Raaaarr, I’m a computer-generated lion, and I’m today’s guest movie reviewer!

The short summary is that if you’re in the mood for some outstanding art direction and lovely special effects, go see this film. And the computer-generated lion is pretty good too.

The landscapes look beautiful… Some people have complained that one or two of the effects shots look artificial— but, really, so what? It’s a film about a magical wardrobe and a talking lion, so the odd bit of visual contrivence shouldn’t matter so long as the story is compelling and the characters are well drawn.

The Lion

The titular lion is not bad. Very beautiful. A little facially overacted for my taste, as if perhaps the computer graphics animators felt the need to justify their existance by putting lots of movement in. Would have been more powerful with less, I think.

Sadly the rest of the performances are, while not technically bad, just unarresting.

The Witch

Tilda Swinton, the only actress named after a diacritical mark, and her career seemingly mining a seam of morally and sexually ambiguous roles, is an underwhealming White Witch. She manages the quiet notes nicely, but, as another reviewer observed, there are no really barnstorming, scenery-chewing flashes of anger, or even much of a hint that there’s much passion simmering underneath there.

She’s certainly not going to redefine ‘scary’ for a generation of children, which is a shame, because the character has all that potential.

The only other humans in the piece (aside from a few bods outside the wardrobe, in the real world), are the 4 children.

Lucy is good.

The others are irritating.

I know children bicker, but the impression I got from this film was of a family of 4 contentious brats. I can understand why Edmund betrays the others— they’re quite beastly towards him and utterly lacking in humour.

Kind of a stumbling point for the film overall, I felt.

It’s not all bad. Mr Tumnus, the fawn, is played beautifully (by James McAvoy). Not cloying, but sympathetic and innocent. Sadly the CG does let him down. The goaty legs they’ve given him just don’t move right with the rest of his body. I said that slightly-off effects shouldn’t matter, but in this instance they make his movements look awkward and unnatural.

The Wardrobe

The wardrobe is very ornate.

Jim Broadbent is a perfectly charming Professor Kirke (owner of the wardrobe), though with some rather alarming facial hair.

When I came out of the cinema after this film, I felt oddly deflated—somewhat empty inside. Now maybe that was not the fault of the film. Perhaps it was just the mood I was in, but I wasn’t captivated.

I admit that it’s a difficult story to pull off well on film. It’s potentially very violent for a children’s film, but the whimsy could be difficult to sell to the adults. Unfortunately while the filmmakers hit all of the right notes in many respects, the result seems to lack heart.

The Wizard, The Witch And The Broomstick

What I’m keen to know is what America’s religious right have to say about this film.

It must be a really tough call for them.

On the one hand, the story was written by a vocal proponant of Christianity, and is infused with what an be read as Christian alegory.

On the other hand, it’s stuffed full of mythological beasts and the occult, contains talking animals (as if any stronger link with witchcraft were possible), and the first Narnian we meet is a fawn, half man, half goat, the very picture of the modern Christian Devil.

So do they hate it like Harry Potter, or do they love it, like The Passion of The Christ? Enquiring minds need to know.