The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes play Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund, four British children evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside, who find a wardrobe that leads to the fantasy world of Narnia. There they ally with the Lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch (Tilda Swinton).

The film was released on December 9, 2005 in both Europe and North America to positive reviews and was highly successful at the box office. It won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Makeup and various other awards and is the first film in the series of films based on the books. An Extended Edition was released on December 12, 2006 and was only made available on DVD until January 31, 2007 when it was discontinued. It was the best selling DVD in North America in 2006 taking in $332.7 million that year.^[2]

Plot

During the Battle of Britain, in the suburb of Finchley near London, Great Britain, the Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are endangered by an attack of numerous German Heinkel He 111 bombers. When running to the shelter, Edmund runs back to the house to get a photograph of his father for which Peter scolds him. The next morning, they are evacuated to the country home of Professor Digory Kirke, who is not accustomed to having children in his house as Ms. Macready, the strict housekeeper explains.

While the Pevensies are getting used to the house and Playing Hide and Seek out of boredom, Lucy discovers a wardrobe and enters a wintry fantasy world called Narnia to her surprise. Lucy shortly encounters and befriends the faun, Mr. Tumnus, who explains about the land she has just entered and invites her back to his home to which she accepts. There, he puts Lucy asleep by playing a Narnian Lullaby on his flute. However, when she wakes up, Lucy finds Tumnus grieving and explains that Jadis, the White Witch, has cursed Narnia, and it has been winter for one hundred years. If a human is ever encountered, they were to be brought to her. Tumnus takes a huge liking to Lucy and cannot bring himself to kidnap her, so he sends her home. When she returns hardly any time has passed in the normal world, and her siblings do not believe her story since that when they look in the wardrobe, it has a normal wooden back. Peter than scolds Edmund when he jokes about believing Lucy to which Edmund responds by yelling at Peter and storms out of the room, believing that Peter is trying to be a father figure. (Persumably showing us that Edmund's behavior as bad began when his father was forced to fight in the war.)

One night, Edmund follows Lucy into the wardrobe, persumably to tease her about the country he thinks she has made up. However, he enters Narnia as well, and shortly after searching for Lucy. He meets the White Witch who claims to be "The Queen of Narnia" and her dwarf Ginarrbrik. She offers him Turkish Delight as well as the prospect of becoming king and having power over his siblings if he brings them to her house. After she departs Edmund and Lucy meet again and return; Lucy tells Peter and Susan about the experience, but Edmund lies about it. The Professor talks with Peter and Susan; he does not understand why they do not believe Lucy's story and gives them three possible logical explanations of Lucy's behaviour — madness, dishonesty and sincerity — the others know she is neither mad nor dishonest, so she must be telling the truth. However, they are still not convinced

While running away from Ms. Macready after accidentally breaking a window while playing Cricket, the four siblings retreat to the wardrobe and enter Narnia and apologize to Lucy. They discover Mr. Tumnus has been taken by the Witch's secret police and meet Mr. and Mrs. Beaver who tell them about Aslan. According to the beavers Aslan is on the move to take control of Narnia from the Witch. The four must help Aslan and his supporters; it has been prophesied that if two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit in the four thrones, the White Witch's reign would end.

Edmund sneaks off to visit the Witch, where Mr. Beaver explains the witch's motive and that the siblings now must resort to reaching Aslan to save him. When he arrives at her castle, she is angry that he did not deliver his siblings. The Witch sends wolves to hunt down the children and the beavers, who barely escape with the help with a fox. Edmund is chained in the Witch's dungeon where he meets Tumnus. The Witch demands that Edmund reveal where his siblings are because her police could not find them; Edmund then tells her about Aslan and the witch demands to know where Aslan is. Edmund hesitates when Tumnus claims that Edmund does not know anything and Edmund tells the Witch that he heard no further information regarding Aslan. Seeing that Tumnus is hindering the information, the Witch tells Mr. Tumnus that Edmund betrayed him, then turns Tumnus to stone.

While Peter, Lucy, Susan and the beavers travel to the Stone Table, they see what they believe to be the White Witch chasing after them, so they hide. It is really Father Christmas, a sign that the Witch's reign is ending. Father Christmas gives Lucy a healing cordial and a dagger to defend herself with, Susan a bow and arrows and a magical horn that will summon help when blown, and Peter a sword and shield.

