Product Description

Prepare to enter another world when Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media invite you to experience C.S. Lewis' timeless and beloved adventure as never before on Blu-ray Disc™. Join Lucy Edmund Susan and Peter four siblings who step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There they discover a charming once-peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch Jadis. Aided by the magnificent lion Aslan the children lead Narnia into a tremendous climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever! And now the stunningly realistic special effects are even more breathtaking in the astounding clarity of high definition. Meet talking beasts dwarfs fauns centaurs giants and more! Meanwhile every sound -- from the roar of Aslan to the echo of battle trumpets and the gentle rustling of leaves -- comes alive with spectacularly enhanced audio quality. Live the adventure of a lifetime as if for the very first time with Disney Blu-ray -- Magic in High Definition.System Requirements:Running Time: 135 minutesFormat: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 786936751963 Manufacturer No: 5614903

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 135 minutes

Amazon.com
C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation--it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie--for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren't knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. --Dan Vancini

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Customer Reviews

Walt Disney Dropped The Ball on This One...
Walt Disney did I wonderful job of the Pirates of the Carribean series when it was brought to Blu-Ray. They were released as a 2-Disc Special Edition with pretty worth-wild pakaging and features. However, with the The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Blu-Ray, it just didn't happen. Why would you shell out good money for something like this when the 4-Disc extended edition on DVD has so much more to offer. Granted you have the superior image and sound quality, but I would expect at least a 2-Disc edition with features of the 4-Disc DVD.

It releases like this that make me question if the Blu-Ray version has anything to offer for the money. Shame on you Walt Disney!

Disney and Walden Media do C.S. Lewis right.
The genre of fantasy has long been ignored for quite a long time in cinema (especially after a period of hit-and-miss entries in the 1980's), but now it has been heavily revitalized, thanks to the runaway success of both Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and the HARRY POTTER movies. Based on this, it is probably no surprise that another beloved fantasy literature series would get the big screen treatment. And what better choice than C.S. Lewis' enchanting CHRONICLES OF NARNIA? In a surprising collaboration between Disney and Walden Media, the first book in the series, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, hit the theaters in 2005, and went onto become both a critical and popular success. The film may not be a replica of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, but that is hardly its purpose. All it has to do is bring this beloved tale to the screen with a touch of magic and heart, and thanks to the craft of highly advanced special effects and fine performances, it manages to do just that.

The story begins in World War II London, where four Pevensie children--Lucy (Georgie Henley), Susan (Anne Popplewell), Peter (William Moseley), and Edmond (Skandar Keynes)--are forced to live in the mansion of an enigmatic professor. During a hide-and-seek game, the children discover a wardrobe which turns out to be a portal to a mysterious magical world called Narnia, a land inhabited by talking beasts and mythical creatures. Unfortunately, this kingdom is under the rule of the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton), who has cursed the entire land to an eternal winter. Only the great lion king, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), and the children can put an end to her evil reign.

The story has been told several times before Disney's rendition. There was an animated feature produced by Bill Melendrez which aired back in the 1970s, and a three-hour long television adaptation courtesy of BBC. Both of these adaptations showed their age in production values, yet remained fairly faithful to the source material. For those of you who fear that Disney's acquisition of NARNIA means a "Disneyfication" of a classic story, DON'T. As with Jackson in LORD OF THE RINGS, director Andrew Adamsom shows tremendous respect for the source material, and does a first class job of transitioning it to the big screen without sacrificing its magic or substance. If you're expecting a totally literal adaptation, though, chances are you might be disappointed, because there are a few scenes from the book which are obviously shortened and/or altered, as well as some which were added in. However, none of these "changes" compromise the story in any way; the magic of Lewis' world is imperishable, and overall this adaptation is commendably faithful while adding to it in the same way that Jackson's LOTR did.

There are a few places where the visual effects, as produced by LOTR's Weta Digital in New Zealand, lack polish, but are otherwise breathtaking, particularly the talking animals (including a pair of gently funny beavers) and especially the climactic showdown. What ultimately makes this NARNIA are the sincere, believable performances courtesy of the excellent cast. Young Georgie Henley as Lucy, in particular, sparkles the screen with a radiant innocence and cuteness without being saccharine. Her siblings acquit themselves fairly well, too, although William Moseley's Peter is a bit on the wooden side. Liam Neeson has the perfect voice for Aslan, while Tilda Swinton oozes both evil and charisma as the White Witch.

I'm sure that the ages-old book vs. movie debate will last for eternity (in addition to comparisons to previous filmed versions), but this brand-new NARNIA is still most welcome. It doesn't have the depth or complexity of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, but it does have a special charm and childlike wonder which makes it a treat in its own right. It will be interesting to see how subsequent adaptations of the remaining books in the series will turn out.

Doubting Thomas
I used the pseudonym of "Doubting Thomas" because I doubt that the persons who gave this movie a low rating were basing their critiques on the story line, ability of the actors, or the superb special effects. In all the reviews I read of 2 stars and lower, the reviewers' animosity toward Christianity was evident. I found the negative reviews shallow, false, and full of malice. This is a great film, the best one ever made of this series of stories. I hope the producer makes movies of all seven Chronicles of Narnia books with the same quality.