Media & Today's Children
Download a printable PDF version of the The Chronicles of Narnia Discussion Guide
The Chronicles of Narnia Discussion Guide
1. If your kids have read the book, you might begin by asking how the movie differed from the way they imagined Narnia would look. Did the movie add or detract from their picture of Lucy, Susan, Peter, Edmund,Aslan,Mr.Tumnus and the beavers. If your kids haven’t read the Narnia Chronicles, do they want to read them now after seeing the movie? Do you?
2. What do your kids think about Edmund’s behavior? What would they do if someone they loved “ditched” them to pursue their own selfish interests? Do they think that what happened to Edmund was fair?
3. What did your kids think about the portrayal of Aslan? Did they like the computer generated effects? What, if anything, do they think he represents? Why does he sacrifice himself for Edmund?
4. Did your kids understand the beginning of the movie that showed the bombing of Britain? You might ask your slightly older kids know about that period in World War II. Do they think that Lewis’s story is in any way a comment on the good and evil that was going on in the world at that time?
5. If your kids found the movie scary, what about it frightened them? Was it the situations or were they more frightened by moments when the action was sudden or the characters cruel?
6. The wardrobe is a portal to a wondrous, imaginary world. Is there anything in your kids’ lives that plays a similar role for them?
7. If your children had a magic potion to heal someone as Lucy does, what would they use it for?
8. What made your kids want to see this movie? How important was the marketing of the film? Do they want to own a copy when it comes out on DVD? Do they want to buy Narnia merchandise? The books? Ask them what made them want to see the movie most. Help them become aware of the vehicles marketers use to stimulate desire and appetite.
9. This movie had no bad language, no sex, and the violence — while pronounced in the battlefield — was without gore. Did the absence of these things affect their enjoyment of the movie?
10. Ask your kids if they think this movie is something they will want to see again. What makes them want to see one movie many times and not another?
Download a printable PDF version of the The Chronicles of Narnia Discussion Guide
Read the Common Sense Media Chronicles of Narnia Movie Review and the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Book Review
