The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe opened this weekend and I think it?s safe to say that is? going to be the big movie to see over the holiday season for a few reasons.

First of all, it?s a great kid?s movie, with magical creatures, fantastic worlds, and epic battles with virtually no blood.

At the same time, while it is a kid?s movie, it?s great for adults to watch as well, (kind of like The Incredibles, or Harry Potter.)

But most importantly, this is going to be a big movie to see this year because as far as I?m concerned, it?s one of the best films that?s been made this year.

Without gushing about it, Narnia is one of the best fantasy movies I have ever seen.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, adapted from the children?s book by C.S. Lewis of the same name, which has been a classic for more than fifty years.

The story follows four children who find a gateway to a magical world in the back of a wardrobe at their uncle?s house.

They find themselves thrust into a world of centaurs and talking horses, prophecies and magic and massive battles between good and evil.

The story is so good that it was already adapted into a movie once by the BBC back in the ?80s, but it was a low budget affair, and never achieved much mainstream popularity.

This time around, on the other hand, it seems like no expense was spared ? and the production budget of $150 million seems to confirm that.

However, it wouldn?t be fair to say that the money was wasted. Andrew Adamson was recruited to direct it, fresh off his twin successes of Shrek, and Shrek 2.

And while not everyone liked Shrek, it did win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and anyone who can win an Oscar on their first feature film is OK by me.

The other notable member of the production team was WETA, the visual effects firm who racked up four Oscars for their work on the three Lord of the Rings movies.

I can only imagine how daunting the task for Adamson was when the movie started pre-production. As the saying goes, ?never work with children or animals,? but all four lead characters are children, and most of the supporting cast is talking animals ? computer generated animals at that.

That being said, Adamson did a stellar job, and somehow found four of the best young actors I have ever seen to play the four children who are the main characters.

The one factor which could change Narnia from a universally loved masterpiece, into a more controversial territory is the Christian overtones which people will undoubtedly find.

In the novel, C.S. Lewis thinly veils the Christian allegory; Aslan the lion, who is the King of Narnia, is killed on a mountaintop to save someone else, and then resurrected at dawn the next day.

Even that, though, is downplayed. The same events take place in the movie, but they aren?t played up with the same emphasis on symbolism and morality.

All in all, The Chronicles of Narnia is a top notch film for anyone and everyone. It is a perfect adaptation, remaining faithful to the book while still making the most out of the medium of film. It is also a testament to Adamson?s skill as a director, how well the film was shot, and edited.

The final thing to say about this movie is that I think we can all be thankful for once about Hollywood?s tendency towards sequels. I cannot wait for the next installment of what will surely become the Narnia franchise; I just hope it?s every bit as good as the first one.






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