All the cgi in this movie (with the possible exclusion of the wolves) is absolutely stellar. I believe it was weta digital that did it hot on the heels of LOTR
@@hamasathecold7842 Weta are just unbelievable at everything they do, and have been in some of the biggest movies ever! Lotr, Jurassic park, Avatar, King Kong, I think they did Avengers as well, and Narnia!
maybe so but hes too small in this one, in the original BBC version they used a real lion skin as the costume for him (messed up I know) but it is HUGE the shot of the children standing next to him, they look tiny in comparison where as here they didn't quite get his size right so that ending shot with them on the thrones doesn't look so impressive.
Tolkein- "There is no religious allegory here, stop asking!" CS Lewis- "If people don't see that the Lion is meant to be Jesus I will literally throw myself off my building and make them watch!"
to be fair the Silmarillion, though compiled mostly of his writings and edited by his son basically reads like the in-universe holy bible of lotr. The overall mythos is very heavily structured around the theology of christianity, with Illuvatar and Melkor being almost one to one god and lucifer, and gandalf being a lesser angel
@@k--music hard agree, tolkien let it be the literal bible of its own set of stories, people might draw conclusions or parallels within the narrative that may or may not be there, but I at least appreciate lotr and the hobbit for the stories that they are, and its some of the most fascinating worldbuilding that exist period. and i'm not even religious myself
Hey guys! Editor here, I really hope you enjoy this one! This was the winner of the editor's poll over on patreon so this is one of my own recommendations for Alex to watch! I definitely think this movie series is underrated and deserves a bit more love, might even make a video about it on my channel one of these days. But until then, much love and I hope you guys enjoy the reaction!
Really glad this movie won the poll, I've always like the Narnia series. The Magician's Nephew is probably my favourite, and I hope they eventually make a movie of it someday. Gotta love the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for popularizing isekai in the West, though, lol.
I grew up with these films ♥️✨- so I am so glad when more people discover it. Lots of deep philosophical meanings, especially behind C.S. Lewis's beliefs (out of the trilogy the second makes me emotional the most, but the first will always be my favorite overall)
Little context for the set up of this movie. In the UK cities were constantly bombed by german planes (the blitz), to protect children, they sent them to the countryside where bombs weren't being dropped. The mothers couldn't go with them because they needed to continue working in the factories to do their part in the war effort.
In the 7th grade, I had a 2 period English class. The first half of the first period, my teacher would read to us. One of the most gutting stories was Goodnight, Mr. Tom about a boy evacuated during the Blitz. We all cried through that book.
@AmyL._orcgirl if you haven't already, you should watch the movie. They did such a good job of evoking the same emotions as you do when reading the book. We also read that book be we also watched the movie (though I can't remember if we watched it for English or History) it was either in year 8 or 9.
My mom was one of those children. Born in London but lived in Hove…next to Brighton. She was born in 1934 and her Dad ended up being a Captain of a mine sweeping ship. She went to be with her Grandparents in the Country. Interestingly enough, she used to talk about the camaraderie among everybody during the war. Rations were a major thing.
The costuming for the White Witch is so brilliant! To start with her dress is white as snow and her ice crown very high. The further spring emerges the darker her dress changes like water melting from ice and turning into a stormy sea and the ice crown melts and becomes smaller, until the end when the dress is black, the ice crown is gone and she is wearing the fur of Aslan around her neck, it’s such a powerful transformation through the costuming!
One thing the movie left out from the book that is fairly important for Edmund is that the Turkish Delights were enchanted so all he could think about was getting more. So, he wasn't just betraying his family cause, he was literally under a spell.
Okay, so the professor (Digory) was in Narnia when it was created. He took an apple from Narnia to help his sick mother and planted the seeds. When the seeds sprouted, he cut the tree down and fashioned the wood into the wardrobe. The magic of Narnia is in the wardrobe, which is why it is a gateway to Narnia. Also, the professor was based on JRR Tolkien. Edit: couple things. Some people have mentioned that Digory didn’t cut down the tree, but that it had fallen over do to natural causes and that he took the wood from it after it had fallen. Also, Narnia was first discovered through the use of magic rings, and it was burying those rings next to the apple seeds that caused the wood from the tree to be magical. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve gone through the books, so I’m glad they corrected me.
Thank-you for providing this bit of Lore! I have only ever seen the movies and they never really explain why the Professor has the Wardrobe to Narnia and how he knows of Narnia.
One thing I’ll always appreciate about this film is that they really done well with the creature design/cgi, some of the best mythical monster design out there. Also Peters armour absolutely slaps, always thought it was so cool.
The pure joy on Alex’s face for so much of this was incredible. I’m calling it now, his reaction to LotR is going to be one of the best on RUclips when it happens.
I can't wait for him to get to those. It's such a journey for everyone who watches the first time, and Alex seems just like the kind of person to catch all the depth
Fun facts about this movie: 1. Lucy’s scream when she first meets Tumnus is 100% genuine. She had never seen him in his green screen costume and she was so jump scared and terrified by his look that she screamed. They took that one and only take due to its perfection. 2. They had to film this movie in chronological order due to Lucy having such a huge growth spurt that she grows a whole head taller during the course of shooting. If you compare Lucy from first scene to the last scene you can see the height difference.
Her reaction to seeing Narnia for the first time was also 100% genuine and real. They actually blindfolded her and passed from person to person so she would not see it until the first time. I wish they still did this. And another fun fact the adult actress for Lucy is Georgie Henley's real life older sister and her mother's name is Helen and she just said that even though it's not in the book. I don't think their parents have names in the book.
Skander also had a growth spurt and they had to refilm Edmund falling out of the wardrobe but he didn't fit into the bathrobe so the person you see falling out of the wardrobe was actually Susan.
Just a note on the design aspect of the film: the majority of the people who created the costumes, armor, CGI, etc., were the same people who worked on the Lord of the Rings, which is why the film is so incredibly gorgeous.
Me too!! Even the shots are nearly identical! Watched this movie so many times growing up, but there are only certain things you’ll catch much later on.
Also, in the battle, while the queens army are randomly placed, the Aslan army is in an arrow head shape. Could also be something he learned from the war
Edmund is so obedient to the witch precisely because he ate her enchanted turkish delight. She basically drugged and charmed him. It's only implied in the movie but the book straight up tells it like that.
My favourite CS Lewis book is the first one, which is 'The Magician's Nephew'. Hollywood doesn't want this one made because it is the creation story, when Aslan sings Narnia into being, and evil enters the world. It's an amazing story. You get to discover how the wardrobe came to be.
37:57 is probably the most accurate militaristic charge on horseback to be put to film. Right down to when Peter doesn't put down his visor until halfway so that he has better range of view and out of the reach of arrows but then puts it down when he is. Just a very well done shot.
To me one things that ppl miss out in the battle that i find to be reeealy interesting is the white witch's smile when she sees edmund right b4 he breaks her staff. Is like "Oh, i can't wait to turn you into stone. You will make a fine adition to my collection (reference aside, is like he would have a special place among the statues and she couldn't wait to have HIM as he would be a special trophy)" ( 41:23 ). But then he broke the staff and you look at her face when he does it (41:28) and right when she stabbs him (41:29) and when she plucks the broken wand out of him (cut out)... SHE'S FURIOUS with edmund and it became personal in an entirely different way. I don't think many ppl noticed that
Thank you for pointing that detail out! I wasn't aware of the fact that he puts the visor down so late because of the reduced sight, but that makes so much sense. These little details make the movie even better.
whenever i see Tilda playing any other character i cant help but get a glimpse of the Witch, no matter what the character she plays actually is. she's just got that presence of being that immediately snaps your attention to her
This movie is so ethereal to me that it almost feels like a childhood dream every time I think about it, until I remember that other people know it too lol. No other movie I've ever seen has given me that feeling. Its just pure magic
I'm so glad he appreciated the editing at the start of the battle, with the quiet heartbeat, no music, and then just all hell breaking loose when the cats collide. It's one of my favorite parts, always gives me chills
Gosh, i have loved this movie ever since I was a little kid. And the music after Lucy walks through the wardrobe for the first time is absolutely beautiful loved this for years and whenshe walked through the wardrobe for that one scene always gives me chills ❤
My respect for Alex has now increased tenfold since he's reacting to the Narnia movies. Those movies were adapted so faithfully, it _legit_ feels like they actually brought the books to life, and it sucks that we'll never get to see the other books adapted at all. "The Silver Chair" is my fav Narnia book, and I was so disappointed to hear that the rest of the books wouldn't get their dues on the big screen.
