The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

I know to those who are usually fond of reading books may find this silly, but I too have grown fond of reading books recently. I guess I'm such a late bloomer. Yesterday, I finished reading CS Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Very fascinating story. I remember back when I was a kid when I was first introduced to The Lion.. it's not by book but in the form of animation. Actually, the animation became sort of my visual aid while reading the book. (I dunno if this is considered a spoiler but be cautious reading anyway) I also remember crying when Aslan offered Himself to the White Witch in exchange for Edmund and then had his mane shaved and was killed afterwards on the Stone Table. The scene was very emotional. I also remember being creeped out when the White Witch turned a group of merrymakers (including children squirrels) into stone. After reading the book, I then realized that the animation is true to the book.

Sometime ago, at the time when The Lord of the Rings movie was shown, I just learned that CS Lewis based some of his characters from the Bible, particularly The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Aslan being Jesus who died on the cross to save mankind from its sins. Mankind represents Edmund, decieved and tempted by the Witch. And the Witch being evil itself. That's why when Aslan was resurrected, I had that funny feeling that I've heard that story before. Also, CS Lewis wrote some Christian books along the way. Funny thing, though, my aunt (who is a born again fanatic) regard the works of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien as works of the devil. Her reason being that there are characters in their books who are magicians, witches, monsters and all that. How could she think that when the authors themselves are Christians and are trying to teach Christian values with their writing? Oh well, I guess to each their own.

The Movie

Lately, we've been seeing alot of the trailer for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The movie stars Tilda Swinton (Constantine) as the White Witch and Liam Neeson (Batman Beyond, Star Wars, to name a few) as the voice of Aslan. To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to make of the movie. The book is very short and most of the scenes were just explained briefly by Mr. Lewis, especially the battle in the field. Mr. Lewis gave more particular detail on Aslan's resurrection and His turning the statues back to normal. The battle on the other hand was a just a brief narration compared to the latter. In the mini featurettes, it seems like they're giving more emphasis on the battle. Well, right now, who am I to judge? The movie hasn't been shown yet. I'm not as excited to watch this film than that of the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Though, what I've been wanting to do for a very long time (but haven't found the time) is watch the stage plays of The Lion. For the past few years, Repertoire Philippines and Trumpets have been holding stage plays of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And of all those years it was shown, I haven't been to any one of them. I think it's because of the budget constrains back in college. But if ever another play opens, I'll definitely watch it.

Bounce!