The movie was a very proficiently done retelling of C.S. Lewis's beloved children's book. Director Andrew Adamson was plainly busier than a one-legged man in a fanny-kicking contest, dealing ably with the incredible logistics involved with employing no fewer than three CGI companies at once, shooting on-location on several continents, ensuring that the book is faithfully adapted into a movie, and getting fine performances out of his four young leads. However, he clearly rose to the challenge.

All of the actors and actresses are quite convincing. Tilda Swinton's White Witch is properly scary without becoming a silly cliche. William Moseley as Peter captures his character's difficult and sometimes uncertain journey from young British boy to warrior-king. Anna Popplewell does her best with Susan, who I saw as a somewhat forgettable character, at least in this book. Skandar Keynes is spot-on as Edmund, though his character is most interesting early on, when he is at odds with the others. And the standout among the children is the terminally adorable Georgie Henley, who does an outstanding job bringing Lucy to life, making her likable without being cloying. If Aslan is capable of having favorites, Lucy is definitely one of his, and Henley makes it easy to see why. The chemistry between the children shows as well, as well as between Henley and James McAvoy, who plays Tumnus the fawn, deftly capturing the character's deep inner conflict. And Liam Neeson gives us an Aslan who is stately but kind and benevolent.

I'm no expert on 1940's England, but the costumes seemed right for the period (Lucy's traveling ensemble was especially adorable), and the Narnian clothes looked perfectly suitable for a magical land. And the music was always suitable and never intrusive, the way a film's score should be. The locations were perfect, and the indoor Narnia set amazing (if you didn't know that most of the winter scenes were shot on an indoor soundstage, you wouldn't guess).

Although it wasn't part of the book per se, the final battle sequence is nothing short of amazing; Adamson and his band of writers let their creative talents run wild. The Witch in her battle chariot drawn by polar bears is perhaps the most well-known image from this sequence, but it is far from the only thing worth seeing. Be advised, though, the battle is gore-free but intense, and a scene just before it is fairly frightening. Take the PG rating seriously.

My chief complaint: some very important bits were cut or altered. The discussion between Peter and Susan and the Professor seems to skip some things. Also, they never have the discussion about whether Aslan is "safe". The Aslan of the movie never quite seemed to invoke the sense of awe that he was supposed to generate. The movie focussed more on Aslan's humanity (leoninity?) than his role as God-figure, which I suppose was a matter of taste.