I'm afraid I had the opposite experience. I loved the book as a child, and walked in prepared to love the movie. Yes, it was mostly faithful to the book, but I did not enjoy it. Some movies meant for children work well for adults -- think of the Harry Potter movies, or the lovely Secret of Roan Inish from a few years ago. For me at least, this was not one of them. It felt too didactic, too full of significant pauses to make sure I got the point. It may mot be the movie's fault. Perhaps if I went back and re-read the book, I would feel the same way about it. Costuming was pretty good, though.

Must chime in to say I loved the movie. I was impressed with the lamp-post. It was so tall and flickered softly. I liked how charming they made Mr. Tumnus's dwelling. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were a treat too. I liked the arrival of Father Christmas (although I think in the movie they addressed him as Santa.) I hope this film will drive children and adults to discover the entire realm of Narnia.

DD (college-age) sw the new one before coming home for break-day after Christmas had her wisdom teeth out, and chose to watch the BBC series of C.S. Lewis titles as she lolled on the couch wrapped in an ice hat-her personal opinion is that although the new LWW is technically superior, and the actress playing Lucy in the new one is outstanding, she still likes the quirky charm of the older, longer, more book-like ones. We like the old 6 hour Pride and Prejudice better too. Something about watching a movie when you know the book so well-the more of the book they left in, the better.

I took my 8-yr-old daughter to see it last week. She just read the book in school. We also watched the older version before we saw the new version. I thought they did a wonderful job of showing the horror of the bed without the gore that usually accompanies it these days. It was just enough to frighten my daughter at the proper times but not enough to give her nightmares. I liked the way the Witch's crown melted as her powers decreased. I don't remember that happening in the older version. As usual, my favorite is always Aslan... proud, wise, beautiful and just.~~~~~PAM

Normally I love childrens films and see almost all of them. Narnia put me to sleep, literally, and the only reason I didn't leave was because the alternative was going home to do laundry. I found the children very unappealing, with the exception of the one who played Lucy. I found it utterly and hopelessly predictable and totally devoid of humor or quirkiness that might have made it more watchable. The ponderous pacing nearly did me in. This is truly a film for children, who I am sure will enjoy it very much and not be bothered about the picayune details that ruined it for me.

I plan to take my kids to see this tomorrow -- my DD has read all the books twice, my DS knows nothing about the story. It will be interesting to see how they like it. The previews look wonderful.

I read this story to my classes for years as it was one of my favorites. I took my grandson to see it last week and we both loved it.It was faithful to the book,and I had my doubts how they would capture the majesty of Aslan,but they did it.The whole feel of the movie was right.

I've never read the books, but I loved the movie. Took 2 nine year olds and a seven year old, all of whom had already seen it and wanted to go back. I was particularly thrilled that they liked it as I had bought the series for them a couple of years ago and the two older boys had read it before the movie came out. Doing my best to create more bookworms.

I have the older BBC version and the books and went to see the new movie and loved it, in fact had seen the previews several times and really looked forward to it and was not disappointed at all - well except for very small part of the Professor played by Jim Broadbent. My DD hadn't read the books and I explained to her that first book in the series The Magician's Nephew is about the Professor as a child and inadvertently causing the frozen world of Narnia because he was the one who sort of released the Witch.......I thought there might have been a few minutes in the beginning of the movie to set that up which might have shown why the Professor accepted it without question when they told him about the world of Narnia....but the book does stand alone....Pat

Pat - you've got to remember that, though the Magician's Nephew is the first book chronologically, it was actually written five years later than TLTWATW. When Lewis wrote the original book, I doubt if he had even considered the scenario in The Magician's Nephew. The Professor explained quite clearly why he was able to accept Lucy's story without question when he was talking to Peter and Susan. I'm quoting from memory, so I've probably got it a bit wrong. "Logic! Why don't they teach logic in these schools? There are only three possibilities - either your sister (Lucy) is lying, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she does not lie, and she is obviously not mad, so until further evidence comes along, we must proceed on the assumption that she is telling the truth."

I saw the movie the day after Christmas and loved it. I have never read the books but certainly will now. It also sounds as if I should track down the BBC series several of you have mentioned. I must say I immediately "got" that the Professor knew about Narnia and didn't need a long back story. In fact, I think the sense of wonder and discovery and mystery was much stronger without a lengthy prequel. Are they definitely going to make movies of the rest of the books? Or are they waiting to see how this one does?

