I thoroughly enjoyed this rendition of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Having read (and re-read) the book a number of times, the changes in the plot were obvious, but rather than detracting from Lewis's story, I think that they in some ways improve on the book. For one thing, the character development seems to have been strengthened in the movie.



The first scene is of the bombing of London, and it introduces us especially to the personalities of Peter and Edmund Pevensie, who change the most throughout the movie. The Pevensies have just fled outside their home to escape the bombing when Edmund turns and runs back inside to get a picture of his father, who is fighting in World War II. Peter manages to catch up with him once inside and hauls him back to safety in disgust, with no consideration for Edmund's feelings. This introduces a pattern that we see a good deal of in the early part of the movie--Peter wants to take care of his siblings, but he doesn't quite manage, especially where Edmund is concerned. The opinions of Susan, the second-oldest, carries equal weight with Peter's at first, and for good reason.



Lucy stumbles onto Narnia while hiding in a wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek. She meets Tumnus, of course, and he takes her to his cave for tea. He plays a tune for her--a melody that seems very authentically Narnian--and as he plays, fauns and other Narnian creatures seem to be dancing in the fire. The music has an almost hypnotic power over Lucy, who falls asleep watching the figures. Tumnus continues to play until the head of a lion appears in the fire, roaring, causing all the lights in the cave go out. This is our first introduction to Aslan.



When Lucy comes out of the wardrobe, Edmund makes fun of her story by smirking about the football field he'd found in the bathroom cupboards. Peter tries to quiet him--rudely, deepening Edmund's resentment. So when Edmund follows Lucy into the wardrobe that night (Lucy sneaks back in to see whether Narnia is really there) we aren't surprised at how the White Witch manages to convince Edmund to bring his siblings to her by suggesting that they would be his servants. This chance to get on top of the pecking order is more than Edmund can handle, given the third-child syndrome that defines his character. The emphasis in the scene with the Witch is on his being the family misfit, not on the enchanted Turkish Delight.



Lucy meets Edmund in Narnia and is so thrilled that she pounces on Peter, waking him up, to tell him that Edmund was in Narnia too. The young actors playing Edmund and Lucy handle the scene very well: the tiny smirk on Edmund's face after he sets Lucy crying by pretending Narnia is a game says it all.



When Edmund breaks a window playing cricket, the children hide from the Professor's strict housekeeper in the wardrobe and wind up in Narnia. Edmund's resentment builds even more at the fur coat Peter gives him to wear as they explore. "But that's a girl's coat!" he protests. Peter, upset over Edmund's lie, merely says, "I know." The children stumble on Tumnus's wrecked cave, at which point Peter and Susan both insist on going home to safety. However, Mr. Beaver meets them and brings them to his dam. He tells them about Aslan and how they are meant to fulfill the prophecy and stop the White Witch. Peter refuses, wanting to protect his siblings from danger. (A good change from the book--what protective older sibling wouldn't question staying in Narnia considering the Witch?) However, Edmund is missing. "I'm going to kill him," Peter says in angry disgust. Mr. Beaver's grim answer is chilling: "You may not have to." They chase after Edmund but don't catch him before he enters the Witch's ice castle. At this point, Peter has no choice but to find Aslan if he and the others are to save Edmund.



They return to the dam so Mrs. Beaver can pack for their trip. However, Edmund betrays them to the Witch before he realizes her true intentions. The Secret Police wolves storm the dam, and the children and the Beavers escape through a secret tunnel. They are saved by a fox who is part of a sort of Narnian Underground. Then they continue onward to Aslan, nearly being caught on their way by the Witch and later by her wolves. Their journey is much more action packed than in the book, and I enjoyed the change.



Edmund, meanwhile, is thrown into a dungeon by the Witch while the wolves storm the Beavers' dam, and there he meets a beaten-looking Tumnus and realizes how much damage he has done. (I was pleased that the directors focused more on Edmund than the book does, as he is my favorite character in the book.) The Witch turns Tumnus to stone, and Edmund's horror clearly shows that he has changed sides inwardly. The Witch takes him with her on the race to catch the other three children, and on the way her wolves bring the fox to her. She questions him, and when he won't answer, she raises her wand to turn him to stone. Edmund, desperate to stop her, gives her the information she wants. The fox is turned to stone anyway, but Edmund's inward change is made very evident by his unwise reaction.



Edmund is eventually rescued from the camp of the Witch's army and makes up with his siblings. The Witch's coming into the camp and demanding Edmund's life is well done, as is the scene of Aslan's death. To the filmmakers' credit, the focus is not on the blood and gore--Aslan is not beaten by the Witch's creatures as in the book, and we do not see the knife entering his body. We instead share Lucy's horror as his eyes, meeting hers, widen and then close.



I was also pleased that we got to see the actual battle (fighting but no blood) rather than the aftermath. Here Peter has completely stepped into his role of leader despite the fact that he knows Aslan is dead (Susan and Lucy sent a Dryad to tell their brothers) and that his army is outnumbered. His character development is complete. And Edmund puts his hard-won beliefs into action by smashing the Witch's wand. Peter, seeing the Witch then wound his younger brother, attacks and fights her. The fight seems unreal a few times (how did she not kill him when her swords were collaring his neck?) but is exciting. She finally trips Peter, knocks away his shield, and is ready to kill him when a resurrected Aslan, having arrived with the girls and reinforcements, pounces and kills her. (The statement in the book about "the deeper magic" that the Witch didn't know is eliminated in favor of her simply not understanding the Deep Magic because she didn't know the true meaning of sacrifice. Sacrifice to Aslan is giving of himself, but sacrifice to the Witch is sticking a lamb on an altar and slitting its throat.)



Peter, Susan, and Lucy run to find the wounded Edmund, who is about to be killed by the Witch's dwarf when Susan shoots him with her bow. Lucy heals Edmund with a drop from her cordial and, at a look from Aslan, goes to help the other wounded.



The next scene is the children's coronation, and then the stumbling of their grown-up selves back into their own world. (We can tell their growing younger as they begin to argue on their way through the coats. Though we do not actually see their transformation, we don't need to. The humor is stronger this way.) They fall out of the wardrobe to meet the professor, who is holding the cricket ball that started their adventure. And thus the film ends. I could not have asked for more and am eagerly awaiting the release of "Prince Caspian."