The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe DVD Review (Tilda Swinton) Empire Movies

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE DVD REVIEW

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Special Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
(Walt Disney Home Entertainment)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

8.5/10

Liam

I think The Chronicles of Narnia is a good example of the old adage that less is more. Sure, some movies deserve to be three hours (Lord of the Rings is a perfect example), but others don't need the three-hour treatment (King Kong is another perfect example). But when you take a movie like The Chronicles of Narnia, which had all the markings of becoming a three-hour epic, the movie succeeded in telling the best possible story in the least possible amount of time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't be so surprised to see that Narnia clobbered Kong at the box office. Less is more.

Based on the classic story by C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells the story of four children (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) who are sent to live with relatives during height of World War II. While playing an innocent game of hide and seek, they stumble upon a wardrobe, which serves as a gateway to Narnia - a world inhabited by centaurs and talking beavers and ruled by an evil Witch. When the kids are realized to be part of a prophecy that will see the defeat of the White Witch, they are sucked into an ages old war between the Witch and the inhabitants of Narnia led by their rightful leader, a lion named Aslan.

I originally saw this movie at the theater and was impressed with the story, the acting (particularly by the young children), the effects, the music and the production design. I guess I was impressed by pretty much everything this movie had to offer. I wouldn't necessarily call it the greatest movie I've ever seen, but it was enough that I could say that the movie deserved its success. I could also see how the movie would upset fans of the Narnia books, but it's a kids movie so give it a break.

As for bonus features, there are more than 10 hours included over this 2-disc set. Beginning with the first disc, you'll find two audio commentaries. The first is a light affair featuring director Andrew Adamson and the kids of the movie including William Mosely (Peter), Anna Popplewell (Susan), Skandar Keynes (Edmund) and Georgie Henley (Lucy). The second commentary is a bit more serious and includes Adamson, production designer Roger Ford and producer Mark Johnson talking about the making of the movie and some of the challenges they faced and the successes they celebrated during production. Also included on disc one are "The Bloopers of Narnia" which is a somewhat comical four-minute blooper reel and "Discover Narnia Fun Facts" which gives you the option of re-watching the movie with a pop-up trivia track.

Disc two of this set is separated into two sections. The first is titled "Creating Narnia" and looks at the film from a behind-the-scenes perspective. It includes "Chronicles of a Director" which runs just under 40 minutes and focuses director Andrew Adamson (who also directed Shrek), "The Children's Magical Journey" which runs roughly 25 minutes and looks at the kids in the movie, and "Evoluction of an Epic" which again, is broken into several parts looking at C.S. Lewis, some key behind-the-scenes people, the film's creatures and finally an "anatomy of a scene" feature looking at the melting river sequence from the movie. The second section of the second disc is more interactive and is titled "Creatures, Lands and Legends". It offers a more in-depth look at the creatures from the film, an "Explore Narnia" map providing a further look at the different lands in Narnia and finally "Legends in Time" which is a Narnia timeline going over the history of the Pevensie children's adventures including some stories beyond those told in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

For me, the real success of The Chronicles of Narnia is that it did a great job balancing between being a kids movie and a movie that most adults could enjoy too. I look forward to the day when I can sit down with my own kids and watch this movie. Now if only they could apply the "less is more" strategy to the film's title. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Try typing that 1,000 times and you'll see what I mean.

Features
Bloopers, Discover Narnia Fun Facts, Kids & Director Commentary, Filmmakers' Commentary, Chronicles of a Director, The Children's Magical Journey, Evolution of an Epic, From One Man's Mind, Cinematic Storytellers, Creating Creatures, Anatomy of a Scene: The Melting River, Creatures of the World, Explore Narnia, Legends in Time

Video
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Audio
English 5.1 Home Theater Mix, English DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound, French and Spanish Language Tracks

Subtitles
French, Spanish, Closed-Captioned

Release Date
April 4, 2006

Rating
PG

Length
135 mins.

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