And that will be the last
time I type that whole thing out. So here’s
Disney’s attempt at getting into the fantasy movie
franchise they want. And it’s a good enough start.
There are six more books that I don’t remember, so I
cannot say if these characters/actors will recur throughout
the series. And that’s fine.
Which is not to say
that the kids did a bad job. They didn’t. I was most
impressed by the young girl Lucy, played by Georgie Henley.
Usually some adorable little pixie is cast to just pout and
giggle say one precocious line and be done. In
Narnia, she carried a fair chunk of the movie
on her small, young shoulders. Everyone else was just there
to wine or pout from time to time, with the exception of
the oldest brother. He is the standard pretty-boy lead
that’s always cast, which was a little distracting
during his big “have to be the man now” king
speeches. He just was too like a young puppy to always pull
off some of the more demanding dialogue and regal gravitas.
The effects were good enough, the story was fine. Probably
not developed enough for everyone, but a nice good vs. evil
tale. The action was good, though too late at the end for
the younger viewers who’d get bored. But that’s
fine also as it was perhaps too violent for the very young.
It’s bloodless, stylized Disney violence, but there
are still freezing/turn to stone “death,” a
stabbing sacrifice and a major battle sequence.
When we left the theater, my film going companion turned to
me and said, “I could see more of those.” Sums
it up.
Smells like: A Disney-fied fantasy franchise of cotton
candy.
