This movie had a lot to live up to. The works of C.S. Lewis have been a prevalent source of inspiration and imagination throughout my life, as is the case of probably hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of others. The Chronicles of Narnia were cherished stories to me in elementary school. In Junior High School, I stumbled upon Mr. Lewis' poetry in the library, which in turn inspired me to turn my own writing to a religious bent. Soon, as I progressed into high school, I dived into his other works from The Screwtape Letters to The Pilgrim's Regress to The Great Divorce to Till We Have Faces (perhaps my favorite), to a whole library of his lesser known works, biographical materials and essays. He became my favorite, and most read, author in high school. And then, here in my early married life, I find myself, following the tradition of one my favorite stage plays Shadowlands, writing a play about him. There are few, if any, other literary authors who have profoundly effected my life so much. So, I've been immersed in Lewis' world of imagination and faith for quite some time-- which, if it had been placed in lesser hands, could have ruined this movie for me.

However, Adam Adamson (surprisingly, the director of Shrek and Shrek 2) delivered a powerful interpretation of this beautiful, Christian-themed story. Firstly, one of the most important roles a director has is finalizing a powerful cast, and we find few, if any, disappointments here. From the very approriately casted child actors (the young girl playing Lucy is adorable!) to a charming, winsome Mr. Tumnus to a warm, humorous pair of cockney beavers to a chilling rendition of the White Witch by the talented Tilda Swinton (who reflects a certain comparison to Lady Macbeth) to the gentle, yet powerful voice of Liam Neeson (one of my favorite actors) as the Christ figure Lion, Aslan.

With that cast in place, we are immediately drawn into the movie, with the inclusion of some added World War II material, immediately making the comparison of the battle against evil in a more modern time. We begin from the get go to receive additional layers to the characters of these children, even beyond what C.S. Lewis includes in his books. In this, although going beyond Lewis' narrative, they keep faithful to the characters, while adding wonderful insights which could only before be found in the subtext. There are a number of "additions" in the movie, actually, yet instead of being the film maker's personal "claim" to the story, they are instead completely in keeping with the Spirit of Narnia and the characters involved.

Visually, this movie is a wonder. Yet, perhaps not so much in an epic way (although the movie certainly has battles of a grand, thrilling scope), as in a more intimate, personal way. When we come upon a strangely placed lamp post (see The Magician's Nephew), Mr. Tumnus' cozy house, a very convincing talking fox (voiced by Rupert Everett), a very classic version of Saint Nick, or the penetrating, emotional eyes of Aslan -- we are not over-awed by the spectacle of it all, but instead drawn into the inward world of Narnia -- and the inner world of our own souls.

Although it has taken many comparisons to The Lord of the Rings (which is interesting since Tolkien and Lewis were good friends -- Tolkien played a key factor to Lewis' conversion to Christianity -- and doubly interesting since Tolkien tried to convince Lewis not to publish the story because he thought people would laugh at him), I still find Tolkien's hobbits quite a different beast from Lewis' Aslan. The Scope of Tolkien here is replaced with the intimacy of Lewis -- which is fitting, since Lewis always seemed to prefer the simple life.

The magic this casts is not sung by the booming, majestic chorus of Peter Jackson. Here, it is played enchantingly, intimately, beautifully on the pipe of a faun. Which to me, is perfectly appropriate to the spiritual message of Narnia -- that of our intimate relationship to Aslan -- to Christ.

The enchanting cinematography, the bewitching music, the honest performances, the elegant designs -- they all lend to this very personal magic of Narnia.

Mahonri Mackay Stewart