Pursued by wolves led by Maugrim, the group crosses a thawing river, leaving the Witch unable to reach them. The Witch's wolves then appear who captured the fox that helped the Pevensies escape. The Witch then demands that the fox reveals the Pevensies destination. Refusing to comply, the Witch then nearly turns the fox to stone and Edmund reveals that the Pevensies are heading to the stone table and that Aslan has already plotted his army. The Witch however still turns the fox to stone and slaps Edmund in the face for hiding information from her. Arriving at Aslan's camp, the group encounters Aslan, who is revealed as a huge and noble lion. Aslan promises to help Edmund in any way he can. Later, two wolves ambush Lucy and Susan while they are frolicking by the river. When Peter intervenes Maugrim attacks him and Peter kills him with his sword. After some of Aslan's troops follow the other wolf to the witch's camp and rescue Edmund, Peter is knighted by Aslan.

After Edmund and his siblings reunite, The White Witch journeys to Aslan's camp and asserts her claim to the traitor Edmund, but Aslan secretly offers to sacrifice himself instead. That night, as Lucy and Susan covertly watch, Aslan is killed by the White Witch at the Stone Table with a crowd of creatures watching. In the morning he is resurrected because "there is a magic deeper still the Witch does not know". Aslan takes Susan and Lucy to the Witch's castle, where he frees the prisoners that the White Witch turned to stone, forming reinforcements for Aslan's army.

Edmund persuades Peter to lead Aslan's Army to fight the White Witch's forces. Though Aslan's army begins to have a winning streak, The White Witch's huge army is much larger than Aslan's (aka Peter's), which Peter's army soon begins losing. To stop the Witch from attacking and killing Peter, Edmund attacks the White Witch and destroys her wand, but is fatally wounded by the Witch in return. Peter, angered at what the Witch did, fights her. As the Witch fights Peter, Aslan arrives with reinforcements and kills her. After Edmund is revived by Lucy's cordial, the Pevensies become Kings and Queens, staying in Narnia until they are adults.

Fifteen years later, whilst chasing a white stag through the forest, they come to the same forest clearing where the lampost is. Lucy begins to remember, and with Edmund, Susan and Peter following, fights through the trees, where tumble through the coats and out of the wardrobe and return to England, becoming children again. The Professor enters the room and asks what they were doing. Peter replies, "You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir." The Professor tosses him the ball that broke the window and replies, "Try me." Lucy later attempts to return to Narnia via the wardrobe, but the Professor tells her he has been trying for years, and they will probably return to Narnia when they least expect to return.

Cast

• William Moseley as Peter Pevensie, the eldest of the four Pevensie children.
• Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie, the second eldest child of the four Pevensie children.
• Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie, the third of the four Pevensie children.
• Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the four Pevensie children.
• Tilda Swinton as Jadis, the White Witch, the main antagonist of the film who holds Narnia under an eternal winter without Christmas or Spring or Summer.
• Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan, the great lion who was responsible for creating Narnia.
• James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus, a faun who at first works for the White Witch, but befriends Lucy Pevensie and joins Aslan's forces.
• Ray Winstone voices Mr. Beaver, a beaver who helps lead the children to Aslan.
• Dawn French voices Mrs. Beaver, a beaver who helps lead the children to Aslan.
• Kiran Shah as Ginarrbrik, the White Witch's servant dwarf.
• Jim Broadbent as Professor Digory Kirke, an old professor. He lets the children stay at his country estate during the war.
• Elizabeth Hawthorne as Mrs. Macready, Kirke's strict housekeeper.
• James Cosmo as Father Christmas. He gives Peter, Susan, and Lucy their Christmas gifts.
• Michael Madsen as the voice of Maugrim, a wolf who is captain of the White Witch's secret police.
• Patrick Kake as Oreius, a centaur who is second-in-command of Aslan's army.
• Shane Rangi as General Otmin, a minotaur who is second-in-command of the White Witch's army.
• Morris Cupton as Train Guard, the guard of the train Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy ride.
• Judy McIntosh as Helen Pevensie, the mother of the four Pevensie children.
• Rupert Everett as the voice of a fox who helps the children along their way to Aslan.
• Cameron Rhodes as the voice of a Gryphon who helps Peter in the war.
• Noah Huntley as the adult Peter Pevensie, who has grown up as a king in Narnia.
• Sophie Winkleman as the adult Susan Pevensie, who has grown up as a queen in Narnia.
• Mark Wells as the adult Edmund Pevensie, who has grown up as a king in Narnia.
• Rachael Henley as the adult Lucy Pevensie, who has grown up as a queen in Narnia.
• Producer Philip Steuer voices Phillip, Edmund's talking horse.

