John Lindal’s Blog

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

December 25, 2005 on 5:20 pm | In Books, Movies | No Comments

I went to see Narnia this morning. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see it after the Lord of the Rings debacle, but since I love the books so much, I couldn’t resist.

I’m happy to report that they got it right.

Sure, they changed things — lots of things. At the beginning, I was grumbling about casting choices and all sorts of details. But part way through, after they successfully pulled off a particularly wild deviation which initially had me writhing in my seat, I realized that there was hope. This team was not the usual gang of idiots. And when I saw the expression on Aslan’s face after negotiating with the White Witch over Edmund’s life, I knew that they understood the book.

In retrospect, I cannot think of a single core detail which they missed or changed. Granted, I have not read the book in quite a while, but all the changes and omissions helped the story flow and the characters develop smoothly within the 2 hour time window. Unlike another director who shall remain nameless, Andrew Adamson (of Shrek fame) knows how to tell a good story in a reasonable amount of time. He deserves special kudos for not Disnefying the climax, even though it was a Disney film. Even the battle tactics were good!

So, if you love the books, go see the movie. It’s not the book, but it’s true to the book. And if you’ve been looking for a conversation starter, take a friend along.

It may be too much to ask that they do the same for the other 6 books, but C.S. Lewis would surely support us in praying for such a miracle.