My favorite was The Horse and his Boy. Such an amazing book. But Silver Chair is just as equally amazing. Both have to do with some part of the world of Narnia, and not Narnia itself, which is why I loved the Voyage of the Dawn Treader as well. I do feel sad we'll probably never going to see The Magician's Nephew either. Unironically Prince Caspian was my least favorite movie and book.
The fact that Disney sold the rights for the Narnia films two movies into the series is one of the greatest Disney tragedies in a sea of Disney tragedies
21:29 it's not an allegory, it's a supposal. C.S. Lewis wanted to create a world and because it exists it is broken, and because its broken it needed saving. This was his supposal of how another world would be saved
I just looked it up….apparently although the movie has a lot of biblical parallels…it wasn’t intended to be a religious movie. C.S. probably unintentionally write it that way just as references or ideas and didn’t realize how similar they both were until after finishing the book.
@@tiamarrow6366 It was absolutely intentional. CS Lewis is one of the most famous Christian writers of the past century. He wrote many brilliant Christian fiction books like The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters.
@tiamarrow6366 yes Hollywood intentionally takes God out of everything they possibly can. The irony is that anyone watching sees it clearly lol C.S Lewis was a literary genius. If this movie trips you out you should totally go and read the first book The Magicians Nephew. It takes about 3 hours to read and you get to see the creation on narnia, the professor as a boy, and just a whole other adventure. If you've never read the series I couldn't recommend any read more.
hey! little side note here! Edmund is not a traitor, in the beggining of the film. he is litterally bewitched. besides the fact that the witch was nice with him and he thinks she is a good person, what he doesn't know (and what people who didn't read the books don't know either) is that the drink and the turkish delight are made from a potion that makes you willing to do anything just to get more. to me Edmund is the most interesting characters throughout the books/movies. :) (lovely to see your reaction, though!)
You could also say even more symbolically that it’s the witch having even more of a spirit of the “antichrist”. She thinks she’s won, that she’s the savior or the Christ, that she deserves to be in Aslan’s place as the ruler of the world. So she puts on the fake skin of the savior, thinking that she herself is God. But it’s only a pale, lifeless imitation that never grows. It’s a false mane of royalty.
32:21 is my favourite part of this movie. “How do I know your promise will be kept?” - That roar is the perfect response, when you know who Aslan is. He literally sang Narnia into existence, his words create and define the truth. To question his promise doesn’t deserve an answer because it is utterly foolish and nonsensical. Sit down, witch.
its even funnier because the Witch was THERE too, she bore witness to the first Light and Aslan creating the horizon and everything that followed. for her to question his Word is just so hilariously stupid that his response being a simple snarl is PERFECTION
FUN FACT about Edmund who decides to tell everything in exchange for sweets, the movie takes place during the second world war and during the war sugar was no longer imported, having it was almost impossible in wartime, England for example ran out of sugar and didn't had it for years, so Edmund, as well as other childrens, had not tasted anything sweet for years and years,imagine how that can be interesting to have for a kid, that combined with the comfort that a sweet and a hot drink give puts Edmund on the path to tell the queen everything, first because he didn't know, then because he wanted more, he is a small child after all. In the second book he becomes very brave and honest, he has always been my favorite character in Narnia with Lucy. Another thing,Aslan rapresent "the lion of judas" wich is just another name of jesus,he literally rapresent jesus,and narnia heaven,he and tolkien both used a lot of cristian reference,also the 4 kids rapresent different things,lucy is the kind follower of god,the believer,Peter is the one who fight in name of God,Susan is the atheist that dont believe and trust facts and edmund is the sinner that get back on the right road,thats why is forgiven,in the end of the book saga you will see why Susan is "left out" of the thing,because she was the rappresentation of someone that base trust on facts and not god. Always been a bad and sad end.
Love that Alex recognized so quickly the symbolism that CS Lewis intended. The books are great, and the movie has held up visually over the past 20 years.
This is a hugely famous story. We were all familiar with the book when we were children. It is interesting seeing you reacting to it without knowing the story in advance.
Not sure if anyone's mentioned these fun facts already, so here goes: The Professor, Diggory Kirk, was based on J.R.R. Tolkien. In turn, Tolkien modelled one of his own characters, Treebeard (from the second and third Lord of the Rings books/films) after Lewis. Tolkien and Lewis both taught at the same university, and while Tolkien was quite quietly spoken, he described Lewis as having a much more bombastic manner of teaching; his booming voice could be heard from several classrooms away, and sounded like Treebeard's rumbling "Bahraroom!" The wolves in the film all had to have CGI tails added in post-production; apparently the doggos were so psyched to be doing such a great job and getting all kinds of attention, that while on camera they wouldn't stop wagging their tails! In a slight irony, Skandar Keynes, who plays Edmund, is related to Charles Darwin... not sure if that's perfect or not for a character in a book series that is heavily Christian allegory 😁 Lastly, the book mentions exactly why Edmund is so obsessed by Turkish Delight. The Witch makes it with use of a magic potion, same as the hot chocolate she gives him. The way the book tells it, the side effect of eating ensorcelled food is that you develop a longing for it, almost like an instant drug addiction. Yes, Edmund was indeed a git in the first half, but not all of it was his fault 😊
It is actually perfect, they don't teach this in school but Darwin's evolution theory was created as a way to also explain Christianity at the time. This was before later evolutionists took it too far and eliminated Christianity from it.
One thing I didn't pick up on in my first watching was the white witch's crown. It was very tall at first, and got smaller throughout the movie, until it was totally gone in her final battle.
Ah man, I haven’t seen this movie in at least 10 years, and I forgot so much of the details of it, but the second Mr Tumnus started playing that flute, I remembered every note. It’s just such a haunting but beautiful little melody.
I like that they included the little detail of Edmund drawing on the glasses on the statued animal towards the beginning of the film and when Aslan brought the animals back we can see during the crowning scene that one particular animal had the glasses printed onto their fur. Its the little details.
It was a stone lion. Edmund assumed it must be Aslan and the Witch had already turned him to stone, so he was mocking this great saviour the beavers were talking about.
@@niangor4781 The beavers told the children so. Lucy asked if Aslan was a man and the beavers were a bit offended and said Aslan is the King of Beasts, the great Lion.
Fun fact, CS Lewis was born and spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland and apparently was heavily inspired by the local forests and mountains. There’s a famous quote from a letter to his brother where he says ‘That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia’. So cool to have a world based on the beauty of my country. Love what you’re doing, great vid!
Tilda Swinton is such a brilliant actress. If I knew how to edit I would love to put together a montage of different characters she's played. Her range is unbelievable.
The Chronicles of Narnia were written as a direct allegory to the Story Jesus and His Church. The themes are about the ONGOING battle battle the Light and Darkness. I first Read the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when I was 7 years old. There was a PBS special that followed the entire book... as close to word for word that came out a few years later. Even at age 7 I knew who Aslan was. And I know who Aslan is and always will be.
Alex, thanks for existing. Honestly I hate watching movies by myself since my last breakup. we used to watch movies together all the time and now I can’t bring myself to watch a full movie alone, thankfully I can watch them with you. Sad I know, but you’ve helped me get through this last month as I’ve been binging your videos
I love this movie not only as a Christian, not only out of nostalgia, not only as a book fan, but also just as an enjoyer of fantasy stories. I watched this for the first time in years as an adult, and I was stunned at how much GRIT and GRAVITAS this "children's fantasy" movie has, it's truly incredible
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
@@alfiesheahan9098 Damn, i love that.. How cool is it to think that your bloodline not only helped with giving feedback to a famous author, but also hang out with Lewis AND Tolkien
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was the 2nd book in the Narnia series but the first movie, later they made two more movies, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which are the 4th and 5th book, in 1988 there was a mini series that aired on BBC Wonderworks and PBS. This BBC series adapted the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th book of The Chronicles of Narnia they were a big part of my childhood.
bro its just for the views cmon, everyone watched these movies, how else can you build up people to watch your reaction when theres 10000 of them, you can even see now an upcoming trend of "first time watching"
He always makes a not to say he has watched it before he starts the reaction if he has. As far as I know his upbringing wasn't fantastic, not surprised he missed out. Some people also just do not like watching movies.