The radio-announcer that Peter listens to on the rainy day near the beginning of the film is played by Douglas Gresham, co-producer of the movie and C. S. Lewis's stepson.^[3] Keynes' voice broke during filming, so some of his voice track had to be re-looped by his sister Soumaya.^[3] Mr. Pevensie is only glimpsed in a photo which Edmund tries to retrieve during the bombing, which is of Sim-Evan Jones' father.^[4]

With the exception of Tilda Swinton, who was the first choice to play Jadis, the White Witch,^[5] casting was a long process. Beginning in 2002,^[6] Adamson went through 2500 audition tapes, met 1800 children and workshopped 400 before coming down to the final four actors for the Pevensies. Moseley and Popplewell came from the very start of casting, whilst Henley and Keynes were cast relatively late.^[7] Moseley was cast because casting director Pippa Hall remembered she cast him as an extra in a 1998 dramatization of Cider with Rosie. He quit school to learn all his lines and beat 3000 boys to the role of Peter.^[8]

Aslan's voice was a contention point. Brian Cox was originally cast in the role on December 9, 2004,^[9] but Adamson changed his mind.^[10] Liam Neeson sought out the role,^[6] and was announced as the voice on July 17, 2005.^[11]

Production

Pre-production

During the early 1990s, producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy were planning a film version.^[12] They could not find a space in Britain to shoot the film during 1996,^[13] and their plans to set the film in modern times^[14] made Douglas Gresham oppose the film,^[15] in addition to his feeling that technology had yet to catch up.^[14] Perry Moore began negotiations with the C. S. Lewis Estate in 2000.^[16] On December 7, 2001, Walden Media announced that they had acquired the rights to The Chronicles of Narnia.^[17]

The success of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone prompted the producers to feel they could make a faithful adaptation of the novel set in Britain. "Harry Potter came along, and all those cultural or geographical lines were broken," Mark Johnson explained. "When The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was being developed at Paramount, the imperative was to set it in the U.S., and it just doesn't hold. [...] It's not the book."^[18] Guillermo del Toro turned down the offer to direct due to his commitment on Pan's Labyrinth.^[19] Following his Academy Award win for Shrek, director Andrew Adamson began adapting the source material with a 20 page treatment based on his memories of the book.^[5] As such the film begins with the Luftwaffe bombing and concludes with an enormous battle, although they do not take up as much time in the novel.^[16]

In the novel, the battle is never seen until Aslan, Susan, Lucy and their reinforcements arrive. This was changed in the movie because Adamson said he could vividly remember a huge battle,^[7] an example of how Lewis left a lot to the readers' imagination. Other small changes include the reason all four children come to Narnia, in that an accident breaks a window and forces them to hide. Tumnus also never meets Edmund until the end in the novel. Minor details were added to the Pevensies, such as their mother's name, Helen, being the actual first name of Georgie Henley's mother.^[3] Finchley as the home of the Pevensies was inspired by Anna Popplewell, who actually is from Finchley.^[20] Adamson also changed the circumstances in which Lucy first comes into Narnia. He felt it was more natural that she first see the wardrobe while looking for a hide-and-seek hiding place, rather than just chance upon it exploring the house.^[7] The film also hints at Professor Kirke's role in The Magician's Nephew, such as the engravings on the wardrobe when it is a simple one in the novel and the Professor's surprise and intrigue when Peter and Susan mentions Lucy's discovery in the wardrobe. When Lewis wrote the novel, it was the first of the series and the back-story later outlined by the subsequent books in the series did not exist. In the novel also, the father of the Pevensie children is in London with their mother, but in the film, their father is fighting in the war as Lucy stated to Mr. Tumnus when they first meet in Narnia.

