What The Critics Say

"In some ways it is a very good picture, yet it also should have been better than it is...You can feel The Chronicles of Narnia trying too hard to be the Next Big Thing." Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "The filmmakers have gone for broke, combining spectacular imagery and rousing energy. Although it's perhaps a bit overdone." Rich Cline SHADOWS ON THE WALL "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by summoning C.S. Lewis' spirit, creates a different kind of spectacle -- a starry-eyed crusade." Owen Gleiberman, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY "The only downfall will come from audience expectations - having been conditioned by the terrifying special effects of The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter, Narnia occasionally feels less ambitious than it could be." Alicia Broderson FILMINK "Narnia is a gem of a children’s film. Visually breathtaking, with so much attention to detail, thanks to some exceptional CGI work. Scary, humorous but at all times enchanting, I reckon Narnia is one off the best bets for entertainment at the cinema this Xmas." Jaimie Leonarder SBS THE MOVIE SHOW "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is slightly less epic than The Lord of the Rings but it still has a charm, particularly with the creatures that the children encounter on their adventures. Young Georgie Henley is a lovely young performer, she plays Lucy and Tilda Swinton is fabulous as the white witch. * * * 1/2 STARS." Margaret Pomeranz ABC AT THE MOVIES

The Inside Story There's no doubting the fact that this is one film which will really take off over the 2005/06 summer holiday period. With an opening on Boxing Day [traditionally the biggest box-office day of the year in Australia], a massive trailer camp and the sale of at least 100 million copies of C.S Lewis's most beloved of stories, there's every reason to believe that "The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" will break a few records. While this is the first time one of C.S Lewis's books has made it to the bigscreen, there have been versions from the chronicles which have made it on to the small screen. "The Chronicles of Narnia; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" marks another first for this is the feature film debut for New Zealand director Andrew Adamson who believs that the timing was just right. "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe has taken millions of young minds into realms of fantasy,"He says, "so the enormous challenge as a filmmaker was to try to re-create those worlds in a way that might live up to, and even exceed people’s imaginations, that could truly transport you to another time and place. You couldn’t have made this film 5 years ago. You couldn’t have made a photo-realistic lion like Aslan five years ago, or joined animal legs unto a human body realistically as we did with centaurs and minotaurs five years ago. Now is the right time to be making this story." But Adamson's involvement goes even further for he also co-wrote the screenplay with Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Ann Peacock ["A Lesson Before Dying"] and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely ["The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"]. In fact the production team that created this exhilirating film is filled with award winners. Take to all those fabulous creature creation featured in the film. They were supervised by Dean Wright the visual effects producer on The Lord of The Rings films, "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King". Wright supervised visual effects teams from Rhythm & Hues, Sony Imageworks and ILM. And yes, the effects team includes four-time Academy Award® winning visualist Richard Taylor and the wizards from his WETA Workshop. With this sort of clout you'd expect something special. Well, just to make sure, Richard Taylor's team joined with veteran movie makeup magicians Howard Berger and Gregory Nictoero, whose award-winning K.N.B. EFX Group manufactured hundreds of special makeup prosthetics to bring the myriad Narnian creatures to life. It's not hard to imagine that there was a lot at stake here because this film is only one of seven in the 'chronicles which includes these six books, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle. Imagine the franchise that would be set up! It could turn out to be bigger than anything we've ever experienced to date. That is providing they capture the spirit with which C.S 'Jack' Lewis lovingly wrote his 'fairy tales'. Fairy tales that stay with the reader for decades. "C.S. Lewis' mandate, his main idea about writing for children," says the famed writers stepson and the films co-producer Douglas Gresham, "included the theory that if a book is worth reading when you're five, it is still equally worth reading when you're fifty. So The Chronicles of Narnia was intended to be read to children and by children and also to be read by adults with great joy even to the last days of their lives." Gresham [the creative and artistic director of Lewis' estate and the C.S. Lewis Company] always believed that one day his beloved stepfathers work would make it to the big screen revealing "I’ve been working on seeing a movie made of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one way or another, for probably twenty-five or thirty years." That chance finally came through Walden Media. ""The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was my very favorite book as a kid, like it was for so many other people," notes executive producer Perry Moore[ who was then a film executive at Walden Media]. "I always thought it was the perfect fit for Walden." But could they assure the estate that they would produce a film faithful to the C.S Lewis spirit? "On the very first day that we sat down with the estate, we assured them that we were going to do an absolutely faithful adaptation," Cary Granat of Walden Media explains. "Perry and I and, most importantly, Phil Anschutz [Walden Media’s founder], were devoted to that vision. We weren’t looking to put modern-day spin on this piece, but to honor it as a classic of all times." That makes great sense considering how some classics