The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe overview/review

SEE THIS MOVIE!!

Well, that's just how I feel about it. However, if you ask anyone who went with me to see it on opening day, they would probably say the same thing.

I know some reviews called this movie "less than magical" and not as special effects-happy as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. That may or may not be true. I, for one, do not watch a movie only for the special effects. I watch a movie for the content, the cast & acting, and last of all, the effects. Special effects are a nice touch and can be helpful to the viewer as far as creating a realistic setting, but they aren't everything. I found that out when I went to see this. I was sitting there thinking "Oh, great. I'm going to be comparing this to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy!" (I haven't seen the Harry Potter movies yet.) and I was afraid that I would be comparing the two movies all the way through. Those fears were dispelled right after it officially started, though.

It started with a view into the cockpit of a German plane. But you don't realize it's a German plane until you see a family rushing into their bomb shelter, and they're speaking English. It was one of the bombings of England during WWII. Enter the Pevensie family. Mr. Pevensie is fighting for the Allied Forces and is away from his family of his wife, Helen, his sons Peter and Edmund and his daughters Susan and Lucy.

Soon the Pevensie children are on a train headed for the countryside-you get the feeling their mother thinks it's too dangerous for them in London. Which might have been true. Anyhow, they arrive at a country train station with just one suitcase apiece and themselves. They are met by Mrs. McCready, the professor's housekeeper. She does not make a favorable impression on the children. She, in her brisk accent, informs them that they must not run, play or touch the "'istorical hartifacts" under any cirumstances. And most important, she commands, "There's to be no disturbin' of the professor!" An auspicious start for the four English children in a strange house, far away from their parents and their home. But they can still have fun, as Peter, the oldest, asserts. This while rain sloshes down the windowpanes. Lucy, the youngest, requests a game of hide and go seek and Peter and the others comply. Lucy is followed by an annoying Edmund who claims "I was here first!" when Lucy finds a good hiding spot. She searches desperately and finally enters a room containing nothing but a bluebottle buzzing in the window (from the book) and a cloth-covered object. She pulls the cloth away and discovers (drumroll here) The Wardrobe. She goes in, and, reaching for the back of the wardrobe, steps backward expectantly. However, she is confronted by pine needles and snow. Enter Narnia.

And thus begins a fascinating series of adventures Lucy has by herself. She meets a faun, has tea with him, discovers his true intentions, and makes it safely home. She tells her brothers and sisters about the land at the back of the wardrobe, but to no avail. They assume she is lying or "quite batty" as Edmund says. They don't believe her and assume she is having innocent fun and making stories up. Plus there's the little time issue-Lucy is gone for what seems to her to be hours, but when she emerges from the wardrobe "hours" later, Peter is still counting to 100 for their hide and go seek game.

And that's part one. Sorry. This is taking a while to write and I want to get this out as soon as possible. Anyhow, I will continue this overview/review of this movie in the next post. But I'm not promising anything. Either way, support this movie! No actor contreversy here.....