The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - PG
Common Sense Note
Parents should know that the film has some sad, scary, and violent scenes for a PG film. The movie begins with a bombing during the Blitz in London. The children are separated from their mother, which could upset some younger audience members. There are other sad scenes where animals die -- including principle characters. A friendly fox is chased and caught by a pack of wolves, who also chase the children. A witch yells at a young boy, chains him in prison, and stabs him. She also abuses her servant, stabs her enemies with a sword that turns them to stone, martyrs the lion, and leads troops into battle. The children learn to fight, then engage in hand-to-hand combat and sword fighting; one sister shoots an enemy with an arrow. There is a pitched battle with deaths and grave injuries. While not overt, the movie includes Christian imagery (a martyred, Christlike lion, a rebirth from magic water) and allegorical storylines.
Families can discuss the bonds among the four siblings, as they comfort and provoke one another while away from their mother and fearful about the war. How is Narnia a fantasy born of this combination of supporting one another and concern about their future? How do the animals and creatures in Narnia represent different aspects of the children's daily lives -- their courage, fear, and desires? Families might also discuss the Christian iconography in the film.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Long and lush, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE makes a case for love among siblings by granting them a common enemy. The scariest scene comes at the start: a night sky is filled with smoke and warplanes. As the Germans bomb London during WWII, the Pevensie children scramble to the backyard bomb shelter. The eldest, Peter (William Moseley), becomes impatient when his brother Edmund (Skandar Keynes) goes back for their father's framed photo. As they huddle in the underground shelter, the explosions and sirens fading into background noise, Peter harrumphs, "Why can't you just do as you're told?"
When their mother sends them off to live in the countryside, the boys and their sisters Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy (Georgie Henley), are instructed not to trouble their host, Professor Kirke (Jim Broadbent). While playing hide and seek, they discover the magical wardrobe that serves a portal to Narnia, a kingdom under the power of the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton). Here they also discover their own strengths, as they learn of a prophecy declaring their participation crucial to saving Narnia.
When 6-year-old Lucy first meets the faun Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), her siblings won't believe her. But soon all four children have tumbled through the portal into Narnia and find they must rescue Edmond who has been enticed (and kidnapped) by the Witch.
While the Witch holds Narnia under a wintry sway, she dreads the return of Aslan the lion (voiced by Liam Neeson), the character C.S. Lewis endows with savior-like properties (although none of the Christian elements are obvious and a viewer could watch the movie without realizing any of this -- as with the book). The Pevensies come to understand themselves as chosen and their mission as saving the kingdom.
At first, the kids resist their "destiny" (Susan is especially rational, and so finds the fantasy a bit illogical). They are instructed by the beavers as well as Father Christmas (James Cosmo) himself who gives out gifts (a bow and arrows, sword, a healing potion) specific to the tasks the children will perform in battle. At this point, Peter, Susan, and Lucy are looking for Aslan, in hopes that he will help them save Edmond, currently in chains at the Witch's feet, even as she and her secret police (a pack of wolves) are hunting the children. The Witch's power depends on her capacity to instill fear in her subjects, while Aslan inspires hope, the faith that conditions might change, that the sun might warm the earth.
The film, directed by Shrek's Andrew Adamson, designates moral positions in part by associating certain animals and mythical creatures with them. These embodiments take a cue from the Lord of the Rings franchise, assembled according to beauty and horridness: sleek and elegant animals like cheetahs and horses and centaurs form Aslan's crew; ogres, dwarves, and minotaurs constitute Jadis' fearsome assembly.
The final battle returns the children to the film's opening: they witness (and now enact) violent destruction of bodies and material. The fight images are rendered in grand terms, as the two armies gather on hilltops and leaders raise their arms to prompt forward motion. This motion initially is like thunder -- a rush of rumbling hooves and wheels. At the moment of first impact, when a cheetah and a tiger leap on one another, the sound goes out for an instant. It's awful, maybe thrilling, but only for a moment. It recalls the awesome power of war, to pretend glory and abstract honor. And that is scary.
Families who like this movie might also want to watch a British television version of the same story, 1988's The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, available on DVD. They will also want to read the book. Families with older children will, of course, like the Lord of the Rings movies. Besides the beautiful New Zealand countryside present in both movies, it's interesting to note that Tolkein and Lewis were the closest of friends and both wrote books that ultimately railed against the evil and brutality of the World Wars.
Rate It!
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ViolenceOpening scene of WWII bombing in London; boy imprisoned and abused by witch; battles involving animals, mythical creatures, and kids (wielding bows and arrows, swords, and spears). |
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LanguageSome inter-sibling name-calling (including "idiot"). |
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Social BehaviorChildren are fearful, one brother is greedy; the witch is evil; the kids learn to trust one another, work together, and defeat the evil witch. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoProfessor smokes a pipe; a girl is mildly drugged (in her tea), sees hallucinatory images in a fireplace, then falls asleep. |
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