‘ABSOLUTELY THRILLING! DISNEY’S CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDDROBE MOVIE FAITHFULLY TRANSLATES THE
ENTERTAINING REDEMPTIVE STORY OF THE FAMOUS NOVEL’
That’s the view
of Christian media expert, Dr. Ted Baehr
By Dan Wooding
Tuesday,
November 15, 2005
HOLLYWOOD,
CA (ANS) -- “The great news is that
the Disney movie version of THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE is not
only very entertaining, but clearly retains the deeper truth and
essence of C. S. Lewis’s great novel, the first in his great seven part
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA redemptive fantasy series.”
That’s the
view of Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE® after
he was among the audience at the Director’s Guild just eleven hours
after the final edits.
He told ANS, “The audience I was with thrilled to the exciting motion
picture, adapted beautifully from the novel that almost one hundred
million people have read and loved. Neither the fans of the book, nor
the fans of the story behind the story, will be disappointed.”
Dr. Baehr went on to say, “The movie works well and is a great tool for
the Church to help people understand the truth of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Very, very few people will see the slight divergences that the
movie takes from the novel. Even fewer will understand that the novel
itself made an excellent entertaining script for the 1979 CBS
Television version that won an Emmy in 1980. And, even fewer will see
the very slight and subtle shifts in the new movie.
“That said, it should be noted that a large portion of the readers have
missed the book’s clear Christological allusions, although C. S. Lewis
said in his March 1961 letter to Anne that THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE
WARDROBE was his way of retelling the true story of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“The movie itself starts slightly before the book with an air raid in
London that puts the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and
Susan, in jeopardy. The children are sent out of the city to stay with
Prof. Kirk in the countryside for protection.”
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Ted Baehr
being interviewed by Dan Wooding
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Dr. Baehr
then explains the story:
“During a game of Hide and Seek, Lucy stumbles on an old wardrobe. The
wardrobe leads her to Narnia, a world with talking animals and mythical
creatures. There, she meets a faun, who thinks better of kidnapping her
and puts his life in jeopardy by letting her return to the world of
men.
“By the way, the issue in Narnia is this: The evil White Witch has
taken control of the land, turning it into a state of forever winter
but never Christmas. A prophecy says that four sons and daughters of
Adam and Eve will come to Narnia and help of Aslan, the son of the
Emperor Beyond the Sea, free Narnia from the White Witch. To thwart the
prophecy, the White Witch has told everyone that, if they see a son or
daughter of Adam and Eve, they should kidnap and bring them to her.
Amusingly, the creatures of Narnia believe that the sons and daughters
of Adam and Eve are a false myth.
“When Lucy returns to the world of human beings, her brothers Edmund
and Peter and her sister Susan do not believe she was in Narnia. Lucy
goes to Narnia through the wardrobe a second time. Edmund follows her
and becomes a pawn of the White Witch by being enticed by her seductive
traits. Like Satan, the White Witch offers Edmund something that he
already has, the ability to rule Narnia, and traps him with a
counterfeit sacrament of Turkish Delight, a jelly confection dusted
with sugar. When Edmund and Lucy return, Edmund lies and tells Susan
and Peter that Lucy was making everything up.
“Eventually,
all four children walk through the wardrobe to Narnia. The White Witch
captures Edmund. His sisters and brother must find rush to find Aslan
to try to set Edmund free. Aslan has returned to Narnia to defeat the
White Witch and bring Christmas and spring back to the land.
“Eventually, Aslan makes a bargain with the White Witch that he will
die for Edmund’s treachery. Thus, the battle begins to deliver Narnia
from the clutches of the White Witch, and the resurrection of Aslan
breaks the Witch’s control over Narnia.”
Dr. Baehr went on to say, “THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE is
tremendously exciting. Some of the early defects have been cured. There
is a sense of Providence leading the children into Narnia. There is
also a prophetic element.
“The production quality is much greater than the sum of its parts. The
camerawork is great. The computer generated images are terrific and
enchanting. The four children are very good, especially Lucy. Everyone
involved deserves high praise.
“Though they have deleted some scenes from the book and added others,
the story has retained its theological foundation. Some of this is due
to the strength of the book itself. Certainly some of the theology has
been toned down. There are no direct references to the Emperor Beyond
the Sea, for instance. Also, the sacramental communion banquet with the
coming of Father Christmas and the gifts of the Spirit has been
truncated into a very brief scene with Father Christmas.
“Finally, the resurrection romp with Aslan, Lucy and Susan has also
been eliminated, and the movie focuses more on the children being the
solution to the evil in Narnia when in fact the victory is Aslan’s, and
the children, just like we are in our world, are more than conquerors
because they are heirs to the victory that Aslan wins on the stone
table, and Jesus Christ won on the cross.
“Again, however, these changes are subtle, with a little more emphasis
on the Creation rather than the Creator. Even so, you have to be very
close to the book and very theologically astute to notice the changes.
“In fact, the movie is a very clear Christological allusion, or
imagining, of the story of Jesus Christ. The minor changes do not take
away from that meaning in the book, which lifts up the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, as our deliverer from the eternal winter of sin and
damnation. After months of anticipation, those who love NARNIA can
rejoice that Disney and Walden have given them a wonderful movie that
tells the story in an entertaining, exciting, thrilling, and respectful
way.
“Andrew Adamson said that when he directed the movie, he started from
his memory. He felt that the book was too thin, so the movie reflects
his memory of the book, not the actual book. He understands the element
of sacrifice and redemption, but his concern was for the empowering of
the children. Clearly, his perspective helped produce the subtle shift
from the great clarity of the book itself, but his love for the
original source ultimately keeps the movie on target.”
Note: Ted Baehr
along with his son James, have released NARNIA BECKONS: C. S. Lewis's
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Beyond to readers of all ages.
It is published by Broadman and Holman.
Dan Wooding is an award
winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his
wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid
to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service
(ANS). Wooding is the co-host of the weekly radio show, "Window on the
World" and was, for ten years a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network
in Washington, DC. He also co-hosts three days a week a live phone-in
show called "Pastor's Perspective" with Brian Brodersen which is
carried on KWVE, Santa Ana, California, and other radio stations across
the USA. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is
his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by
Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com.
danjuma1@aol.com
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