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The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2005 | PG | - 1.6.1
Film adaptation of C. S. Lewis's seven-book Narnia cycle. Taking place during the World War II bombing of London, the story follows the four Pevensie siblings -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter -- who, dispatched temporarily to the safety of a country estate, enter the world of Narnia through a magic wardrobe. There they find a world of fauns, dwarfs, centaurs, and demons, as two armies are poised for an apocalyptic battle between an evil witch and the noble lion Aslan. With Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, James McAvoy and Rupert Everett. Directed by Andrew Adamson. [2:12]
SEX/NUDITY 1 - A woman talks to a boy and behaves in an almost seductive manner. Fauns and other "male" creatures are bare-chested. Mermaids jump out of water (we see their tails and heads but it is hard to make anything else out). A woman's dress is low-cut and reveals some cleavage.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - Two armies approach each other on a field (there are many different types of mythological creatures, and some look demonic and scary): a woman orders "Kill them all" to her army, they begin to charge, and flying creatures drop boulders on them; then the flying creatures are shot at with arrows, the two armies charge each other, we see piercing and slashing by swords and spears, and we hear squishing and loud crunches and crashes.
► A boy on horseback is hit by an arrow, he falls off his horse, a woman charges toward him, another boy cuts her spear in half, and she stabs him in the abdomen; the first boy fights with the woman with swords, he is slashed, he gets up (we see blood on his face) and he continues to fight. A boy with a bloody stomach wound gasps and appears to be dying.
► Two creatures fight and one is stabbed in the back, two others fight and one is turned to stone along with several others. An arrow turns into a flaming bird (presumably a phoenix), it flies close to the ground and lights a wall of flames.
► A lion walks through a crowd of demonic-looking creatures who howl and jeer, a woman approaches the lion with a dagger, and it is tied on an altar; the woman begins cutting its mane, and then plunges the dagger into its body (we hear a crunch, the lion flinches and its eyes close, while two girls watch in horror).
► A lion pounces on a woman, just as she is about to stab a boy, and presumably kills her by biting her (we see her legs jerk briefly while the lion stands over her, covering her).
► A faun is struck in the head with a club, and then turned into stone (we see the faun with a pained look on his face). A woman pokes a fox with a spear and the fox turns to stone (we hear a crunch and the fox whimpers). A woman turns a butterfly to stone and it falls to the ground. A boy walks through an eerie courtyard filled with stone statues of men fighting with swords (they are actually people who have been turned to stone), and a wolf jumps on the boy, pins him down and snarls and snaps at him. Others find several animals that have been turned to stone.
► A pack of wolves charge through a dark forest, they surround a hut where two beavers and three children hide, and they begin to tear everything apart, while the occupants hide in a tunnel and run away. A boy holds a sword threatening three wolves, a lion pounces on one wolf, a wolf lunges toward a boy, and the boy stabs it with his sword and they both fall to the ground. A wolf lunges toward two girls, they climb a tree, and the wolf circles below and jumps up snapping at their feet. A wolf bites a fox on the back, holds it in its jaws, and then tosses it aside (the fox whimpers). A lion roars loudly at a woman who appears frightened.
► A carriage pulled by reindeer charges toward a boy, the boy falls to the side of the road, a man stops the carriage, gets off and approaches the boy threateningly, he uses a whip to wrap the boy's legs as he tries to run, then holds a knife to his throat and threatens to kill him (the man stops when someone else calls to him).
► Children and animals walk across ice over a river, while the ice begins to melt and break up beneath them: they are surrounded by wolves, one animal is held down by a wolf, a boy holds a sword threatening one of the wolves, and water and ice fall from a precipice and push everybody down the river rapids -- one child disappears and the others worry that she has been lost in the water (she is found and is safe).
► A boy and a faun are shackled in dark, frozen cells. A boy is bound and gagged and tied to a tree. Several creatures run into a camp and free a captive boy.
► A boy watches explosions from bombs through a window in his home, three other children and a woman race through the house and out to a bomb shelter, and the window where the boy had been standing is blown out (he is unharmed), and he runs and joins them in the shelter. Airplanes are under fire from other planes during a war scene, and one plane drops bombs and we see them exploding on the ground.
► A woman slaps a boy hard on the face. A boy shoves another boy to the ground and yells at him.
► A sleigh charges toward children, they run and hide fearing for their safety. A little girl is frightened when she walks through a forest, hears footsteps and sees a creature walking toward her, and she screams and the creature screams too.
► Many creatures arm themselves and prepare for a battle. Figures dance in the flames of a fire and appear to be fighting: we see a lion as it lunges in the flames and roars loudly.
► A woman yells at a boy, she holds him off the ground and points a spear toward him. A woman yells at a boy and a man holds a knife to his back as he leads him out of a room.
► A girl drops her teacup and it breaks on the floor when she falls asleep after being given drugged tea. A boy is hit in the hip by a ball, he then strikes the ball and it breaks a window.
► Children are shown boarding trains as they are sent away from cities and to the countryside during wartime. A boy says "I'm going to kill him," about his brother. Children yell at each other in several scenes. Children run from a woman who they think will punish them for breaking a window. Four children are frightened when they hear noises in a forest, they see a beaver and are shocked when it speaks to them.
► A boy is hit in the face with a snowball, and others join in throwing snowballs at each other.
LANGUAGE 1 - 2 derogatory terms for people of small stature, some mild name-calling (idiot).
SUBSTANCE USE - A girl is given drugged tea and she falls asleep. A man stuffs a pipe with tobacco and smokes it.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Magic, resurrection, following rules, war, imagination, kidnapping, guilt, responsibility, lying, betrayal, family, siblings, greed, selfishness, faith, pretending, logic, critical thinking, hope, prophecy, treason, tradition, ceremony, human sacrifice, promises, Adam and Eve, evil, peace, heroism.
MESSAGE - Sacrifice brings resurrection. Fight against evil and you will be rewarded by becoming king or queen.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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