Weta Workshop head Richard Taylor cited Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights as an inspiration on the film. He felt Narnia had to be less dark and gritty than their depiction of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings because it is a new world.^[21] Many of Weta's creature designs were designed for digital creation, so when Howard Berger and KNB FX inherited the practical effects work, they had to spend three months retooling approved designs for animatronics.^[22] Berger's children would comment and advise upon his designs; they suggested the White Witch's hair be changed from black to blonde, which Berger concurred with as he realized Swinton's wig looked too gothic.^[23]

Filming

Principal photography began on June 28, 2004,^[24] shooting in primarily chronological order.^[4] Adamson did this in order to naturally create a sense of mature development from his young actors, which mirrored their real life development.^[15] Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes^[6] were never shown the set before filming scenes of their characters entering Narnia, nor had Henley seen James McAvoy in his Mr. Tumnus costume before shooting their scenes together.^[3]

The first scene shot was at the disused Hobsonville Air Base for the railway scene.^[25] Afterwards, they shot the Blitz scene, which Adamson called their first formal day of shooting.^[7]

The filmmakers asked permission to bring in twelve reindeer to New Zealand to pull the Ice Queen's sled. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry denied, citing the potentially deadly Q fever from which the North American reindeer population suffers as the reason. However, ten wolves and wolf hybrids were allowed in for filming in Auckland.^[26] To replace the denied live reindeer Mark Rappaport's Creature Effects, Inc. created four animatronic reindeer that were used in shots where the deer were standing in place. The reindeer were designed with replace-able skins to get the most usage; brown for Father Christmas and white for the White Witch.

The cast and crew spent their time in New Zealand in Auckland before moving in November to the South Island. The castle scene was filmed in Purakaunui Bay, not far from the most southern point in NZ^[27]

They filmed in Czech Republic (Prague and National Park České Švýcarsko) and Poland after the Christmas break,^[4] before wrapping in February.^[28]

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams. Gregson-Williams had previously worked with Adamson on Shrek (2001) and Shrek 2 (2004). In addition there are three original songs in the film; Can't Take It In by Imogen Heap, Wunderkind by Alanis Morissette and Winter Light by Tim Finn. Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee also wrote a song entitled Good Enough for the film, but it was not included in the soundtrack. Good Enough was later included in the band's album entitled The Open Door in 2007.^[29]

The soundtrack was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, England, and in Los Angeles, CA. Gregson-Williams employed the 75-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra, along with a 140-member choir (mostly members of The Bach Choir) and numerous other solo musicians such as electric violinist Hugh Marsh and vocalist Lisbeth Scott (at his Wavecrest Studio).^[30] He composed the original score and then spent late September through early November 2005 conducting the Hollywood Orchestra and overseeing the recording of the English choir.^[30] For "colour", he employed instruments used in ancient folk music, and to underscore critical dramatic moments, he added choral textures and, occasionally, a solo voice. The score includes instances of electronic music.^[31]

The soundtrack received two Golden Globe Award nominations: "Best Original Score" and "Best Original Song" (for "Wunderkind").

EMI also released a compilation soundtrack entitled Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was released on September 2005. The album features songs by Contemporary Christian music artists, such as Bethany Dillon, Kutless, and Nichole Nordeman. It released Waiting For The World To Fall by Jars of Clay as a single. The album went on to win the Special Event Album of the Year at the GMA Music Awards.

Release

On December 7, 2005 the film premiered in London, going on general release the following day. The film was released December 8, 2005 in the United Kingdom and December 9, 2005 in North America and the rest of Europe.

Box office

Worldwide, Narnia earned $745,013,115 marking it the 38th highest-grossing film of all-time worldwide. It had a worldwide opening of $107.1 million, marking Disney's fifth largest opening worldwide (at the time it was the largest).^[32] It is the third-largest movie worldwide among those released in 2005^[33] and it currently still remains the highest grossing movie of the Narnia franchise worldwide, and separately in North America and overseas.^[34] Finally, it the largest film of Walden Media worldwide.^[35]

