Return to Narnia?

It's a delight to see a favorite childhood book finally adapted to the big screen. Many who have read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" long (or perhaps not so long) ago have awaited the recently released film version with eager anticipation. Yet such anticipation is also a double-edged sword, because as exciting as the prospect of bringing a beloved classic to life may be, there's always a great risk that the film won't live up to our high expectations. How does "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" fare? Though generally satisfying, it's difficult not to suspect that C.S. Lewis' magical tale deserved better.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" begins promisingly, as the four Pevensie children — competent Peter (William Moseley), upstart Susan (Anna Popplewell), bratty Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and giddily curious Lucy (Georgie Henley) — are whisked away from air raid-stricken London in 1940 to a country mansion. Lucy, the youngest, ventures into a mysterious wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek and discovers a portal to Narnia, a realm of mythical creatures, magical powers and talking animals. The innocent Lucy readily accepts an invitation from the bumbling, bare-chested satyr Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy) for afternoon tea and is then drugged into unconsciousness in his den; Lewis obviously wrote "Wardrobe" in a time before "don't take candy from strangers" was a cliché. Lucy eventually brings the rest of the Pevensie children into Narnia, and their adventure begins. The battle lines are quite clear: the villainous White Witch (Tilda Swinton) holds Narnia in her icy grip, and the Pevensie children must join with an army of griffons, dwarves, satyrs, centaurs and more headed by the Christlike lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) to defeat her.

It is important to remember that "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a children's movie, through and through. Unlike "Wardrobe" director Andrew Adamson's two "Shrek" movies, this film does not effectively bridge the age gap. Instead, Adamson tries to stay faithful to the letter of Lewis' work — and is successful in that regard. The spirit embodied by Lewis's work, however, is somewhat lacking here. One of the best appeals of the original book was that the youthful reader could discover a whole new world right alongside Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. In the film, though, their journey seems choreographed and almost predictable. Simply showing a few gorgeous shots of New Zealand back-country and some nifty CGI effects do not suffice to make a compelling film.

The best way in which to look at "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" might be through an unavoidable comparison to the "Lord of the Rings" films. "Wardrobe" is, effectively, Tolkien for tots. Its portrayal of morality is simpler, its characters more transparent and its scope less epic. At the same time, though, it has a more accessible plot, more familiar protagonists and less gratuitous action. "Wardrobe" and the "Lord of the Rings" films still share many striking similarities, such as the lush New Zealand backdrop for the Odyssey-like journey through a high-fantasy setting, greater focus on the large battles than on their sources and grotesque minions inhabiting the armies of evil. The comparisons are inevitable, not only because Lewis and Tolkien themselves were good friends and greatly influenced each others' writing, but also because "Wardrobe" has been released right on the heels of Tolkien's epic trilogy and is clearly riding on the latter's rich coattails.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a decent children's film in its own right, but the appeal it might have had to older audiences and fans of Lewis' work is stifled by a glitzy production that lacks the good old adventurous spirit of the original book.