Saw it. Loved it. It did not seem like a Disney movie because it was not entirely done by the Disney people, who would have filled it with lots of crass humor and sexual innuendo. It is rooted in an entirely different world-view-- Are there any of you who do not know the name of that world view? It was a partnership that involved a wealthy businessman from Colorado and C.S. Lewis's stepson, among others. Lewis wrote the series according to the principles of fantasy writing laid out by George MacDonald. Virtually everything Lewis ever wrote was simply the thoughts of McDonald in good literary form. Having read all of Lewis's generally published books (30 something books, I think-- some of them several times) and now having plunged into MacDonald's thoughts, I prefer MacDonald (Lewis called him his "master"-- although he knew that calling anyone "master" is forbidden to Christians). So, MacDonald's formula for good fantasy writing was this: You may make your fantasy world as strange as you like. You may change all the physical rules. But the one thing that must always correlate to your world is the morality. Selfishness, for instance, must be condemned, and sacrifice and kindness must be exalted, no matter how bizarre the design of your fantasy world. So Lewis (like MacDonald before him) wrote deep principles of Christian morality into the story. Sometimes it is a little bit didactec, but so what?!! If your doctor discovered that you had cancer would you prefer that he only hint and symbolyze that fact to you, or would you would you want him to come right out and say it along with a plan for treatment? Yes, the pauses were a bit over-done, but if I'm hoping that a child will get it, perhaps those pauses help. Anyway, I don't care for most of orthodox/organized religion (used to be a minister-- got out!)but the core message-- the message at the heart of Narnia-- remains the most beautiful and best of all messages. There are those who love it when it is presented in a non-threatening format like a fantasy novel but reject it when it is presented by a cleric or a religious person. So be it. As long as they get it, that's the main thing. But it would be nice for more people to recognize the source of the message and how utterly beautiful it is.

I took the kids to see it yesterday. My DD, who has read the entire series twice, loved it. My DS, who has had no exposure to the books other than hearing his sister talk about them, thought it was just OK (of course, he's obsessed with Star Wars movies at the moment, and since Aslan didn't have a light saber or a space ship ... well.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I liked it a lot, found it wonderfully faithful to the book, thought the special effects were well-done, but it didn't thrill or transport me the way the LoTR movies did. I was surprised to find I was distracted by Tilda Swinton's make up. It was very similar to that of the Borg Queen from the "Star Trek: Next Gen" movie,and I couldn't shake that image from my mind. She was good and scary, though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The young man who played Peter struck me visually as a cross between Prince William and a very young Richard Thomas (John-Boy Walton from the 1970's TV series) which was also a little distracting. You can see my mind was wandering a bit, lol. Lucy, IMO, was PERFECT. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall, I'd give it high ratings, particularly for kids, though it isn't a movie I'd necessarily want to see again.

I loved it. I particularly liked the way that the kids reacted to the talking animals - much more realistic than the book, where they just seemed to take it in their stride. I thought Tumnus was perfect, and that the meeting of Lucy and Tumnus was one of the high spots of the film. And I was particularly pleased that they stayed very close to the story. A few niggles - I didn't see the point of the melting ice river scene - exciting, but it didn't add anything. But overall, great fun. And my 8-year-old (today!) enjoyed it too. (She didn't see the actual killing of Aslan - she was cowering into my arm at that point....)

My daughter visiting from San Diego and I went to the matinee today and both loved it-I read the book to her as a child. Speaking of CS Lewis- I have been desperate for quite some time to get a copy of the movie starring Anthony Hopkins about his life-Shadowlands. I've checked all my usual sources and I can't seem to find it for less than 34.00! Anyone have an idea where I might get a copy? It is a real favorite of mine-what a love story. I wpuld love for my daughter to see it.

You can get it used from Amazon in VHS or DVD format for 15.95. I really like that movie also.

The river/ice scene seemed out of place to me as well, and I had to actively "suspend my disbelief" to accept the idea that they could survive it. But it was a minor blip in my enjoyment of the film.

I loved the movie. And I loved the books. Started readnig them when I was 8 and now, 35 years later, still love them. It's probably been about 8 years since I last read TLTWATW. DH, who doesn't like fantasy as rule, never read the books, and was prepared to simply "indulge" his DW, found that he was pleasantly surprised, and actually liked the movies.

Fortunately, I think, although I saw the publicity I never watched the production and hinted like mad to my GW that she buy me TLTWATW. Even more fortunately she went over the top and bought me the full Chronicles of Narnia ilustrated book, so I'll be starting soon with an open mind and making up my own images as I go. Then I might decide to watch the visual representations, but have always found these disappointing in the past compared to my own imagination. I can't believe I've survived this many years without being exposed to these stories. ............ Bill

After seeing the movie, I would like to buy the full set. Any recommendations as to which set is best--most attractive, nice bindings etc? I keep my books so am willing to put a little $ into this.

Ginny-Easton Press has put out a beautiful set which can be found on EBay-but they are not cheap! I have watched the bidding on the sets thinking I might upgrade my set-but....!............Pat

Personally I have a strong preference for real cloth bindings, and none of the current hardback editions I've seen at the local bookstore are cloth. Pretty pictures do not for me compensate for a poor quality binding. If I personally were to do this, I would shop around online for older used books in Fine condition. I have TLTW&TW in the 1981 Macmillan edition illustrated by Michael Hague, and it is lovely. I don't know if he illustrated the entire series or just this one. I wasn't planning to get the entire series so I never checked it out.

