The great news is that the Disney movie version of “The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe” is not only very entertaining, but retains the deeper truth and essence of C.S. Lewis’ great novel, the first in his great seven-part Chronicles of Narnia redemptive fantasy series. Just 11 hours after the final edits, the Director’s Guild audience thrilled to the exciting motion picture, adapted beautifully from the novel that almost 100 million people have read and loved. Neither the fans of the book, nor the fans of the story behind the story, will be disappointed.
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 see the very slight shifts in the perspective of the 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 the young girl 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.