@@user-jt1js5mr3f dude dont get me wrong i also didn't watch plenty of movies like Fast and Furious franchise or Forest Gump or any other new Jason Statham ones, but when you look at his channel and what movies he did reaction to, theres no way he didnt watch them beforehand, dude claims that he only watched first Sam Raimi Spider-man, OG Scream. Like lowkey movies sure np, movies that not many people are interested in sure np, but movies that had almost no competition on that year and prob were the only movies showing in theatre...i doubt it
@MrAngerius pretty sure in earlier channel videos he explains the reason he hasn't seen iconic movies. He also always says when he saw it when he was younger (such as some of the star wars films)
When this moviemwas filmed, Skandar Keynes was between the ages on 12 3/4 and 13 1/2. He grew 7 inches during filming, and they had to keep adjusting his suit of armour every week to make it fit.
Fun! I read the book when I was in grade 6 and then my class and I went to see the play and when we got our tickets scanned we had to climb through a wardrobe to get to the theatre and when you got through there was only a dimly lite lamp post in the centre of the stage. One of my favourite core memories
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
@ yeah that too, definitely. it also literally says in the book (I’ve gone back and looked since making my initial comment) that ensorcelled food is incredibly addictive
@@acidsuzanne4049 And for those that never tried Turkish Delight, for some people it is actually too sweet. So yeah, even without magic that stuff can be heaven for a child that has to live with wartime rationing.
Alex, Thank You! This was my childhood. This movie has shaped my life for the good. It has supported me when I needed it, it helped me escape into my dream world on countless nights, it even ignited the love for Fantasy genre in me. I am emotional from all the nostalgia just thinking about it. I still remember when I was in 6th grade, came from my classess in the evening and waited for hours for this movie to air. It was surreal the first time and every other. They don't make movies like this anymore P.S. 18:49 It scared the heck out of me too when i first watched it.
NARNIA!!! Dude, this was one of my FAVORITE SERIES as a kid! Still makes me cheese ear to ear every time! Also, here early for the FIRST TIME!!! Love ya man
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
@@invis_hoodI REALLY loved the second one. Even better memories cuz I watched it with my mum and best friends for my 12th birthday party and me and my friends were all obsessed with sword fighting so when we got home after, we were hacking at each other with swords.
Lewis later wrote a prequel titled "The Magician's Nephew" which explains why the wardrobe works as a portal to Narnia and why Professor believed Lucy. Sadly, it never made it to the movies as Disney cancelled the series after the third movie.
@ with time, as an adult, now I agree that this has the better story (might be because I now appreciate the Bible references more than when I was a kid). But I vividly recall that Caspian was my favourite as a kid (especially the Castle and later the battle scenes, of course).
@@ryttyr14 Yeah I love both almost equally, and I think the first one definitely has a bit of a better plot with all the references, but I like prince Caspian a little more because of the final battle, which I think is a bit better than the final battle in the first one.
Unfortunately only 3 of the books got movies so the professor is never actually explained, he was the first one to discover narnia when he was a kid, in fact there were dozens of universes he went to using rings that were created by his uncle. While exploring the different worlds he accidentally ran across the white witch in a world that was about to end, she grabbed him right as he was leaving and got taken to earth where she met his uncle and then forced the professor to take her to a new world (narnia) right as aslan was creating it, he chased her off but he didn’t kill her for some reason. Afterwards the professor brought an apple home from narnia that aslan had given him to heal his mother, after she ate it he planted the core in his yard and it grew into a tree which was later struck by lightning and destroyed, rather than just get rid of it he had the remaining wood turned into a wardrobe and I’m sure you can see where it went from there. Also, while on earth the witch tore a bar off of a lamp post and later tried to kill aslan with it, instead of killing him though, it fell to the ground and grew into a new lamp post
If you want to include that british broadcasting corporation they did make silver chair along with the other 3. But magician's nephew, horse and his boy, and the last battle no adaptations Edit: he also buried the rings with the apple core
Edmund is my favourite character. The way he goes from a douchebag to a noble person is just amazing. I particularly love the battle between adult Edmund and Rabadash in the climax of "The Horse and his Boy".
This is literally one of my favorite movies from when I was growing up. I absolutely love Mr. Tumnus (this is where my love for James McAvoy first stemmed from) and Aslan, the hair and the stone table scene still makes me cry! Absolutely love watching people watch this one!
This was my first seeing James as well! He has done incredible roles since Narnia, from a young Professor X to Dr Frankenstein and excellent horror actor Split while not scientifically accurate on DID James’s performance was incredible.
Talk about an underrated classic! Music is fire, cast is amazing, and the White witch...Man look. Back then, hear me out... PS: Watch the sequel, Prince Caspian, but that''s it.
while I like PC as a theatrical experience, they changed a lot of subtle yet fundamental things. And those silly silly rapid-fire trebuchets were just stoopid. Yet, I still enjoyed it--particularly how they upped Miraz's evil to be VERY effective.
To be fair to Edmund, it does mention in the books that the food she gave him was enchanted. So while he did need some character growth, the whole betraying his family thing wasn't actually his fault.
During the blitz, a huge portion of the kids in London were sent away to the countryside to save them from the bombs so that’s why they left without their mom
@ I mean honestly not knowing specifics of what happened to kids in the blitz isn’t that damning for non British education. More damning I’d say is way too many people not knowing that the pacific theatre of WWII arguably started long before the European theatre went to war. Like people don’t know how long Japan was at war with east Asia, a war which was considered WWII
One thing to know is Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is actually the second book in the series, the first shows the professor as kid, the origins of the lampost in the forest and where the white witch came from.
While chronically you are correct, the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe was written first. The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth book I think. Possibly the very first prequel?
@@truemon True, but I think the first prequel is The Horse and His Boy (which is set during The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) was published in 1954. And The Magician's Nephew was published in 1955 so this is the second prequel in the series
@@shirleydurr411 Correct. most modern printings put the books Chronologically, but they were originally released differently, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book, released in 1950, followed by Prince Caspian ("book 4"). The horse and his boy, the outlier of the bunch, was released 1954 and The Magician's Nephew came after in 1955. everything was concluded in the final book, The Last Battle, that was published in 1956. I guess I have to mention the dates of the 2 other books as to complete the thing, The Voyage of the Dawn treader came 1952, and the Silver Chair was released in 1953. impressive really, 7 books in as many years.
I think it's a shame that they put The Magician's Nephew first today. While it is chronologically correct, thematically I think it should remain at the end, as the prequel it originally was.
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
@@invis_hood First book chronologically, but The Magician's Nephew was published 1955, Five years after the original release of The Lion, The witch and the Wardrobe.
Believe it or not, Alex, there was a time not so long ago when you COULD trust adults to look out for the best interests of each other and neighbourhood kids.
I don’t know. I feel like it’s better now. My mom told stories about being bullied by teachers in school for being poor and slightly overweight. No one protected her from that because people didn’t complain to teachers like they do now. Kids went missing all the time, people would watch women and children be “punished” in public and never said or thought anything. There were no protocols for child abuse or elder abuse as there is now. The only real thing that is worse is social media. Gave everyone with internet access a blow horn to shout whatever crazy they want and an eager audience to believe them
Definitely. It adds important stuff back in. I also really wish we could get extra extended editions, I wonder what awesome footage we are missing out on.
There is no point in watching them if you don't watch the extended versions. My Mom and me watch Lord of the Rings every year during Memorial Day weekend.
