The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on Blu-ray disc

By Jim Bray

Thank goodness for the success of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Otherwise, we might never have seen Hollywood embracing other worthwhile literary fantasies such as this one that came originally from the pen of C. S. Lewis.

I remember reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when I was a kid, long before I'd heard of Tolkien's series. I remembered little of it other than the fact that I had enjoyed it hugely and had read it more than once. I didn't even know it was part of a series of Narnia chronicles until this movie started being promoted as "The Chronicles of Narnia:"

And, having seen Hollywood adaptations of books I have loved that twisted or cut the original story to eliminate its very soul, (Starship Troopers comes to mind as but one example), I didn't have much hope for LWW.

I needn't have worried. As helmed by Andrew Adamson, of Shrek fame, the world of Narnia is in good hands. I don't remember the book well enough to comment on exactly how true the movie is to it, but it feels right, as I remember it.

Naturally, you have to take liberties when translating from the page to the screen. LOTR is a perfect example, yet Peter Jackson and his team captured the spirit of the books. So has Adamson and his.

The time is World War II, and England is suffering under the relentless attack of Nazi Germany and its bombers. South England isn't safe, and many families decide it's better to tear their families apart temporarily – sending their children north to live in foster homes for the duration – than it is to risk their lives to the death raining down on them from above.

And this is where LWW opens, with the bombs falling and the family – in this case the Pevensie family – torn asunder, the four frightened Pevensie children being sent to an intimidating far-off  estate for the duration.

The kids have little to do, and have been admonished to do even less lest they disturb the professor whose estate it is, so they do what kids tend to do – they make their own fun. And one day, during an otherwise typical game of hide and seek, Lucy hides in a huge wardrobe that, much to her surprise, turns out to be a doorway to another world.

Thus begins a parallel universe story and a grand adventure. It's a tale of good versus evil, of heroes who initially reject their grand quest but who eventually rise to it, and it's a tale of love, courage, sacrifice and redemption.

In short, it has a bit of everything short of sex.

Adamson's movie is big, as befitting the scale of the story. The world of WWII England is rendered realistically, but that's nothing compared to the gorgeous vision of Narnia he has brought to life. From the opening wintry scenes where Lucy passes beyond the lamp post and plunges them all into adventure, the magical world looks just as it should, just as I remember it so many years later.

Naturally, it isn't exactly as I imagined it, since this is someone else's vision, but it's right nonetheless. It looks great, and the creatures that people the land (or is it the people who creature the land?) also look great.

Many, if not most, of the Narnia-ites are wholly or partially computer generated, and thank goodness we are now living in a golden age of special effects: the creatures look great.

On the whole, I couldn't have asked for much more from this movie adaptation of an old favorite.

Disney has pulled out all the stops for this Blu-ray release, too, giving us a two disc set that includes a full meal deal of extras.

The movie itself is on disc one, in 1080p at an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. It's an excellent transfer, but unlike the razor sharpness of LOTR it exhibits some softness (perhaps so we never forget it's a fantasy?) that disappointed me a tad. But only a tad. Overall, the picture is terrific, with lush colors and very good black levels.  It exhibits quite a bit of that 3D-like depth fans of Blu-ray have come to know and love (and, dare I say, expect?), though the mild softness does get in the way of it at times. And fortunately, there's no sign of noise or grain or digital enhancement.

The audio is presented in uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround, and it's marvelous. Right from the opening war footage, with its excellent use of the subwoofer, the sound is clear and clean and very dynamic. Dialog is well balanced and clear, and the musical score soars without overwhelming things.

They've also used the surround channels well. It's used mostly for ambient sounds and effects, though not exclusively, and that's just fine.  

Then there are the extras. Disney is well known for piling on the value with its DVD releases, and it looks as if they're going to continue that tradition with Blu-ray discs. Works for me. My only quibble is that the stuff isn't all in 1080p.

Disc one also comes with two audio commentaries, one with director Adamson and the quartet of youngsters who play the Pevensie kids. Adamson is in charge, fortunately, because the kids tend to blather along at times like kids do, but it's a fun track. The other commentary features Adamson again, this time joined by producer Mark Johnson and production designer Roger Ford. There's lots of meat here for fans of movie making.

Not so meaty is "The Bloopers of Narnia," which is about as lame as most such features. But take heart, there's plenty more to love here.

Discover Narnia Fun Facts is mostly about the book rather than being movie-specific, and it could unfold more quickly and be more detailed, but perhaps that's a testament to the state of kids' education and attention spans these days than anything: can't make 'em think too much, you know!

Disc one also features some HD trailers, including one for the pending Blu-ray release of The Nightmare Before Christmas that has me salivating in anticipation.

Disc two features "Battle for Narnia," a game I got tired of quickly, but that young people might enjoy. I'll warn you now, though: if you're used to playing PlayStation 3-quality games, this one might leave you a tad cold. There's a long tutorial you can skip (which undoubtedly means you'll have more trouble playing the game than you would otherwise), after which you choose your character and embark on your Narnia adventure. 

More interesting to me were the documentaries, which are fascinating and quite in depth. "Creating Narnia," "Evolution of an Epic" and "Creatures, Lands and Legends" are all multi-part docs that are chock full of behind the scenes info, interviews, production footage, bios, special effects stuff and the like.

It's a compelling package that does this wonderfully realized epic fantasy justice.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, from Walt Disney Home Entertainment
143 min. 1080p (2.40:1), uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio
Produced by Mark Johnson, Philip Steuer
Written by Ann Peacock and Andrew Adamson, directed by Andrew Adamson