Brandi, Alex and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia at Regal theatre. I really loved the movie. I’ve read the book and this movie was extremely faithful in bringing it to life. The children were exactly as I had imagined they were and the actors were very skilled and handled the roles well. The special effects were top notch which was important since there are only 4 humans in 99% of the film.

Disney did a good job with this movie and it was perfect for kids.

When there are scenes of violence in a book you can use your imagination as to how it plays out based on your maturity level. A young kid will most likely not imagine a bloody battle where an older kid or adult might.

Disney knew their audience and made sure this movie was sensitive to them. I don’t think this took away from the books in any way. It was presented about as beautiful as anyone could on 2 hours worth of film.

There might be spoilers in this review so read with caution if you want to experience it all for the first time or don’t remember and don’t want to remember what happens in the movie.

I am particularity moved by the story and always have been, I imagine because the story centers on the themes that really grab my heart. Forgiveness, redemption, self sacrifice are all things I am drawn to in life, stories and movies. I have to admit this movie made me very emotional as these areas were played out on screen.

To me the most moving is the character of Edmund and what he goes through. He represents a part of all of us that have felt frustrated and dealt with things poorly, those times when we are immature and lost, those times when we just plain mess up.

When Edmund realized he was wrong he felt the shame of sin, of knowing he had done something stupid and terrible. When you see him talking to Aslan alone on the mountainside near the camp it was beautiful. It’s a power scene for me because its represents a believer’s walk with God. After doing something wrong and being ashamed, feeling hopeless and worthless we can come to him alone and at our worst, and be forgiven.

One of my favorite lines in the movie is a simple one that some might overlook, but is significant to the redemption and forgiveness message. Its when after Aslan and Edmund have their talk and Edmund comes before his siblings. They all look at him knowing he had betrayed them and had done them so wrong, you can only imagine what they were thinking but at that moment Aslan walks up and says, “What’s done is done. There is no need to speak with Edmond about his past.”

The other part that moved me was Aslan offering up his own life for Edmunds. This is a powerful message to me in any movie. It played out very well on screen and you could feel that even though Aslan knew it was going to be ok and that he was doing the right thing it still fell heavy on his heart and it was touching to see how he really did appreciate the girls for walking with him and keeping him company on the journey.

As you can tell I really love this movie. In fact I saw King Kong the next night and I have to say as amazing as Kong was I still enjoyed Naria better. Its not that Kong is a bad movie at all, its EXCELLENT and a truly spectacular film, but I wasn’t as emotionally connected to the story and characters as I was with Narnia. I will write more about that in my Kong review.

If you haven’t seen The Chronicles of Narnia then go see this.

If you haven’t read the books that is ok because this movie hits all the right spots and sends the overall message and is true to the themes of the book.

But go and read these books you wont be sorry. They are a great introduction to fantasy for young kids as well.

I do hope they go on to make movies of the other books.