The most important thing was definitely to have believable, real children who could believably and really act. The Pevensies ranged from Georgie Henley who was stunning as Lucy, to an enigmatic portrayal of Edmund from Skandar Keynes, to the strong performance as Peter from William Moseley, to Anna Popplewell's ability to make the rather undeveloped Susan seem human. And so the most important aspect was achieved.

As a fan of the BBC version, I found it very difficult to accept a new Aslan and a new White Witch. It's not that Liam Neeson and Tilda Swinton were bad, because I'm certainly in no position to say that; simply that, having grown up with a different witch and a different lion, their characters didn't hit home with me.

Scenery was fantastic, especially that of the house and Lantern Waste.

And for some cons; the beavers irritated me. My one problem with the children was that their age differences were slightly too big. Peter holds a sword like a lightsaber. I couldn't understand a word the dwarf said. Aslan sounded like Mufussa.

And the worst thing about the film; it tries far too hard. It's not a full scale fanstasy epic like LOTR, and so it shouldn't pretend to be one. The music and some of the shots are straight out of Lord of the Rings; and Peter coming out with Aragorn-ish lines didn't have quite the same impact. The script was lukewarm, but thank goodness the child actors brought it to life.

Overall, a decent adaptation. Nothing shocked me
with its appalingness; nothing took my breath away with its Narnia-ness. Just an above average rendition of the magical world of Narnia; but the kids were fantastic, and I'll say that again and again again.