14:29 I’ve seen this movie so many times & now after 19 years I’m just noticing that when it “didn’t work” they had they door open and it works when the door is closed
This is the first movie I ever got to see in theaters, can't even describe what that was like for a little girl obsessed with the fantastical. It's so cool to see someone else experience that almost 20 years later, glad you enjoyed it!
my fav fact about narnia is c.s. lewis kept father christmas (or santa) in it purely because tolkien said having him in the books just “won’t do”. essentially it was a giant, “thanks for your input, i will be ignoring it!”😭
This movie was such a major part of my childhood. My whole family loved it so we watched it every Christmas. For its time the CGI was phenomenal and it still holds up, especially Aslan. That final battle scene always gives me chills, it’s just so good. Glad you loved it, Alex!
@@rmhartman Agreed. This hogwash of the _chronological order_ needs to go straight to Hell. Lewis wrote and published Narnia in the order he did and that's all the answer people need.
11:17 Imagine you're 10 and your dad's at war and you've been shipped off to nowhere because of bombs being dropped on cities, the food you can have in your pantry is decided by the government, you haven't had a cookie or a piece of chocolate in a year. I'd take the hot chocolate!
Not only that, but if it's the 1940s, weren't people a bit more trusting of their neighbors, especially in war time? I dont know if "Stranger Danger" was as big of a lesson then
it isn't really explained in the movie but the turkish delight actually put edmund under a spell that made him desperately crave it. also during the war there were sugar rations so that contributed.
Alex standing and talking up close to the pope, the duck, and mask with his grippers out caught me so off guard. The CGI for this movie looks good and holds up today. I grew up on this series and love it a lot. You definitely need to see LOTR so I am glad you mentioned it.
This is a lovely adaptation of the story! Glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure someone told you - it’s not a huge spoiler since they didn’t bother making the rest of the series. The professor once got into Narnia as a boy. He brought the White Witch there and made the wardrobe from a tree that grew in England from a fruit he got in Narnia. This was a beautiful redemption for him to hear that the witch was finally dead and gone; and it’s why he wasn’t surprised about the children getting into Narnia through the wardrobe
I’m one of those who likes to believe that each sibling represents a Hogwarts founder 👀 Lucy - Helga Hufflepuff - yellow Susan - Rowena Ravenclaw - blue Peter - Godric Gryffindor - red Edmund - Salazar Slytherin - green Personality wise, as well, they really embody each house’s traits 🤣
@@fightingfaerieshe did. JK pilfered alot of inspiration out of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkiens books. Without Lewis and Tolkien, there would be no Harry Potter.
@@sonicartzldesignerclan5763 Isekai literally translates to "Another World". Any story where a character goes to another world would be considered an Isekai.
@@jimberjamber8540 Answer and Explanation: There are several reasons why C.S. Lewis' novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe does not qualify as an isekai, even as a "western isekai." For one, the concept has its origins in Japanese literature and has evolved into what might be considered "light" or comic-book style literature. Narnia isnt a isekai theres nothing to debatte about
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
There’s a prequel book that explains the Professor, the wardrobe, the random lamp post, and the origin of the White Witch. There’s another book that features an adventure during the time the kids were ruling Narnia.
Fun fact: The professor who the kids went to stay with at the beginning was one of the first humans to enter the world of Narnia. In fact, he was there when it was being created. He took an apple from a tree in Narnia to heal his sick mother. He planted the apple in his back yard, and later the apple grew into a tree, which he later turned into a wardrobe.
I'm still blown away that Aslan looks better in this movie than any of the lions in The Lion King 2019. So expressive and energetic.
It goes to show that the Golden age of CGI has already passed :/
All the cgi in this movie (with the possible exclusion of the wolves) is absolutely stellar. I believe it was weta digital that did it hot on the heels of LOTR
@@hamasathecold7842 Weta are just unbelievable at everything they do, and have been in some of the biggest movies ever! Lotr, Jurassic park, Avatar, King Kong, I think they did Avengers as well, and Narnia!
@@hamasathecold7842 I think that Narnia used more CGI and LotR had more miniatures and practical effects, but yeah. Both were great
maybe so but hes too small in this one, in the original BBC version they used a real lion skin as the costume for him (messed up I know) but it is HUGE the shot of the children standing next to him, they look tiny in comparison where as here they didn't quite get his size right so that ending shot with them on the thrones doesn't look so impressive.
Tolkein- "There is no religious allegory here, stop asking!"
CS Lewis- "If people don't see that the Lion is meant to be Jesus I will literally throw myself off my building and make them watch!"
Lol, this is soooooo accurate 😂
to be fair the Silmarillion, though compiled mostly of his writings and edited by his son basically reads like the in-universe holy bible of lotr. The overall mythos is very heavily structured around the theology of christianity, with Illuvatar and Melkor being almost one to one god and lucifer, and gandalf being a lesser angel
@@RedShirtGuy96 that’s more influence than allegory though
@@k--music hard agree, tolkien let it be the literal bible of its own set of stories, people might draw conclusions or parallels within the narrative that may or may not be there, but I at least appreciate lotr and the hobbit for the stories that they are, and its some of the most fascinating worldbuilding that exist period. and i'm not even religious myself
Also Tolkien "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision"
In the book, it's stated that the Turkish Delight was enchanted so that the person would become extremely addicted and would do anything for more.
Narnia’s crack basically 😂
Hey guys! Editor here, I really hope you enjoy this one! This was the winner of the editor's poll over on patreon so this is one of my own recommendations for Alex to watch! I definitely think this movie series is underrated and deserves a bit more love, might even make a video about it on my channel one of these days. But until then, much love and I hope you guys enjoy the reaction!
Really glad this movie won the poll, I've always like the Narnia series. The Magician's Nephew is probably my favourite, and I hope they eventually make a movie of it someday. Gotta love the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for popularizing isekai in the West, though, lol.
Agreed this series is very underrated the books are amazing and I enjoyed the movies as well.
I grew up with these films ♥️✨- so I am so glad when more people discover it. Lots of deep philosophical meanings, especially behind C.S. Lewis's beliefs (out of the trilogy the second makes me emotional the most, but the first will always be my favorite overall)
Love this movie!
Thank you, Editor! Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Little context for the set up of this movie. In the UK cities were constantly bombed by german planes (the blitz), to protect children, they sent them to the countryside where bombs weren't being dropped. The mothers couldn't go with them because they needed to continue working in the factories to do their part in the war effort.
In the 7th grade, I had a 2 period English class. The first half of the first period, my teacher would read to us. One of the most gutting stories was Goodnight, Mr. Tom about a boy evacuated during the Blitz. We all cried through that book.
@AmyL._orcgirl if you haven't already, you should watch the movie. They did such a good job of evoking the same emotions as you do when reading the book. We also read that book be we also watched the movie (though I can't remember if we watched it for English or History) it was either in year 8 or 9.
@lunalux2293 omg, I would need so many tissues.
This is also why the turkish delights are so alluring to edmund (little shit), as they werent avalible through the rationing.
My mom was one of those children. Born in London but lived in Hove…next to Brighton. She was born in 1934 and her Dad ended up being a Captain of a mine sweeping ship. She went to be with her Grandparents in the Country. Interestingly enough, she used to talk about the camaraderie among everybody during the war. Rations were a major thing.
The costuming for the White Witch is so brilliant! To start with her dress is white as snow and her ice crown very high. The further spring emerges the darker her dress changes like water melting from ice and turning into a stormy sea and the ice crown melts and becomes smaller, until the end when the dress is black, the ice crown is gone and she is wearing the fur of Aslan around her neck, it’s such a powerful transformation through the costuming!
I guess Isis is good at costume design.
One thing the movie left out from the book that is fairly important for Edmund is that the Turkish Delights were enchanted so all he could think about was getting more. So, he wasn't just betraying his family cause, he was literally under a spell.
Didn't know this but it's important detail!
Why tf would they not include that???
I remember that but I don’t remember reading the book? Maybe it was read to me as a child and merged with my memory of the movie
damn and i thought bro was just scum for some turkish delights lol.
If the witch offered me strawberry milkshakes or oreo chocolate cake for life, then I be tempted as well.
Okay, so the professor (Digory) was in Narnia when it was created. He took an apple from Narnia to help his sick mother and planted the seeds. When the seeds sprouted, he cut the tree down and fashioned the wood into the wardrobe. The magic of Narnia is in the wardrobe, which is why it is a gateway to Narnia.