Whatever edition you buy, be certain that the work is illustrated! The original editions came out with line drawings by Pauline Baynes, and several but not all of the editions reissued as part of the movie marketing have these illustrations. The drawings are an essential part of the experience. One edition I saw at B&N even has the line drawings tinted with color, which adds to their charm. Did anyone notice that when the White Witch rides her chariot into battle (pulled by polar bears), she is wearing Aslan's trimmed mane like a scalp around her neck? A fine touch, and just what she would do. Brenda

The edition I was given is published by HarperCollins and contains the original illustrations, which have been hand tinted by Pauline Baynes. (ISBN 0-00-710024-8) I've just started reading due to being inundated with visitors over the festive season (how inconsiderate of them :-) ) and the illustrations are a wonderful addition to the narative. Bill

Brenda, I noticed that too about the White Witch wearing Aslan's mane and thought it was a nice detail.

I have done some searching on both Amazon and on bookfinders.com but it is hard to tell what edition of the series is a "keeper". I'll have to search in actual bookstores so I can see what is out there. Your suggestions are a big help--thank you.

I saw the film with my family of husband, 10 and 8 year old daughter and son and my mother-in-law of 70+ who is a big CS Lewis fan. Only my son and mother-in-law have read all of the Chronicles but we all enjoyed the movie and thought it was good, true adaptation of the book. We've rented a few of the BBC videos and the only one who enjoyed them was my son who is still young enough to not mind the rather clumsy "special effects." My oh-so-sophisticated 10 year old was appalled by them and with those videos in her mind, did not want to see the new movie. As I said, however, we all thought the movie was good, and even intense for the younger set at times.

I'm resurrecting this to ask a very silly question about the Narnia books. Does anyone have any theories on where Professor Kirke's country house was located? I realize it was a ways from London, somewhere further north with a view of some mountains by its description in the books, but I'm not familiar enough with the geography of England to be able to guess where that might be. Any educated guesses?

I doubt if Lewis himself had any clear idea. It is obviously the ur-Country-House, suits of armor and dozens of rooms all complete. However, the one in the movie was obviously a real house someplace.

Brenda

If you are talking about the movie, you can go to the movie website, IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base). Then look up the movie and I guarantee the info will be there for this or any other movie ever made!

Too late for anyone who didn't like the first one. The second one is already on its way. It'll be "Prince Caspian," and it should be out sometime in 2007. And if that one is a success, every book in the Narnia series may be made into a film.

I just watched this on video...and got up to fold laundry in the middle of the movie. I love the books and reread them every year or so but the film did nothing for me and I thought it boring and too glossy. However, I understand the appeal to children and hopefully that will make them read the books.

I kept waiting for Santa to give Mr. and Mrs. Beaver their Christmas presents, and the hot teapot to everyone...one of my favorite parts in the first book.

I thought the animals were too cutesy cartoony and I found Liam Neeson to be distracting because of who he is. Pauline Baynes illustrations have influenced my
perspective but I did like the children and the portrayal of Mr. Tumus.
However, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Tilda Swinton/the white witch and thought her costuming and facial structure were mesmerizing.

I had mixed feelings about the movie. Having read and reread the books countless times since I was a young child I knew going in that there was no way the filmmakers were going to be faithful enough to the book to make me happy and I was right, although on a much lesser scale than I'd feared. What bothered me most was the parts where dialogue was needlessly changed (i.e. the scene was exactly the same and instead of lifting the excellent and important dialogue from the book the writers inserted insiped dialogue instead for no apparent reason) like the scene in the Beavers' house where the children ask the Beavers about Aslan.

I also disliked the slight changes to the Beavers' characters. I felt as if they were used for comic relief, where in the book they were at times slightly silly (Mrs. Beaver wanting to take her sewing machine along when fleeing the wolves) but in a way that did not make them objects of ridicule. It seemed to me that Lewis respected them and the movie-makers did not.

The river-rafting scene was just ridiculous, why add that in out of nowhere?

But after groaning and complaining about all of the drawbacks I have to make clear that overall I loved the movie. I thought that for the most part it kept wonderfully to the story in the book and the casting was excellent. I really liked the actors who played the children.

The CGI was amazing. Seeing all of the mythical creatures arrayed in the sweeping battlefield scene shots took my breath away. I'm so glad they waited until now to make this movie, it would have been a shame to have missed out on that if the technology hadn't been up to it.

As far as the professor's lack of suprise at hearing of another world- in the book this is clearly not a new concept for him, but I don't believe it was made as clear in the movie. I'm not sure why.

I'm really looking forward to the next movie. Hopefully they will all be as well-done as this one was.

The professor is a kind man who greets the kids at the door and eats dinner with them and is not distant and batty the way he is in the movie. And Mrs. MacReady as an evil housekeeper is just wrong.

The professor does play a part but in a later book which is chronologically earlier. In the Magicians Nephew, the origin of the wardrobe is explained and why the professor is familiar with Narnia.

I agree that Tilda Swanson's White Witch was the best done character. She was fascinating, and her costuming was excellent. She dominated any scene in which she appeared. Marvellous job.