have been treated by various production companies in the past, particularly when it came to bringing them to the big screen. Walden and Disney gave that assurance right from the start and it has worked out well. "The story of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" is so true, so honest, so straightforward, we felt certain that the less we messed around with it, the better movie we would make, "Gresham says. "The first and most important thing about getting this movie made properly was to get the right people involved. Finding Andrew Adamson and bringing him on as director was key." Thankfully the right man with the right credentials came along. The man who had directed the animation on two of the biggest films this decade, "Shrek" and "Shrek 2" and who admits he was inspired by his own memories of being an 8 year-old boy who was whisked into Narnia and was never quite the same again. "I read all seven books continuously over a period of a year or two, just read them over and over," Adamson recalls. "I basically existed in this world of Narnia for a time. I remembered it as this huge, vivid story with a massive battle between good and evil and a whole menagerie of mythological creatures, and I wanted the chance to bring that world to the screen." He got his chance and must be applauded for his work in ensuring such a wonderful, rich tale has made it into theatres around the world for people of all ages to enjoy. His vision for success seems simple. "my approach to the movie was that it’s not quite like 'The Wizard of Oz’ or 'Peter Pan,’ where you realize in the end that the story all happened in someone’s imagination," he elaborates. "When Lucy goes through that wardrobe and steps into a world, I wanted that world to be completely believable, as if it was another country you might visit. It had to be a whole Narnian reality unto itself." That he has truly accomplished. Cast & Crew Bytes "THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE" stars .......
Georgie Henley ["The Chronicles of Narnia"]; Skandar Keynes ["The Chronicles of Narnia"]; William Moseley ["The Chronicles of Narnia"]; Anna Popplewell ["Mansfield Park", "Me Without You", "Thunderpants" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring"]; Tilda Swinton ["Friendship's Death", "War Requiem", "The Garden" and "Female Perversions"]; James McAvoy ["Bollywood Queen", "Bright Young Things", "Wimbledon" and "Inside I'm Dancing"]; Jim Broadbent ["Bridget Jones I & II", "Moulin Rouge!", "Gangs of New York", "Bright Young Things", "Vanity Fair", "Vera Drake" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"]; Elizabeth Hawthorne ["The Beach", "Savage Honeymoon", "Jubilee" and "No One Can Hear You"]; Ray Winstone ["Sexy Beast", "Last Orders", "Ripley's Game", "Cold Mountain" and "King Arthur"]; Dawn French ["The Supergrass", "Eat The Rich", "Milk" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"]; Rupert Everett ["My Best Friend's Wedding", "An Ideal Husband", "The Importance of Being Earnest", "Stage Beauty" and "Separate Lies"] and Liam Neeson ["Gangs Of New York", "Love Actually", "Kinsey", "Kingdom Of Heaven" and "Batman Begins"] as Aslan.
"THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE" was .......
directed by Andrew Adamson ["Shrek" and "Shrek 2"]; original story by C.S. 'Jack' Lewis ["The Silver Chair"]; costume design by Isis Mussenden ["Dante's Peak", "The Astronaut's Wife", "American Psycho" and "Thirteen Days"]; production design by Roger Ford ["Sirens", "Flirting", "Rabbit-Proof Fence", "Swimming Upstream" and "The Rage In Placid Lake"]; cinematography by Doald McAlpine ["The Adventures of Barry McKenzie", "Barry McKenzie Holds His Own", "Patriot Games", "Moulin Rouge!", "Anger Management" and "Peter Pan"]; original music by Harry Gregson-Williams ["Phone Booth", "Shrek & Shrek 2", "Man On Fire" and "Kingdom of Heaven"] produced by Mark Johnson ["What Lies Beneath", "The Banger Sisters", "Moolight Mile" and "The Notebook"] and Philip Steuer ["Nurse Betty", "BigLove", "The Rookie" and "The Alamo"]. What It's All About With German bombers making constant raids on London, Mrs Pevensie has decided the safest place for her children is in the countryside at the country estate of Professor Kirke. Mrs MacReady, the Professor's housekeeper meets the children at a nearby railway station, takes them to the estate and gives them a strict instruction; "There shall be no disturbing of the professor." Peter, who has been charged by his mother with the care of his sisters and brother soon finds himself in conflict with Edmond who refuses to toe the line. Bored, a game of hide and seek is suggested. It is during the game that young Lucy discovers a wardrobe in one of the rooms. It appears to be the ideal hiding place but when she steps inside it takes her to a snow covered land. Here she meets a Faun by the name of Mr Tumnus who explains she is in the land of Narnia. Humans must be reported to the White Witch and it is Mr Tumnus's intention to do so. At Lucy's insistence he lets her go and she returns to the safety of the estate through the wardrobe. None of the children believe her but circumstances lead to Edmond travelling to Narnia where he is beguiled by White Witch who wishes to meet his brother and two sisters. Edmund, unaware that the legend fortells of four humans coming to the land and returning it to its glory by vanquishing the endless winter, returns home convinced that the White Witch will make him King of Narnia. Later, when all the children enter Narnia through the wardrobe, a great adventure begins. Destiny must be fulfilled, The White Witch must be defeated. But first they must find Aslan. The Verdict "Watching "Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a 'near' satisfying experience. I say 'near' satisfying because it's like a V8 with one plug not quite firing right. It just lacks that killer spark which would have really notched the film up to the optimum level. Having failed to do that places it on a scale between "TLOR: Return of the King" and "Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire". Never the less, I'm glad I took it in because the later half of the film is very exhilirating and suitably spectacular. Recommended." Who's Who?