Also, the professor was based on JRR Tolkien.
Edit: couple things. Some people have mentioned that Digory didn’t cut down the tree, but that it had fallen over do to natural causes and that he took the wood from it after it had fallen. Also, Narnia was first discovered through the use of magic rings, and it was burying those rings next to the apple seeds that caused the wood from the tree to be magical. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve gone through the books, so I’m glad they corrected me.
Thank-you for providing this bit of Lore! I have only ever seen the movies and they never really explain why the Professor has the Wardrobe to Narnia and how he knows of Narnia.
He also buried the rings he got to Narnia with besides the seeds. The magic come from the rings while the wood comes from the magic apple
I wish there was a movie for that book too, it's my favorite
That's sweet that Lewis made a character based on a friend.
so the Prof is G-d
One thing I’ll always appreciate about this film is that they really done well with the creature design/cgi, some of the best mythical monster design out there. Also Peters armour absolutely slaps, always thought it was so cool.
The pure joy on Alex’s face for so much of this was incredible. I’m calling it now, his reaction to LotR is going to be one of the best on RUclips when it happens.
I can't wait for him to get to those. It's such a journey for everyone who watches the first time, and Alex seems just like the kind of person to catch all the depth
If he doesn't watch the FULL CUTS for LotR, I'll riot
I can't wait for him to say "If I can be honest, I think I liked Narnia better."
One of his best reactions imo lol he was thrilled with Narnia especially with Aslan ! 😂❤
Needs to watch the extended editions for all 3, no doubt!
Fun facts about this movie:
1. Lucy’s scream when she first meets Tumnus is 100% genuine. She had never seen him in his green screen costume and she was so jump scared and terrified by his look that she screamed. They took that one and only take due to its perfection.
2. They had to film this movie in chronological order due to Lucy having such a huge growth spurt that she grows a whole head taller during the course of shooting. If you compare Lucy from first scene to the last scene you can see the height difference.
Her reaction to seeing Narnia for the first time was also 100% genuine and real. They actually blindfolded her and passed from person to person so she would not see it until the first time. I wish they still did this. And another fun fact the adult actress for Lucy is Georgie Henley's real life older sister and her mother's name is Helen and she just said that even though it's not in the book. I don't think their parents have names in the book.
I've never noticed how much she grew before. Literally a full head taller!
I was hoping someone would mention these thing in the comments.
Skander also had a growth spurt and they had to refilm Edmund falling out of the wardrobe but he didn't fit into the bathrobe so the person you see falling out of the wardrobe was actually Susan.
Just a note on the design aspect of the film: the majority of the people who created the costumes, armor, CGI, etc., were the same people who worked on the Lord of the Rings, which is why the film is so incredibly gorgeous.
Oh, cool!!
37:36 I just realized the griffin aerial attack is a callback to the bombing at the beginning of the movie and that's where Peter gets that idea
Me too!! Even the shots are nearly identical! Watched this movie so many times growing up, but there are only certain things you’ll catch much later on.
Wow I didn’t think of that!
Also, in the battle, while the queens army are randomly placed, the Aslan army is in an arrow head shape. Could also be something he learned from the war
oh, i thought it was in the bible.. i mean my religion has a war that kinda like that, with the birds throwing stone of flames
Wow, I just got that!
27:45 they made a perfect realistic CGI lion with great human like expressions in the early 2000's but Disney couldn't do it to save their lives 😂
literally. like it's a little blurry in some sense, but with modern detail, it literally is perfect
sadly this is Disney, but back in their hay day
@@Shadowpack95back when they gave a shite
they chose not to, in favor of "realism". A terrible choice as we can argue, but it was a choice.
@@Shadowpack95they distributed it, they can nothing to do with the making of it
We need a reaction video of Prince Caspian as well, can't wait
Edmund is so obedient to the witch precisely because he ate her enchanted turkish delight. She basically drugged and charmed him. It's only implied in the movie but the book straight up tells it like that.
I wish they at least mentioned it in the movie because my child brain couldn’t comprehend why he was such a little shit
@@c5l6t4lol I agree
Alex getting the whole symbolism of the movie 21 minutes in :) well done!
THIS! ^ 100% I literally paused the reaction and came to the comments looking for this! I can't believe he nailed it so quick!
My favourite CS Lewis book is the first one, which is 'The Magician's Nephew'. Hollywood doesn't want this one made because it is the creation story, when Aslan sings Narnia into being, and evil enters the world. It's an amazing story. You get to discover how the wardrobe came to be.
37:57 is probably the most accurate militaristic charge on horseback to be put to film. Right down to when Peter doesn't put down his visor until halfway so that he has better range of view and out of the reach of arrows but then puts it down when he is. Just a very well done shot.
To me one things that ppl miss out in the battle that i find to be reeealy interesting is the white witch's smile when she sees edmund right b4 he breaks her staff. Is like "Oh, i can't wait to turn you into stone. You will make a fine adition to my collection (reference aside, is like he would have a special place among the statues and she couldn't wait to have HIM as he would be a special trophy)" ( 41:23 ). But then he broke the staff and you look at her face when he does it (41:28) and right when she stabbs him (41:29) and when she plucks the broken wand out of him (cut out)... SHE'S FURIOUS with edmund and it became personal in an entirely different way. I don't think many ppl noticed that
Thank you for pointing that detail out! I wasn't aware of the fact that he puts the visor down so late because of the reduced sight, but that makes so much sense.
These little details make the movie even better.
i always thought they casted the white witch perfectly
Tilda Swinton is my favorite mythical creature 🎉
whenever i see Tilda playing any other character i cant help but get a glimpse of the Witch, no matter what the character she plays actually is. she's just got that presence of being that immediately snaps your attention to her
Second Tilda Swinton character I see who's a magic user
(The first being the Ancient One)
@@reptiliannoizezz.413 If you include divine power, she's Gabriel in Constantine
In Suspiria 😅 @@Professor_Wisteria_
Peter was my first crush, I was so in love with him as a child 😅🩷
This movie is so ethereal to me that it almost feels like a childhood dream every time I think about it, until I remember that other people know it too lol. No other movie I've ever seen has given me that feeling. Its just pure magic
You've put my exact feelings about the movie so beautifully.
It's like that line in Peter Pan. That line about the place between sleeping and waking?
Oh, yes
I'm so glad he appreciated the editing at the start of the battle, with the quiet heartbeat, no music, and then just all hell breaking loose when the cats collide. It's one of my favorite parts, always gives me chills
Gosh, i have loved this movie ever since I was a little kid. And the music after Lucy walks through the wardrobe for the first time is absolutely beautiful loved this for years and whenshe walked through the wardrobe for that one scene always gives me chills ❤
My respect for Alex has now increased tenfold since he's reacting to the Narnia movies. Those movies were adapted so faithfully, it _legit_ feels like they actually brought the books to life, and it sucks that we'll never get to see the other books adapted at all. "The Silver Chair" is my fav Narnia book, and I was so disappointed to hear that the rest of the books wouldn't get their dues on the big screen.
I would LOVE to see The Horse and His Boy.. that one is my favorite
My favorite was the Magicians Nephew. The idea of pools to jump in for different worlds delighted my imagination
My favorite was The Horse and his Boy. Such an amazing book. But Silver Chair is just as equally amazing. Both have to do with some part of the world of Narnia, and not Narnia itself, which is why I loved the Voyage of the Dawn Treader as well. I do feel sad we'll probably never going to see The Magician's Nephew either. Unironically Prince Caspian was my least favorite movie and book.
The BBC did and adaptation of The Silver Chair in the 80s/90s, should be able to find it on RUclips.
The fact that Disney sold the rights for the Narnia films two movies into the series is one of the greatest Disney tragedies in a sea of Disney tragedies
Alex getting absolutely WACKED with fear from jump-scares with the wolves will always be hilarious🤣🤣🤣
21:29 it's not an allegory, it's a supposal. C.S. Lewis wanted to create a world and because it exists it is broken, and because its broken it needed saving. This was his supposal of how another world would be saved
I just looked it up….apparently although the movie has a lot of biblical parallels…it wasn’t intended to be a religious movie. C.S. probably unintentionally write it that way just as references or ideas and didn’t realize how similar they both were until after finishing the book.
