Seeing as we’re gettting closer and closer to the annual break in of the big man in the red suit I feel a bit more snow is needed. And perhaps some fantasy. So I’ve decided to kill two birds with one stone. Behind door number 4 of our Christmas Movie Avent Calendar we have The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Recommended on behalf of Twitter, Narnia is apparently a Christmas movie due to the fact that there is a cameo by the big man himself. That’s right folks, he’s so big he cameos in movies!
Based on arguably the most famous of CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe seems almost to play out like a young children’s version of The Lord of The Rings. However I’m sure no matter how young you are LOTR would be infinitely more entertaining.
With it’s hefty running time of 2 hours 20 minutes it takes some effort to stay interested throughout. Although LOTR is considerably longer it at least has more storyline. The story we’re given for Narnia is of Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan, four siblings who, during World War II are sent to the countryside to keep safe. However, soon enough, the four children end up fighting a battle of their own in Narnia, a magical fantasy land found in the back of a wardrobe. Filled with such supporting cast delights as, Liam Neeson playing a lion, James McAvoy with hooves, and Ray Winstone and Dawn French playing a married beaver couple, it looks set to be quite a treat. Yet what we’re given is a bit of a bore. With long, uninteresting scenes and children actors who can’t seem to act well enough to warrant being main characters. However it’s clear to see that at least they’re having fun. At least, more fun than the audience.
Although there is an average enough battle scene and a small reference to Reservoir Dogs (Michael Madsen’s voice cameos as a wolf and a fun quote is used which, if you’ve seen Tarantino’s films as much as I have you might just recognise) the film doesn’t have much to stand on. Santa’s cameo seems to be taken from Lord of The Rings‘ Galadriel but it adds a nice touch.
So after all that boredom, why put it in a list of Christmas movies which I’m meant to be recommending you may ask. One simple fact really. It’s great for a post-christmas dinner, end of day nap. Just after everyone’s stuffed their faces with turkey and all the rest, pop this on in the living room and you won’t complain…