'Narnia' collector's edition filled with fantasy
DVD offers a look into the behind-the-scenes creation of 'The Chronicles of Narnia'
By Lisa Roney, staff writer
Posted on April 6, 2006

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”  two-disc collector’s edition may cost $10 more than the single-disc version, but fans of both the movie and the books will find out that extra money is well spent.

The first disc features the actual film and also includes four-and-a-half minutes of fumbles and mess-ups on the blooper reel.  Two full-length commentaries are included, one featuring director Andrew Adamson and the film’s four young actors, the other features the film’s production team. 

“Discover Narnia Fun Facts” allows the audience to watch the film with random blurbs about the novel’s author, C.S. Lewis, and the land he created. The boxes of trivia take up a large portion of the screen, but the creators made sure that the boxes don’t block characters, a fluke that many other DVDs with this feature overlook.

The second disc has two worlds to choose from: “Creating Narnia” and “Creatures, Lands and Legends.”  The latter showcases timelines, events, places and people of the world of Narnia, and really has nothing to do with the movie itself.  This could be interesting for people who want to learn more about Narnia but don’t want to read the seven books in the series.

“Creating Narnia” contains all the juicy behind-the-scenes stuff that fans will be itching to see. “Chronicles of a Director” spends 39 minutes looking at Adamson’s first stab at a live action film (his previous credits include both “Shrek” films). 

“The Children’s Magical Journey” is probably the most entertaining feature.  There are twenty-six minutes spent interviewing the four leads and showcasing video clips of them on and off the set.

“Evolution of an Epic” breaks the movie down into four sub-categories. “From One Man’s Mind” is a brief four-minute biography on C.S. Lewis.  “Cinematic Story Tellers” takes 55 minutes to explore the departments that truly make a film all it can be (production and set design, makeup, costume, photography, etc.). 

“Creating Creatures” uses 53 minutes to dissect each CGI-character and the process of bringing them to life. 

“Anatomy of a Scene: The Melting River” is probably the most interesting of the set.  It takes 11 minutes to show the grueling process of creating one of the film’s most suspenseful and important scenes.

The film itself is a beautiful masterpiece that fans of the books will enjoy. Its adaptation, unlike many movies based on books that have been recently released, is so close to the original story.  This is a movie that many who have no interest in films like “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” might enjoy, because of its almost biblical take on the battle of good versus evil. Narnia is a world that any one can get lost in and it is one not to miss.