Movie: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

I was first introduced to CS Lewis' classic Narnia series by the BBC version of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", which my dad had borrowed from the British Consulate library in Maseru. I was hooked, and since then I have re-read the series countless times, and have also re-watched the BBC version of the movie quite a few times.

I went to watch the latest version of the movie yesterday, with Arun, an old friend I hadn't seen for a long time. This version has definitely got the "Lord of the Rings" treatment in terms of the special effects and the general polish and look of the film. That was expected. However, the movie itself was not a completely faithful translation of the book - with a number of scenes present because of the sheer drama and spectacle and not because it featured in the book. There were also a few scenes, especially involving Edmund (the wayward brother) that give a slightly different twist to his personality.

In terms of acting, the girl who played Lucy was brilliant. I can't really say I liked Tilda Swinton - she just did not pass off as evil as she is portrayed in the book. And in the words of Arun, Aslan was just the "fattest lion he had ever seen". In all honesty, I think that the BBC version was better but this is by no means an objective viewpoint.