@@tiamarrow6366
It was absolutely intentional. CS Lewis is one of the most famous Christian writers of the past century. He wrote many brilliant Christian fiction books like The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters.
@YourFriendDevin dude I still follow along with the Andy Serkis version at least once a year
@tiamarrow6366 yes Hollywood intentionally takes God out of everything they possibly can. The irony is that anyone watching sees it clearly lol C.S Lewis was a literary genius. If this movie trips you out you should totally go and read the first book The Magicians Nephew. It takes about 3 hours to read and you get to see the creation on narnia, the professor as a boy, and just a whole other adventure. If you've never read the series I couldn't recommend any read more.
@@tiamarrow6366I studied CS Lewis for my A Level Philosophy degree, the man was perplexed when people don’t see Aslan as Jesus. It is 100% intentional
I like their chemistry as siblings, its so natural
Yeah the kids were great actors in general, great casting
In the final battle, seeing the cheetahs and jaguars taking the front line with the breathing gives me chills every time
And no music to just the sound of the cheetahs screaching, literally chills
Literally
There are also leopards in aslans army but yeah this scene is in the top 5 charge scenes in cinema history
ISANE clip to this day.
I get chills every time.
One of the best battle sequences ever created.
the final battle gets me everytime, it's so perfect
hey! little side note here! Edmund is not a traitor, in the beggining of the film. he is litterally bewitched. besides the fact that the witch was nice with him and he thinks she is a good person, what he doesn't know (and what people who didn't read the books don't know either) is that the drink and the turkish delight are made from a potion that makes you willing to do anything just to get more. to me Edmund is the most interesting characters throughout the books/movies. :) (lovely to see your reaction, though!)
Literally did not realize until this watch thru that the White Witch was wearing Aslan’s mane during the battle 😭😱😤
oh shit
Omg
It's such a cool design decision
It wasn't until I watched this that I realized it was the same actress as the MCU's Sorcerer Supreme.
You could also say even more symbolically that it’s the witch having even more of a spirit of the “antichrist”. She thinks she’s won, that she’s the savior or the Christ, that she deserves to be in Aslan’s place as the ruler of the world. So she puts on the fake skin of the savior, thinking that she herself is God. But it’s only a pale, lifeless imitation that never grows. It’s a false mane of royalty.
32:21 is my favourite part of this movie. “How do I know your promise will be kept?” - That roar is the perfect response, when you know who Aslan is. He literally sang Narnia into existence, his words create and define the truth. To question his promise doesn’t deserve an answer because it is utterly foolish and nonsensical. Sit down, witch.
its even funnier because the Witch was THERE too, she bore witness to the first Light and Aslan creating the horizon and everything that followed. for her to question his Word is just so hilariously stupid that his response being a simple snarl is PERFECTION
I slightly wish they did what happened in the book that she picks up her skirts and runs screaming.
This is so biblically coded
"Who do you think i am, you sucker?! "
EIT: Aslan is the word in the flesh, he wouldn't lie. When he won he said "It is finished ( 42:43 )". ;)
FUN FACT about Edmund who decides to tell everything in exchange for sweets, the movie takes place during the second world war and during the war sugar was no longer imported, having it was almost impossible in wartime, England for example ran out of sugar and didn't had it for years, so Edmund, as well as other childrens, had not tasted anything sweet for years and years,imagine how that can be interesting to have for a kid, that combined with the comfort that a sweet and a hot drink give puts Edmund on the path to tell the queen everything, first because he didn't know, then because he wanted more, he is a small child after all. In the second book he becomes very brave and honest, he has always been my favorite character in Narnia with Lucy.
Another thing,Aslan rapresent "the lion of judas" wich is just another name of jesus,he literally rapresent jesus,and narnia heaven,he and tolkien both used a lot of cristian reference,also the 4 kids rapresent different things,lucy is the kind follower of god,the believer,Peter is the one who fight in name of God,Susan is the atheist that dont believe and trust facts and edmund is the sinner that get back on the right road,thats why is forgiven,in the end of the book saga you will see why Susan is "left out" of the thing,because she was the rappresentation of someone that base trust on facts and not god. Always been a bad and sad end.
When you realize the professor is also Professor Slughorn from Harry Potter
Also, Father Christmas is Jior Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch
Jim Broadbent is a legend
I just realized it by his voice now after watching the series like hundreds of time 😂
@@josiahferrell5022 The professor is also the Grand Maester of the Citadel.
When you realize Tumnus is Professor X.
Love that Alex recognized so quickly the symbolism that CS Lewis intended. The books are great, and the movie has held up visually over the past 20 years.
This is a hugely famous story. We were all familiar with the book when we were children. It is interesting seeing you reacting to it without knowing the story in advance.
Not sure if anyone's mentioned these fun facts already, so here goes:
The Professor, Diggory Kirk, was based on J.R.R. Tolkien. In turn, Tolkien modelled one of his own characters, Treebeard (from the second and third Lord of the Rings books/films) after Lewis. Tolkien and Lewis both taught at the same university, and while Tolkien was quite quietly spoken, he described Lewis as having a much more bombastic manner of teaching; his booming voice could be heard from several classrooms away, and sounded like Treebeard's rumbling "Bahraroom!"
The wolves in the film all had to have CGI tails added in post-production; apparently the doggos were so psyched to be doing such a great job and getting all kinds of attention, that while on camera they wouldn't stop wagging their tails!
In a slight irony, Skandar Keynes, who plays Edmund, is related to Charles Darwin... not sure if that's perfect or not for a character in a book series that is heavily Christian allegory 😁
Lastly, the book mentions exactly why Edmund is so obsessed by Turkish Delight. The Witch makes it with use of a magic potion, same as the hot chocolate she gives him. The way the book tells it, the side effect of eating ensorcelled food is that you develop a longing for it, almost like an instant drug addiction. Yes, Edmund was indeed a git in the first half, but not all of it was his fault 😊
yeah that last part really should have been in the movie
@@jacksmith-vs4ct Absolutely! It really does a lot to explain his actions.
It is actually perfect, they don't teach this in school but Darwin's evolution theory was created as a way to also explain Christianity at the time. This was before later evolutionists took it too far and eliminated Christianity from it.
One thing I didn't pick up on in my first watching was the white witch's crown. It was very tall at first, and got smaller throughout the movie, until it was totally gone in her final battle.
As if it was made of ice and was melting with the coming of spring. I hadn't noticed that myself but it's obvious now.
I didn’t notice that at all. I saw that she wore Aslan’s mane in her final battle but surprisingly not that.
Ah man, I haven’t seen this movie in at least 10 years, and I forgot so much of the details of it, but the second Mr Tumnus started playing that flute, I remembered every note. It’s just such a haunting but beautiful little melody.
I like that they included the little detail of Edmund drawing on the glasses on the statued animal towards the beginning of the film and when Aslan brought the animals back we can see during the crowning scene that one particular animal had the glasses printed onto their fur. Its the little details.
It was a stone lion. Edmund assumed it must be Aslan and the Witch had already turned him to stone, so he was mocking this great saviour the beavers were talking about.
@@zammmerjammer Edmund didn‘t even know Aslan was a lion at that point.
@@niangor4781 He most certainly did.
@@zammmerjammer How?
@@niangor4781 The beavers told the children so.
Lucy asked if Aslan was a man and the beavers were a bit offended and said Aslan is the King of Beasts, the great Lion.
Fun fact, CS Lewis was born and spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland and apparently was heavily inspired by the local forests and mountains. There’s a famous quote from a letter to his brother where he says ‘That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia’. So cool to have a world based on the beauty of my country. Love what you’re doing, great vid!
Ireland is a beautiful country
Tilda Swinton is such a brilliant actress. If I knew how to edit I would love to put together a montage of different characters she's played. Her range is unbelievable.
The Chronicles of Narnia were written as a direct allegory to the Story Jesus and His Church. The themes are about the ONGOING battle battle the Light and Darkness. I first Read the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when I was 7 years old. There was a PBS special that followed the entire book... as close to word for word that came out a few years later. Even at age 7 I knew who Aslan was. And I know who Aslan is and always will be.
