The Chronicles of Narnia / The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe was everything I hoped it would be. I've been a fan of the Narnia books for many years.

While I was a fan of the BBC movies, they were definitely low budget and a bit cheesy. They did have their shining moments, though - Tom Baker (Doctor Who) was a great Puddleglum and the actress playing the White Witch was superb.

I was very pleased that Andrew Adamson kept the allegorical religious elements intact. I had feared that they would be glossed over, but I think they may even come across more strongly than in the books!

Adamson did make a few minor changes in the storyline, but the important elements were all still present. He even improved on the book by adding the opening scenes of the movie to give us better background off the WWII setting. When the book was published in 1950, I'm sure that all British kids would have understood the setting in its historical context, but this foundation needed to be laid for contemporary young viewers - very effective!

The music in this movie was not as good as I expected. I did appreciate that there was some authentic 1940s-era music in the opening scenes, but overall the music just did not feel very timeless as I thought it should, especially during the closing credits (Alanis Morrisette?).

Overall, the Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe was a very wonderful and powerful movie.