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Narnia

Narnia Resources

More from The Chronicles of Narnia Special Section

Watch video from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Watch CBN.com's Narnia Roundtable:

Part Three -- The writings of Lewis and Tolkien

Part Two -- The fantasy genre and message behind Narnia

Part One -- C. S. Lewis and his impact

 
REVIEW

Narnia Film: Just Plain Amazing

By Gorman Woodfin
The 700 Club

CBN.com – THIS GENERATION’S “WIZARD OF OZ” HAS ARRIVED!

I was privileged to be asked to attend a preview of this film in New York this past weekend. The movie was astonishing! The folks at Walden Media and Disney did an excellent job at crafting this film. The acting is “spot on” and the special effects are seamless.

Director Andrew Anderson, of “Shrek” fame, did an amazing job. Certain animal characters in the movie are unbelievably human. Their facial expressions, their interaction with the children, and each other, become so believable. I forgot they must be computer generated images. You have to remind yourself—“Beavers really don’t talk, nor do foxes, wolves and lions.

On a side note, there is an extremely minor critical group that feels the film is not a true representation of the classic C.S. Lewis story. I totally disagree.

I went to the film not having read the book. I wanted to see the film first. Let it stand on its own, so to speak. On my plane ride home, I began reading the C.S. Lewis original story. I realized what an excellent job Disney and Walden Media had done in converting this classic tale to the screen.

The biggest challenge in writing a movie script based on a book, is needing to compress time yet still stay true to the intent of the book. While elements of the story are shifted, I felt the intricate character development and character interaction, especially in the children, remains solidly intact and true.

At times where the C.S. Lewis story is slow, elements in the film were added to make the story move forward.

As a person of faith, I was moved by the powerful images of sacrifice and forgiveness. But for others, this will be an astonishing journey to a fanciful land of talking animals and mythical creatures.

I truly feel, this generation’s “Wizard of Oz” has arrived. Disney and Walden Media have done a stellar job of taking a beloved classic (with an estimated readership of 100 million) and making it into a masterpiece.

This film is just plain . . . amazing.

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