I grew up as quite an avid reader of books. My mom started teaching me to read when I was very young, and as such by the time I was in the first grade I was already reading at a fifth grade level. (Of course, reading some of my reviews one has to wonder if proper grammar was ever a part of my education…) I loved to read and my parents couldn't fill our library fast enough for my voracious appetite. Yet for all of that love of books, there are still so many classics whose spines I have yet to crack. For example, I still have not read a single word of any of the seven books that make up "The Chronicles of Narnia" (with the possible exception of the titles). I'm not sure why I had not read them, I think it's just because there are so many great books out there that they had not made it higher on the list yet.

So when the big budget film version of "The Chronicles of Narnia" featuring the plot of the one of the books of the series, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," came out I was excited to see it, but had no inkling of how close it would relate to the book. Thankfully, my wife loves the books and has read them many times, so watching her face as the film unfolded across the screen was enough to tell me they did it right. She was mesmerized.

As directed by Andy Anderson, "The Chronicles of Narnia" tell the story of four young children who are separated from their parents during World War II. They are sent to live with an elderly professor (Jim Broadbent) out on his country estate. The children, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy Georgie Henley) find the time spent there to be boring, and on one particular day find themselves in a rousing game of Hide and Seek. During the game, Lucy wanders into a room that contains an old coat closet, also known as a wardrobe, and decides to hide in it. Venturing deeper and deeper into the closet, she suddenly walks out onto a snow covered field in the middle of the woods. She meets Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), a faun with coursing with the gift of gab. He regales her with tales of Narnia and the war against the White Witch.

Lucy eventually finds her way back through the closet and home again, and thinking that everyone has missed her because of the hours she has been missing, is shocked to find out she was only gone for a few minutes. None of her siblings believe her story, and it isn’t until they next venture into the closet together that they all find themselves pulled into the mysterious and magical world of Narnia. Almost before they know what has happened, they become part of a war that has been building for centuries between Aslan the Lion and The White Witch.

In what I really hope will be just the first movie in a series of films, "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a wondrous fantasy movie that I enjoyed every bit as much the third time I saw it as I did the first. The special effects are utterly amazing, but do not overshadow the story or the acting. And speaking of the acting, the four young leads were very well cast. Each one brought a particular magic to their roles and I can’t imagine any other working child actors in their place.

I found the film to be very powerful, both in its allegorical leanings towards Christianity and the overall message of good overcoming evil. Neither lesson is dealt with a heavy hand, but older audiences with a bit of knowledge of such things will recognize them. The film was mostly appropriate for the entire family, but there are a few darker moments that might be a little too scary for the younger ones. The battle sequences are brutal with being bloody, and the 'death' of a major character is quite the tearjerker, but might be too strong for little kids.

Back in April, Disney released a 2-disc version of the film, which is where we saw it two more times. At the time, I thought they delivered a pretty full set in terms of special features. But as we get closer to Christmas, they are doing the double-dipping thing and releasing the film again… only this time in a massive 4-disc set! The movie has been re-worked to include some additional footage. This made my wife extremely happy, because as much as she loved the film as it was originally presented, the thought of there being even more scenes was exactly what she hoped for. We sat down on a cold Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago to check it out. I kept looking at her out of the corner of my eye and would catch her nodding as she recognized little bits of extended scenes. She'd comment quietly about how much better it flowed and loved every minute of it. When it was over, she was a wreck of emotion. Well, I was too… but I'd never admit that in writing.)

But as Disney added 2 more discs, you must be asking yourself if they put in any more special features. Well, in a word….. YES! The original release had two commentaries, some bloopers, fun facts, and featurettes on the children's experiences, C.S. Lewis, the creatures of the film, and a look at the making of the film. There were even some video production diaries from several members of the creative team, a 3-D map of Narnia and a look at the Melting River Scene. It was a good couple of hours of features. Well, all of those can be found here in this new set as well, but that just makes up the first two discs.

The 3rd disc includes the feature length documentary, "C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia," which in itself deserves its own DVD release. The film goes into great detail chronicling the life of the man behind the popular work. Then the 4th disc adds an extremely lengthy look at the entire production as a whole and what it took to bring the film together. It runs a little over 2 hours and I don’t think they missed out on any bit of information. There is also a featurette on the Battle Sequence and how it was created as well as a huge gallery oh photos.

If you already have the original version of "The Chronicles of Narnia", there might not be much of a reason for you to get this new one. But if you don’t have it, or are just a really big fan, I very much recommend this version as the one to get.

Directed by: Andy Adamson
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton
Extras: Extended version with enhanced special effects and an extended battle scene, Commentary by director Andrew Adamson, production designer Roger Ford and producer Mark Johnson, Commentary by child stars Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell with director Andrew Adamson, Two Worlds of Narnia featurettes "Creating Narnia" and "Creatures, Lands and Legends", C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia 75 minute documentary, "Visualizing The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: The Complete Production Experience" 140 minute documentary, Anatomy of a Scene: Behind the Battle, Art of Narnia Gallery, Bloopers of Narnia, Narnia Fun Facts, Collectible 10-page companion guide, Certificate of authenticity
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS 5.0 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Walt Disney
Release Date: 12/12/2006
Region: 1
MPAA Rating: PG
Website

We'll give The Chronicles of Narnia: Extended Cut an A.