my biggest fears for a big-budget adaptation of Narnia and its
inhabitants were that the tone and style would not match my own interpretation, since it has
so much blank space in the details. And with Andrew Adamson's completion of this film
adaptation, I cannot be happier; Though some characters and settings are differing from my
own envisioning of them (such as the faun, Mr. Tumnus, being played as a young character
rather than the forty-ish individual I always pictured), the spirit of Lewis' intent and
imagination are there.
The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is full of wonderfully lilting melodies and bold,
triumphant battle accompaniment. And its a bold one too: Some of the 'modern' style
selections that creep in have the potential to fail hard, but work enchantingly; You will
not hear a better orchestral score this year. I cannot get enough of this soundtrack; its
been on repeat for days, because it perfectly complements the visions onscreen. And what
visions those are: Adamson has a keen eye for composition, and makes excellent use of the
beautiful kiwi landscapes. And cinematographer Donald McAlpine [Moulin Rouge! (2001) and
Peter Pan (2003)] lends just the right texture to suggest the substance of the foreign lands
the Pevensie children stumble into.
Adamson and Anne Peacock have also added to and modified this tale in screenplay form, in a
deft way that broadens Lewis' page, rather than changing or diminishing it. And as expected,
the acting all around is superb. From Tilda Swinton [Orlando (1987), Adaptation (2001)] as
Jadis the White Witch, to the four Pevensie children, to James McAvoy as Tumnus, every character
is completely believable and demands emotional attachment, from terror and loss, to wonder and
authority. This remarkable film holds its ground on all levels: story, technical achievement, music,
cg animation, editing, sound editing, production design, makeup, wardrobe (no pun), and film
editing.
The sound editing by Ethan Holzman is some of the best I've ever heard. And the makeup and
special effects departments shine brilliantly in creating not only a land of splendid
mythical creatures such as centaurs, dwarves, satyrs, and dryads, but also some of the most
genuinely terrifying creations such as the minotaurs, harpies, werewolves, and goblins in
the White Witch's service. These appliance and makeup creations are some of the best
creature effects I've ever seen in a fantasy film.
All in all, I can honsestly say this is not only among the very best of films this year, but
one of the best achievements in cinematic fantasy work ever. It has definitely paid off for the
scores of fans of other fantastic literary movie franchises such as The Lord of the Rings and
Harry Potter, but on top of all these who have seen and continue to show up to see it, are all
the families for which the more open-ended design of the Narnian stories makes for a more
accessible entryway into an imaginative escape from daily reality.
Witch, and the Wardrobe:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe helped melt a box office in winter. With a
dose of broadly appealing fantasy based on C.S. Lewis' famous novel, overall business was up 15 percent
from the comparable weekend last year.
Narnia drummed up $65.6 million, exceeding industry expectations in the $50 million range. The opening was
the second-biggest ever for December behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Audiences generally liked the picture, grading it an "A+" in CinemaScore's opening night surveys, which
also showed that the "subject matter" was by far the top reason people saw the movie.
I'm so excited the McDonald's Narnia toys come out today!
Click here for my official review of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!
All my life I've waited for a live-action studio release of The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it represents the finest in the earliest modern fantasy
novels; As authors of both series were best friends and wrote their respective fantasy tales at the same
time, it is natural that many things are mirrored in each others' work. Even though I like
the Lord of the Rings novels, my preference was always for the land of Narnia.
Admittedly the seven novels comprising Lewis' vision are slim and relatively devoid of the
cultural and historical details that Tolkien drenched his fantasy with. This amount of abstraction
allowed my mind to define the look and feel of the land of Narnia on a much more personal level.
Tolkien's rich detail though amazing in feat, actually narrowed the world of Middle Earth
in my mind.
So needless to say my biggest fears for a big-budget adaptation of Narnia and its
inhabitants were that the tone and style would not match my own interpretation, since it has
so much blank space in the details. And with Andrew Adamson's completion of this film
adaptation, I cannot be happier; Though some characters and settings are differing from my
own envisioning of them (such as the faun, Mr. Tumnus, being played as a young character
rather than the forty-ish individual I always pictured), the spirit of Lewis' intent and
imagination are there.
The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is full of wonderfully lilting melodies and bold,
triumphant battle accompaniment. And its a bold one too: Some of the 'modern' style
selections that creep in have the potential to fail hard, but work enchantingly; You will
not hear a better orchestral score this year. I cannot get enough of this soundtrack; its
been on repeat for days, because it perfectly complements the visions onscreen. And what
visions those are: Adamson has a keen eye for composition, and makes excellent use of the
beautiful kiwi landscapes. And cinematographer Donald McAlpine [Moulin Rouge! (2001) and
Peter Pan (2003)] lends just the right texture to suggest the substance of the foreign lands
the Pevensie children stumble into.
Adamson and Anne Peacock have also added to and modified this tale in screenplay form, in a
deft way that broadens Lewis' page, rather than changing or diminishing it. And as expected,
the acting all around is superb. From Tilda Swinton [Orlando (1987), Adaptation (2001)] as
Jadis the White Witch, to the four Pevensie children, to James McAvoy as Tumnus, every character
is completely believable and demands emotional attachment, from terror and loss, to wonder and
authority. This remarkable film holds its ground on all levels: story, technical achievement, music,
cg animation, editing, sound editing, production design, makeup, wardrobe (no pun), and film
editing.
The sound editing by Ethan Holzman is some of the best I've ever heard. And the makeup and
special effects departments shine brilliantly in creating not only a land of splendid
mythical creatures such as centaurs, dwarves, satyrs, and dryads, but also some of the most
genuinely terrifying creations such as the minotaurs, harpies, werewolves, and goblins in
the White Witch's service. These appliance and makeup creations are some of the best
creature effects I've ever seen in a fantasy film.
All in all, I can honsestly say this is not only among the very best of films this year, but
one of the best achievements in cinematic fantasy work ever. It has definitely paid off for the
scores of fans of other fantastic literary movie franchises such as The Lord of the Rings and
Harry Potter, but on top of all these who have seen and continue to show up to see it, are all
the families for which the more open-ended design of the Narnian stories makes for a more
accessible entryway into an imaginative escape from daily reality.