United States and Canada

The film opened with $23,006,856 in 3,616 theatres on its opening day (Friday, December 9, 2005), averaging $6,363 per location. The film took in a total of $65,556,312 on its opening weekend (December 9–11, 2005),^[36] the 24th best opening weekend at the time (now 54th). It was also Disney's third largest opening weekend at the time (now the 8th largest)^[37] as well as the second biggest December opening, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It is now fourth following the 2007 opening of I Am Legend and the 2009 release of Avatar as well.^[38] Additionally, it made the third largest opening weekend of 2005.^[39] It grossed $291,710,957 in total becoming the second highest grossing film of 2005 behind Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.^[40] It surpassed the gross of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by only $1.7 million, although the latter grossed $895.9 million worldwide, ahead of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is the highest-grossing film of the 2005 holiday period,^[41] the second highest grossing Christian film,^[42] the 6th largest family - children's book adaptation,^[43] the 9th highest-grossing fantasy - live action film^[44] and the 10th highest-grossing film overall in Disney company history.^[45] Finally, it the largest film of Walden Media worldwide

Awards received

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe won several awards including the Academy Award for Makeup; the BeliefNet Film Award for Best Spiritual film; the Movieguide Faith & Values Awards: Most Inspiring Movie of 2005 and Best Family Movie of 2005; and the CAMIE (Character and Morality In Entertainment) Award. Others include the British Academy Film Awards for Makeup and Hair and Orange Rising Star (James McAvoy); Outstanding Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media; the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role (Georgie Henley, Female); the Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Fantasy Film (Isis Mussenden); and the Saturn Award for Costumes (Isis Mussenden) and Make-up (Howard Berger, Greg Nicotero, and Nikki Gooley).

Georgie Henley, in her performance as Lucy Pevensie earned critical acclaim for her performance. She won several awards, including the Phoenix Film Critics Society award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Performance by a Youth. She also won another awards either for Best Young Performance or Best Actress in a Leading Role.

The film was nominated for AFI's Top 10 Fantasy Films list.^[46]

Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics, with a 75% "certified fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes and 157 of the listed 208 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. Metacritic gives the movie a 75 out of 100, based on 39 reviews.^[49] Respected critic Roger Ebert also gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. Ebert and Roeper gave the movie "Two Thumbs Up". Movie critic Leonard Maltin gave the film 3 out of four stars, calling it, "an impressive and worthwhile family film," though he also said, "it does go on a bit and the special effects are extremely variable."^[50] Duane Dudak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave the movie 3 out of 4 stars. Stuart Klawans of The Nation said, "All ticket buyers will get their money's worth."^[51] Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News gave it 4 out of 4 stars and said: "A generation-spanning journey that feels both comfortingly familiar and excitingly original." Critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle listed it as the second best film of the year.^[52] Kit Bowen (Hollywood.com) gives this film 3 out of 4 stars.^[53]

However, John Anderson from Newsday, reacted negatively to the film, stating, "…there's a deliberateness, a fastidiousness and a lack of daring and vision that marks the entire operation."^[54]

DVD and Blu-ray release

The DVD for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was released on April 4, 2006. It is available in a standard one-disc set (with separate fullscreen and widescreen editions), and a deluxe widescreen two-disc boxed set with additional artwork and other materials from Disney and Walden Media. The DVD sold four million copies on its first day of release^[55] and overtook Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to become the top selling DVD in North America for 2006.^[56] As of December 2008 it has grossed $353.5 million in DVD sales, equivalent to 12,458,637 units sold.^[57][58]

Disney later issued a four-disc extended cut of the film on DVD. It was released on December 12, 2006 and was available commercially until January 31, 2007, after which Disney put the DVD on moratorium.^[59] The extended cut of the film runs approximately 150 minutes. The set includes all of the features previously released on the two-disc special edition. The two additional discs include a segment called "The Dreamer of Narnia", a previously unreleased feature length film about C. S. Lewis, and additional production featurettes.^[60] Most of the extended footage, besides the extended battle sequence, is longer establishing shots of Narnia and footage of the Pevensies walking in Narnia.^[61]

The high-definition Blu-ray Disc version was released on May 13, 2008 in the United States, and on June 16, 2008 in the United Kingdom,^[62] delayed from the original planned release date in late 2007.

Notes

External links

• Official website
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Internet Movie Database
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at AllRovi
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Box Office Mojo
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Metacritic