Bruh the music my gawd. I got goosebumps, it’s so magical
Yup made me tear up in some parts
@ I almost teared up when Aslan walked out of his tent
The floe scene and the battle scene have the best music.
I love movies with ear candy like this one
@ “Ear Candy” I’ve never heard that. But I love it, it is very sweet
Alex, thanks for existing. Honestly I hate watching movies by myself since my last breakup. we used to watch movies together all the time and now I can’t bring myself to watch a full movie alone, thankfully I can watch them with you. Sad I know, but you’ve helped me get through this last month as I’ve been binging your videos
I love this movie not only as a Christian, not only out of nostalgia, not only as a book fan, but also just as an enjoyer of fantasy stories. I watched this for the first time in years as an adult, and I was stunned at how much GRIT and GRAVITAS this "children's fantasy" movie has, it's truly incredible
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
@@alfiesheahan9098 amazing!
@@alfiesheahan9098 That's unbelievable! Coolest grandma ever 😅
@@alfiesheahan9098 Damn, i love that.. How cool is it to think that your bloodline not only helped with giving feedback to a famous author, but also hang out with Lewis AND Tolkien
@ icl it feels ludicrous when I think about it… I believe my great grandfather was both of their doctors which is how he knew them
Context for Edmunds obsession with the Turkish delight, the witches food and drink is cursed to make whomever eats them to continuously desire more.
I guess Edmund also hadn't had sweets in a long time. There was not much of that around during war time.
Turkish Delight I think also is an allegory for sin or anything we are so enslaved in. We can’t get enough.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was the 2nd book in the Narnia series but the first movie, later they made two more movies, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which are the 4th and 5th book, in 1988 there was a mini series that aired on BBC Wonderworks and PBS. This BBC series adapted the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th book of The Chronicles of Narnia they were a big part of my childhood.
I don't know how you managed to avoid watching so many iconic movies until you were an adult, but it makes for great reaction content.
bro its just for the views cmon, everyone watched these movies, how else can you build up people to watch your reaction when theres 10000 of them, you can even see now an upcoming trend of "first time watching"
He always makes a not to say he has watched it before he starts the reaction if he has. As far as I know his upbringing wasn't fantastic, not surprised he missed out. Some people also just do not like watching movies.
@@MrAngeriusI’m 30 and I’m only just now watching Harry Potter. Sometimes, my guy, it happens.
@@user-jt1js5mr3f dude dont get me wrong i also didn't watch plenty of movies like Fast and Furious franchise or Forest Gump or any other new Jason Statham ones, but when you look at his channel and what movies he did reaction to, theres no way he didnt watch them beforehand, dude claims that he only watched first Sam Raimi Spider-man, OG Scream. Like lowkey movies sure np, movies that not many people are interested in sure np, but movies that had almost no competition on that year and prob were the only movies showing in theatre...i doubt it
@MrAngerius pretty sure in earlier channel videos he explains the reason he hasn't seen iconic movies. He also always says when he saw it when he was younger (such as some of the star wars films)
Littertaly SCREAMED when I saw the thumbnail... One of my favorite childhood movies, THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS!!
When this moviemwas filmed, Skandar Keynes was between the ages on 12 3/4 and 13 1/2. He grew 7 inches during filming, and they had to keep adjusting his suit of armour every week to make it fit.
Fun! I read the book when I was in grade 6 and then my class and I went to see the play and when we got our tickets scanned we had to climb through a wardrobe to get to the theatre and when you got through there was only a dimly lite lamp post in the centre of the stage. One of my favourite core memories
that sounds awesome
Yeah it was so much fun!
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
It was the magician's nephew that explained the lamp post, but that is very cool 😎@@alfiesheahan9098
@@alfiesheahan9098 Dude, why are you spam commenting this?
“Did she put crack in [the Turkish delight]” I seem to remember this is actually kind of the case. Her magic food was addictive
Too bad it wasn't said in the movies to make Edmund more forgivable 😅
They lived in times of war and poverty. The sweets were truly rare thing to get to taste.
@ yeah that too, definitely. it also literally says in the book (I’ve gone back and looked since making my initial comment) that ensorcelled food is incredibly addictive
@@acidsuzanne4049 And for those that never tried Turkish Delight, for some people it is actually too sweet.
So yeah, even without magic that stuff can be heaven for a child that has to live with wartime rationing.
Alex, Thank You! This was my childhood. This movie has shaped my life for the good. It has supported me when I needed it, it helped me escape into my dream world on countless nights, it even ignited the love for Fantasy genre in me. I am emotional from all the nostalgia just thinking about it. I still remember when I was in 6th grade, came from my classess in the evening and waited for hours for this movie to air. It was surreal the first time and every other.
They don't make movies like this anymore
P.S. 18:49 It scared the heck out of me too when i first watched it.
NARNIA!!! Dude, this was one of my FAVORITE SERIES as a kid! Still makes me cheese ear to ear every time! Also, here early for the FIRST TIME!!! Love ya man
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
This movie is criminally underrated. It's a pity the sequels never caught up to that quality. Especially the music is nothing short of magical.
I quite liked the 3rd movie tbh
@rileytipper5110 TBH I only watched it once and it didn't stick with me. It wasn't bad but not nearly as good as the first one IMO.
I kinda liked the second one, but while the third one had a great premise - I just didn't feel the same "magic" from it as from the previous two.
That final fight song manages to hype me up to this day whenever I hear it. That song has some legit magic inbued in it.
@@invis_hoodI REALLY loved the second one. Even better memories cuz I watched it with my mum and best friends for my 12th birthday party and me and my friends were all obsessed with sword fighting so when we got home after, we were hacking at each other with swords.
Lewis later wrote a prequel titled "The Magician's Nephew" which explains why the wardrobe works as a portal to Narnia and why Professor believed Lucy. Sadly, it never made it to the movies as Disney cancelled the series after the third movie.
Nice! You’ll want to watch the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian as well, my personal favourite of the series when i was a child
Yes! It is definitely the best one
Personally I think this one is the best one. But Prince Caspian is *really* good too.
@ with time, as an adult, now I agree that this has the better story (might be because I now appreciate the Bible references more than when I was a kid).
But I vividly recall that Caspian was my favourite as a kid (especially the Castle and later the battle scenes, of course).
@@ryttyr14 Yeah I love both almost equally, and I think the first one definitely has a bit of a better plot with all the references, but I like prince Caspian a little more because of the final battle, which I think is a bit better than the final battle in the first one.
Unfortunately only 3 of the books got movies so the professor is never actually explained, he was the first one to discover narnia when he was a kid, in fact there were dozens of universes he went to using rings that were created by his uncle. While exploring the different worlds he accidentally ran across the white witch in a world that was about to end, she grabbed him right as he was leaving and got taken to earth where she met his uncle and then forced the professor to take her to a new world (narnia) right as aslan was creating it, he chased her off but he didn’t kill her for some reason. Afterwards the professor brought an apple home from narnia that aslan had given him to heal his mother, after she ate it he planted the core in his yard and it grew into a tree which was later struck by lightning and destroyed, rather than just get rid of it he had the remaining wood turned into a wardrobe and I’m sure you can see where it went from there.
Also, while on earth the witch tore a bar off of a lamp post and later tried to kill aslan with it, instead of killing him though, it fell to the ground and grew into a new lamp post
If you want to include that british broadcasting corporation they did make silver chair along with the other 3. But magician's nephew, horse and his boy, and the last battle no adaptations
Edit: he also buried the rings with the apple core
Edmund is my favourite character. The way he goes from a douchebag to a noble person is just amazing. I particularly love the battle between adult Edmund and Rabadash in the climax of "The Horse and his Boy".
This is literally one of my favorite movies from when I was growing up. I absolutely love Mr. Tumnus (this is where my love for James McAvoy first stemmed from) and Aslan, the hair and the stone table scene still makes me cry! Absolutely love watching people watch this one!
This was my first seeing James as well! He has done incredible roles since Narnia, from a young Professor X to Dr Frankenstein and excellent horror actor Split while not scientifically accurate on DID James’s performance was incredible.
@@forestcatkay14 YES, Split is another one of my favorite performances from him like the amount of people he played and so freaking well!
