DVD: Walt Disney/Walden Media SC1A BUR0011201. 2 disks 137 minute film with loads of extras. Price: £24.99 to £14.99 so shop around the best deal (UK) stars: William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy and many others.

When I reviewed 'The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe' soundtrack a couple months ago, I still had to see it in context of the film. The combined observation is that they do work well together and it's definitely growing on me.

The first book and film covers the introduction of the four Pevensie children to the world of Narnia where it's always winter and never Christmas under the domination of the White Witch. Things are on the move. They say Aslan is back. There is also a traitor amongst the four children and requires a certain sacrifice to bring everything into line before the forces of good face the forces of evil.



Do I have to give the entire plot away and spoil it for those who've yet to read or see the book and do comparative differences for those familiar with both? Let's settle for the latter. If you were brought up on a diet of SF and fantasy then you would surely have read all of CS Lewis' Narnia books when young. You might even have revisited them when older. They certainly has never been out of print.

What is interesting coming from director Andrew Adamson's audio commentary is the rationales for certain changes of scene orientation and pace compared to the book. Lewis left a lot to the reader's imagination and that of the illustrations. The complexion of a two and a quarter hour film is slightly different to how a six-part TV series would deal with similar problems of pace. It's essentially all there with just a little added to make it more seamless. The vision is essentially Adamson's with a lot of help from the various production teams rather adhering to the original book artwork by Pauline Baynes which oddly enough had an effect on the British TV productions. Whether that was the right decision or not I can leave it up to you purists out there to have long discussions about. I tend to treat films as mostly separate entities to the books they were based on and allow some discretion providing there is some truism to the source material. To do otherwise ends up being a game of nit-picking which won't change a film's existence.

From an extras point of view, seeing behind the production and how it was made and put together is going to keep special effects fans occupied. Whether youngsters will enjoy seeing such dissection is debatable but it can appear just as magical in its own way. More than likely, parents would have bought the bog-standard version and missed out on this disk anyway.

There are some jarring moments like trying to work out how a beaver in Narnia would have access to cockney jargon even without Ray Winston providing the voice. Director Adamson also avoided showing the White Witch having her head bitten off but then again this is a general release film. There were a few places where dialogue from the book could have been left in without altering the length but as I said, too easy to nit-pick when the material is so familiar.

Do I like the film? Having seen it three times, the last two with audio commentaries, I have to say an unreservedly yes and hope they get a move on with the rest of the films before all the children get too old to play their parts. The creature effects are superb and gives an otherworldly charm to the proceedings. It's worth spending out and owning this edition.

GF Willmetts