Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

Title: Narnia - The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe (PG)

Year: 2005

Running Time: 143 minutes

Director: Andrew Adamson

Cast: Tilda Swinton (White Witch), Georgie Henley (Lucy), William Moseley (Peter) Notes: Won one Oscar, one Bafta and thirteen awards. Nominated for two Oscars and two Baftas.

Rating: 10

Thoughts:   Four children find themselves in the magical land of Narnia where the White Witch has created a permanent winter. With the help of Aslan they must overcome her.

Whereas the Harry Potter series swept up its readership quickly (just four years) it took fifty-five years for this to appear.

Of course, there have been other films and television attempts, but this was the first big-budget adventure into Narnia. They clearly spent a long time studying C S Lewis' characters as the casting, and then acting, is spot on.

Lucy in particular comes across superbly. Swinton's efforts as the White Witch find a role made for her, full of genuine edge and so much more than being a boo hiss pantomime piece.

Generally, it all looks great, a real depiction of the book, and the story is fairly close in terms of adaptation. The CGI elements blend in well and this film just delivers the classic story superbly.