Twenty Years of Disney’s Narnia

Disney’s film adaptation of the first Narnia book came at an exciting time in cinema. The early successes of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings in 2001 convinced many filmmakers to adapt either fantasy books or children’s books. Most of these attempts were forgettable or lackluster (e.g. Eragon and The Golden Compass), but Disney’s handling of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in 2005 stands high above them all. It’s to the point where, is some ways, the film improves upon the source material by C.S. Lewis.

I had read the book, well, all of the books, before the film. This made me curious to see how the filmmakers’ vision would differ from my own imagination. I was left very impressed with how true to the book they stayed. Narnia came out at both the best time and the worst time. In the early 2000s, the public was hungry for fantasy and Disney could still put out quality live-action pictures (e.g. Remember The Titans, Freaky Friday, Pirates of the Caribbean). On the other hand, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings were so huge at the time, that they overshadowed the more modest Narnia. Even now, they still do.

The Pevensie children, (all played convincingly by William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley) have greater depth in the film than they do in the books. This isn’t to say that the Pevensies were flat in the books, but that they were rather two-dimensional when compared to Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, or Lyra Belacqua. There are additions in the film which help to flesh out the Pevensies and their character arcs, such as the opening where Edmund refuses to listen to Peter to reclaim their father’s picture or Peter longing to enlist in the war effort. Peter wants to be courageous and Edmund wants to do things his own way. By the end of the film, we see Peter lead an army against the White Witch and Edmund once again refusing Peter’s orders to break the Witch’s wand.

This character depth also applies to the sisters Susan and Lucy, who could not be more different from each other. Susan tries to be the logical, surrogate mother, while Lucy is eager to believe in the magic of Narnia and the goodness of all. The film adds a scene where Susan tries to persuade Peter to surrender to Maughrim when they are surrounded by his wolves. We may not like Susan’s reasoning, but we understand where she’s coming from. Contrast this to the scene of Edmund’s apology for his betrayal. Lucy is the first to embrace and forgive him. Even though he treated her worst of the siblings, she still loves him the most. This distance between the two sisters is briefly addressed (Susan became boring), but eventually closed by two of them comforting Aslan before his death and witnessing his resurrection. Through Narnia, the Pevensies become closer as a family.

Narnia also came out in this sweet spot of special effects, where CGI was good enough to make the fantastical come to life, but filmmakers were still hesitant to have it replace all practical effects. I recall Narnia being the first time I had seen CG animals which were near-photorealistic. The director, Andrew Adamson, could’ve gone the Babe method of only having real animals with digital lip movements, which by that point was getting old. Of course, real animals were used, but they were also mixed in with the CG models. Though unlike the CG animals of today (e.g. Disney live-action remakes), they had exaggerated facial expressions which demonstrated their character. Adamson co-directed the first two Shrek films, so I’d like to think that his experiences influenced the great voice acting for the talking animals. Ray Winstone and Dawn French are a lovely couple as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Rupert Everett plays a sly and clever Mr. Fox, and Michael Madsen is an intimidating Maugrim. Though who can forget Liam Neeson’s Aslan? His voice is perfect, with just the right amount of authority, love, and weakness.

Of course, the best performance in the film belongs to Tilda Swinton, who steals the show as Jadis the White Witch. When she first encounters Edmund, she is sweet and motherly to him, but when he comes back to her without his siblings, she is frighteningly nasty. I love that they added a scene where after she finds Edmund and Mr. Tumnus developing something of a bond in prison, she reveals that Edmund betrayed the Faun for sweets. Like a knife to the heart. Film critic Roger Ebert said Swinton plays as Jadis as if she were possibly the devil himself. There’s also the scene where Jadis kills Aslan on the Stone Table, her pupils appear to have blackened and dilated in way that really creeps me out. Her costume changes throughout the film also say subtle things about her character, such as at the final battle, where she wears Aslan’s mane.

The Battle of Beruna might be my favorite fantasy battle in cinema. Yes. I prefer it over Helm’s Deep or the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Lord of the Rings. Why? It’s pure classic fantasy. You have a knight in shining armor riding a unicorn. You have the appearance of every character from mythology and folklore, from minotaurs to centaurs. There’s also strategy here. The griffins drop heavy rocks onto the enemy forces in a display that Peter and Edmund likely took from the Blitz. They also try to block the advance of Jadis’s army with a pheonix that lays down a firewall. And Peter even charges into battle with a helmet! An actual helmet!

It’s also a credit to the filmmakers that they didn’t make the mistake that Chris Weitz would later make with The Golden Compass by watering down the religious themes that make the story so appealing. The phrases “Sons of Adam” and “Daughters of Eve” are openly used, while the parallels between Aslan and Jesus are obvious to anyone who can see them. There are also two additions that stuck out to me upon rewatch. The first was when Aslan climbs up to the Stone Table. He’s confronted by a demonic-looking harpy who tries to scare him. Aslan only continues to step forward stoically and the harpy’s face is taken with fear as he flies off. There’s also the final battle, where Aslan tells Peter: “It is finished”, echoing the last words of Christ as he died on the cross.

Harry Gregson-Williams, who also did the music for Metal Gear Solid 2, provides Narnia with one of the great movie scores. Of course, many of us can hum the triumphant battle theme, but there’s also the magical beauty of “Entering The Wardrobe” and “Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus.” The soundtrack also has some amazing pop songs, like as “Wunderkind” by Alanis Morrisette and “Can’t Take It In” by Imogen Heap.

I haven’t seen the sequels Prince Caspian or Voyage of the Dawn Treader since they were released in theaters. I remember liking Prince Caspian well enough, but thinking they added too much action and that Aslan’s prolonged absence from Narnia didn’t make much sense. Dawn Treader felt very by-the-numbers, but Will Poulter was perfectly cast as Eustace Scrubb. The diminishing returns from these sequels may explain why Narnia failed to have the lasting success of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

Now we know that Greta Gerwig (who directed the excellent Barbie), will helm a film reboot of the Narnia series, starting with The Magician’s Nephew. That one was always my least favorite of the Narnia books as a kid, so I’m curious to see what they’ll do with it. Even so, the prospect of another new live-action version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe would feel like a tiresome retread. Perhaps if it were animated, I’d be more excited, but the Disney version is so perfect that I don’t see it being topped any time soon. While Narnia failed to shape the fantasy landscape in Hollywood as effectively as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones, I can imagine that it introduced many youngsters to the books, and that too is a legacy worth celebration.