Off the Shelf Media

“Do not cite the Deep Magic to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.” 

Today, it is a quote used in memes or as a TikTok audio. Those old enough to remember know it came from Aslan, a CGI lion voiced by Liam Neeson in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005). 

The film, released on December 9, 2005, by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, tells the story of four siblings who are magically transported to the fantasy land of Narnia through, well, you guessed it: a wardrobe. 

To date myself, I would have been seven years old when this film came out, the perfect target audience. Though I never read its source material, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, I did enjoy these films as a kid. However, they weren’t ones I went back to frequently. In fact, it’s probably been at least ten years since I watched any of the series, which is why, 20 years since it premiered, I decided to jump back in and see if they were as good as I remembered. 

Happy to report, I was pleasantly surprised in many ways. 

Hard-hitting themes 

The film starts by showing the Pevensie children – Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) – rushing to a bomb shelter with their mother in 1940s England during World War II. Don’t remember that scene? I didn’t either, and what a way to start a children’s film. 

In case you haven’t seen the film, or at least haven’t watched it in the last 20 years and don’t recall, I won’t spoil too much of the plot for you. In essence, the children escape their real-world woes and head into Narnia after being sent away to live with Professor Kirke (Jim Broadbent) in the country side for their safety. After a game of hide-and-seek, they find a mythical world also at war. 

The evil White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton, has placed a curse on Narnia, encapsulating the land in an eternal winter. She has put a bounty on the heads of any humans that enter the land as a prophecy has foretold that “two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve” will one day rule over Narnia as its kings and queens, effectively bringing her evil reign to an end. As you can undoubtedly guess, the Pevensie kids fit that bill to a T. 

War, betrayal, violence, sacrifice, death: these are all aspects of the film that play major roles in the plot. Watching it today as an adult, I was a bit shocked to see it. 

However, at the same time, it’s some of these scenes that I appreciate most about this film and that I feel add to how well it’s aged. Some children’s movies now, to me, feel like they’re too dumbed down, too simplified, and too scared to show anything displeasing. 

None of these scenes were added as shock value, and none of the visuals are too much for children to watch, but each shows the gravity of the situation the children find themselves in and adds to the how and why of the way the characters develop. 

Crazy casting for a kids’ movie 

There is much that is lost on a child when it comes to the movies and the cast is almost always one of them. Though these names would have meant little to me when I was seven, I was shocked at the recognizable faces and voices I saw on my recent rewatch of the film. 

Aside from the names already mentioned – Neeson, Swinton, and Broadbent – the film also featured many of the most famous actors and actresses out of the United Kingdom. Perhaps most shocking to me was James McAvoy as the lovable faun, Mr. Tumnus, who I also thought was named Thomas all these years. 

It also features James Cosmo as Father Christmas. So, one could argue, it’s also a Christmas movie. 

CGI & visuals that hold 

Perhaps what I was most surprised by in my rewatch of the 20-year-old film was how impressive the CGI still looked. Though maybe not quite as impressive as the quality of similar-age CGI, such as Davy Jones and crew in the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, it was impressive nonetheless, especially as the quality of CGI today seems to have had a major downgrade a la Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). 

Some recent reviews complain of an overreliance on CGI. To this, I simply ask, what do you expect? In the film, the children befriend talking beavers, foxes, and the like. I’m not sure there are many talking animals in the actors’ guild.

Most of the set looks fantastic, and the CGI animals are realistic enough without falling into issues that newer, similar films experience today, such as The Lion King (2019) or The Little Mermaid (2023), where the focus on hyper-realism in the CGI results in characters that have little depth or warmth to them. 

Is it the most impressive piece of CGI media I’ve ever seen? No, but it’s very good for when it was made while still incorporating practical effects when it could be done well. For instance, when the White Witch’s wolves aren’t speaking, the film features real wolves. Mr. Tumnus doesn’t look like an overly done, messy, uncanny valley-riddled mess; he looks like a faun. 

Where the film really shines is in the final battle between Aslan’s army and the White Witch’s. It’s a classic clash between good versus evil, both thematically and visually. Though it isn’t as violent as other famous cinematic battles, it’s easy to follow for kids but action-packed enough to remain interesting for older viewers. 

A dim past; a bright future 

In truth, The Chronicles of Narnia should have been the start of a franchise with a much longer shelf life than it had, but a falling off in quality from this to the film’s predecessors, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader (2010), and contract disputes helped to put a nail in the franchise’s coffin, at least, at the time. 

In July 2023, it was announced that Director Greta Gerwig, known for films such as Little Women (2019) and Barbie (2023), would be writing and directing Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, with Netflix producing. 

In my view, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe remains a worthwhile watch two decades later. It may not be quite in the realm of other iconic, childhood franchises like Harry Potter, but it should also come as no surprise that a big-budget studio like Netflix is hoping to breathe new life into this well-cared-for series. 

At the time of writing this article, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is currently available to stream on Disney+.