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By CityThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the WardrobeNo match for Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
2005-12-20
Article Written by: Sami Jo
Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe follows four children as they escape the hard times of war by walking through a magical wardrobe and traveling to the land of Narnia . This mystical land features all the wild things that a child's imagination does: an evil witch, talking animals, father Christmas, a magical doorway, an ice castle, kings and queens, heroism, love and friendship. Director Andrew Adamson ( Shrek ) lavishly brings this fantasy world to the big screen with charming sets and scenery.
Unlike other recent books that have been adapted for the screen such as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe contains a clear message for children, while the other books are simply child-friendly. However, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter present much more creative and incredible fantasy places. The film versions of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter were both not only more visually stimulating and more wildly imaginative, but they also feature better actors.
While The Lord of the Rings doesn't really feature any child actors, the Harry Potter series features phenomenal performances by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. Studios have discovered other child stars such as Dakota Fanning ( War of the Worlds ), Thomas Sangster ( Love Actually ) and Forrest Landis ( Cheaper by the Dozen ), but what happened when casting The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe ? Georgie Henley, who portrayed Lucy Pevensie, was the only outstanding talent in the film. Her enthusiasm and wide-eyed facial expressions seemed so genuine that I'm not convinced she knew she was acting.
Timing may have helped the studio executives to produce better box office results. While first Narnia film generated approximately $18 million more than The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in opening weekend box office sales, it fell nearly $25 million short of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone . It also still needs to make nearly $200 million to catch up to the overall box office records set by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone . If Narnia had been released before these other two films (and the book was published first) or at a much later date, it may have been able to experience increased success. Nevertheless, it was released only two years after the final The Lord of the Rings film and right in the middle of the Harry Potter films.
Final Thought: Narnia is good. Hogwarts is great!
