the beauty of narnia
When I was a little girl--I guess around 6, because my parents were re-married by then--my dad read The Chronicles of Narnia to me at bedtimes. I adored them. Up until my teen years, we read every night he was home, travelling through all kinds of books: Little House on the Prarie, The Screwtape Letters, even The Law by Bastiat. Of all the books we read my favourite all my life has been The Chronicles. Since that time, I've read them quite a few more times. (Yes, I am one of those that reads books more than one time.) It was so amazing to think of another world at your fingertips so full of beauty and adventure--and you could never quite tell when you might stumble upon it. Of course, Lewis touches deep spiritual and metaphysical chords in his series as well, but ultimately, the stories are about beautiful adventures. I was in love with that world.
I just got back from seeing The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe with my sister. Of course, this isn't the first one of its kind--there is an animated one, and a fairly decent version released by BBC a number of years ago--I've seen the others. They're alright. This movie is what was playing in my head when I read the books. I can't even think of a better compliment to give. I was a child again, discovering Narnia all over. I was a little afraid at one point that they'd skipped the most amazing line--"He's not a tame lion, you know." "No. But He's good."--but lo and behold, there it was. I even truly enjoyed the addition at the beginning. To a generation so removed from WWII, it added a good deal of context to the story (and reminded me again what troopers the British are). The cast was excellent. Unlike the BBC girl, this Lucy doesn't whine. You fall in love with her. Peter is the resolute oldest son trying to take the place of his father. Susan captured well the young girl trying to be reasonable and important, but still really a girl. And Edmund. Watching him, you can really see him drawn into the net by his petulance--at each step becoming more angry and ill-tempered. His redemption is a relief because you do like him despite the attitudinal mistakes he makes. This movie is everything you want it to be, and very well. It is wonderful. Now I think I'll go read the book again.