Narnia

I watched Narnia last night. I took the whole family to see it. I had read all seven of the Chronicles to my kids, so it was neat to be able to see it on the big screen and share it with them.

While it was a good movie, it fell so short of my expectations that I walked away feeling sorry for C.S. Lewis (the author of the books). I think he is dead now, but I am sure he would be disappointed in what he saw.

For those of you who have read the books you will realize that to read them is to fall in love with the world of Narnia and its inhabitants. Narnia is a world of food and singing and light hearts and laughter. It is a realm of friendship and loyalty. The books are about the beauty of that world and the gentle hearts that protect it. It is about the goodness of a benevolent, yet untamed master (Aslan). A master who inspires awe and fear for those who behold his might, yet despite his power there is a startling tenderness. Such are the themes of the bible, and as you erad it with that in mind you will come to realize that the entire chronicles are indeed Lewis’ interpretations of the Bible.

What the move is about is a group of four children who go to a place and fight a war and become kings and queens. You have very little time to become attached to Narnia and you cannot understand the will which makes the children wish to defend it. You just don’t really care about Narnia when you watch the movie. Aslan inspires no awe, and the characters are just not ‘there’. There are good battle scenes and special effects and a good mood. If I hadn’t read the books I would think that Narnia was a place of battle and weird creatures and not much of what C.S. Lewis created.

I felt sad last night thinking how good it could have been… but it needed 30 minutes more of Narnia and it’s people and forming relationships and bonds. It also needed a more Majesty out of Alsan… not just some big cat in a tent.