Georgie Henley Skandar Keynes William Moseley Anna Popplewell Tilda Swinton James McAvoy Jim Broadbent Kiran Shah James Cosmo Judy McIntosh Elizabeth Hawthorne Patrick Kake Shane Rangi Katrina Browne Lee Tuson Alina Phelan

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Lucy Pevensie Edmund Pevensie Peter Pevensie Susan Pevensie White Witch Mr Tumnus [Faun] Professor Kirke Ginarrbrik Father Christmas Mrs Pevensie Mrs MacReady Oreius General Otmin Green Dryad Rumblebuffin the Giant Centaur Archer

Those Voices!

Liam Neeson Ray Winstone Dawn French Rupert Everett Cameron Rhodes Philip Steuer Jim May Sim Evan-Jones

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Aslan Mr Beaver Mrs Beaver Fox Gryphon Philip the Horse Vardan Wolf

The Crew Directed by Andrew Adamson Novel written by C.S. Lewis Screenplay by Ann Peacock/Andrew Adamson/Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Produced by Mark Johnson & Philip Steuer Original Music by Harry Gregson-Williams Cinematography by Donald McAlpine Film Editing by Sim Evan-Jones & Jim May Production Design by Roger Ford Set Decoration by Kerrie Brown Costume Design by Isis Mussenden Run Time 140 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Waldon & Walt Disney Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved