Narnia -- Moderate Spoilers

We saw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Friday night. Excellent movie overall. Tilda Swinton was great as the White Witch. She was like a more evil version of Galadriel from Lord of the Rings (not that it was a huge leap: Galadriel was pretty freaky in the movies, much more so than the books). I do have a couple of criticisms, and I will bring them up because it is more fun to nitpick than to be all rosy. First, I pictured Mr. Tumnus as older and more fatherly than the guy they picked for the movie. The dynamic between him and Lucy with him being closer to her in age was screwy. Another criticism, and this one applies to the book too, is with the end. It's just weird how they grow all the way up and are in Narnia for most of their lives before popping back out of the wardrobe, especially after how concerned they were for most of the movie to get home. I guess the power must have corrupted them.

On the other hand, the child actors were really good, especially Edmund and Lucy. One script-writing touch of genius came near the end. Edmund's horse stopped and told Edmund he needed to rest because he was getting old. However, when the others come back to see what's taking Edmund so long, he says it is he, not the horse, who needs to catch his breath. That was an excellent way to show how Edmund's character had changed from the selfish boy he began the movie as without bludgeoning the viewer with it. The movie as a whole had the same touch.