Talk about an underrated classic! Music is fire, cast is amazing, and the White witch...Man look. Back then, hear me out...
PS: Watch the sequel, Prince Caspian, but that''s it.
PPS: the third movie is actually pretty good, it just strays furthest from the book.
while I like PC as a theatrical experience, they changed a lot of subtle yet fundamental things. And those silly silly rapid-fire trebuchets were just stoopid. Yet, I still enjoyed it--particularly how they upped Miraz's evil to be VERY effective.
@@evieblue959 Wait they made a third movie? I've seen the first plenty of times and the second once....didn't know they mad a third.
@@jeremiahrose4681 theres prince kaspian and voyage of the dawn treader. kaspian plays a role in both which is why you may have forgotten about it
Yeah there's a third one but there are only some elements from the book if you've read the the dawn treader @jeremiahrose4681
19:41 it’s explained better in the books he is under a spell from the hot coco and Turkish delight that’s why he is so adamant on seeing her
Cant't believe you didn't recognized Charles Xavier 😂
I was looking for this comment. Thank you!
@@AjaxXavior Same
I had to think for a second where Patrick Stewart showed up in this movie until the realisation hit me 😅
@@bertieblack5639 😂😂
I was waiting for “Holy fuck, it’s Chuck!”
The look of wonder on your face when Asland emerged from his tent. 🥰
You have no idea how much joy seeing Alex put all of the symbolism together gives me!
“There will be no drugs, no drinking, NO SEX” bro they’re literally siblings 😭
Flowers in the attic 🫣💀
You never know 😉
@ pause
Also children
Lol. Remember what Alex said about Luke & Leia...
To be fair to Edmund, it does mention in the books that the food she gave him was enchanted. So while he did need some character growth, the whole betraying his family thing wasn't actually his fault.
During the blitz, a huge portion of the kids in London were sent away to the countryside to save them from the bombs so that’s why they left without their mom
I’m surprised no one knows about ww2
@ I mean honestly not knowing specifics of what happened to kids in the blitz isn’t that damning for non British education. More damning I’d say is way too many people not knowing that the pacific theatre of WWII arguably started long before the European theatre went to war. Like people don’t know how long Japan was at war with east Asia, a war which was considered WWII
the second movie in the chronicles of Narnia farnchise is my favorite movie of all time, i hope you continue this film series!
When Edmund finally finishes his redemption arc.
please watch the second and third one as well! the plot building is amazing as they grow!
One thing to know is Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is actually the second book in the series, the first shows the professor as kid, the origins of the lampost in the forest and where the white witch came from.
While chronically you are correct, the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe was written first. The Magician’s Nephew was the sixth book I think. Possibly the very first prequel?
@@truemon True, but I think the first prequel is The Horse and His Boy (which is set during The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) was published in 1954. And The Magician's Nephew was published in 1955 so this is the second prequel in the series
I think that's the Magician's Nephew. At least it's book 1 in the set I have
@@shirleydurr411 Correct. most modern printings put the books Chronologically, but they were originally released differently, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book, released in 1950, followed by Prince Caspian ("book 4"). The horse and his boy, the outlier of the bunch, was released 1954 and The Magician's Nephew came after in 1955. everything was concluded in the final book, The Last Battle, that was published in 1956.
I guess I have to mention the dates of the 2 other books as to complete the thing, The Voyage of the Dawn treader came 1952, and the Silver Chair was released in 1953.
impressive really, 7 books in as many years.
I think it's a shame that they put The Magician's Nephew first today. While it is chronologically correct, thematically I think it should remain at the end, as the prequel it originally was.
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
The lamp post and Its origins were mentioned the first book though.
That is absolutely incredible
It got its explanation in the "Magician's Nephew" where we also get to meet the Professor in this movie as a young boy.
@@invis_hood First book chronologically, but The Magician's Nephew was published 1955, Five years after the original release of The Lion, The witch and the Wardrobe.
@ yeah that’s my bad I got the wrong book… been a while since I read them main point was my nans the reason that book exists haha
Now you have to watch literally every other movie because they're literally all so good.
Believe it or not, Alex, there was a time not so long ago when you COULD trust adults to look out for the best interests of each other and neighbourhood kids.
I don’t know. I feel like it’s better now. My mom told stories about being bullied by teachers in school for being poor and slightly overweight. No one protected her from that because people didn’t complain to teachers like they do now. Kids went missing all the time, people would watch women and children be “punished” in public and never said or thought anything. There were no protocols for child abuse or elder abuse as there is now. The only real thing that is worse is social media. Gave everyone with internet access a blow horn to shout whatever crazy they want and an eager audience to believe them
I'm sorry but there was never a time like that. The age we live in now, the age of information just allows us to see the evil better 😔
When you watch LOTR it NEEDS to be the extended editions!
Absolutely. I hope he sees this, it’s super important
Definitely. It adds important stuff back in. I also really wish we could get extra extended editions, I wonder what awesome footage we are missing out on.
Idk. I’ve seen someone who said they watched the extended first and it bored them so I’d say the theatrical pacing might be better.
There is no point in watching them if you don't watch the extended versions. My Mom and me watch Lord of the Rings every year during Memorial Day weekend.
100% yes!! The extended editions were the only ones I grew up with so I thought they were the normal ones 😅
This was, and still is, one of my favorite movies. I am so glad you could watch it nad you will 100% enjoy the rest of the trilogy
14:29 I’ve seen this movie so many times & now after 19 years I’m just noticing that when it “didn’t work” they had they door open and it works when the door is closed
How the hell did we get a Narnia reaction before Lord of the Rings
Fr bro
when he does get around to LoTR he better watch the damn extended cuts too haha
Literally clicked on this video to comment this
@@FunniesRS gonna watch 5 hours movies 😂
@@Paulito1718 they are all I’ve ever watched and I love every second every time
18:50 that didn't disappoint lmao.. that scared me really bad when i was like 15yo.
Great reaction, i love this movie =)
This is the first movie I ever got to see in theaters, can't even describe what that was like for a little girl obsessed with the fantastical. It's so cool to see someone else experience that almost 20 years later, glad you enjoyed it!
Same for me! The killing scene stuck with me for years! It was incredible!
Same here my first fantasy movie
my fav fact about narnia is c.s. lewis kept father christmas (or santa) in it purely because tolkien said having him in the books just “won’t do”. essentially it was a giant, “thanks for your input, i will be ignoring it!”😭
This movie was such a major part of my childhood. My whole family loved it so we watched it every Christmas. For its time the CGI was phenomenal and it still holds up, especially Aslan. That final battle scene always gives me chills, it’s just so good. Glad you loved it, Alex!
The old man believes Lucy, because as a kid, he went to Narnia too (in the first book). This movie is based on the second book.
Second book in the Chonology, but it was actually the first one published. The Magicians Nephew was written later.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will ALWAYS be the first book!
@@rmhartman Agreed. This hogwash of the _chronological order_ needs to go straight to Hell. Lewis wrote and published Narnia in the order he did and that's all the answer people need.
11:17 Imagine you're 10 and your dad's at war and you've been shipped off to nowhere because of bombs being dropped on cities, the food you can have in your pantry is decided by the government, you haven't had a cookie or a piece of chocolate in a year. I'd take the hot chocolate!
Not only that, but if it's the 1940s, weren't people a bit more trusting of their neighbors, especially in war time? I dont know if "Stranger Danger" was as big of a lesson then
Tbh same, like I'm taking the risk
it isn't really explained in the movie but the turkish delight actually put edmund under a spell that made him desperately crave it. also during the war there were sugar rations so that contributed.
45:43 😂😂😂 please do this more often
Alex standing and talking up close to the pope, the duck, and mask with his grippers out caught me so off guard.
The CGI for this movie looks good and holds up today. I grew up on this series and love it a lot. You definitely need to see LOTR so I am glad you mentioned it.
Fun fact, the Turkish delight Edmund ate actually had a spell on it. Whoever eats it would make them addicted to it and keep coming back for more!
In the books Edmond became the best Swords men to make up for what he did which I like that he did that to prove himself to others
This is a lovely adaptation of the story! Glad you enjoyed it. I’m sure someone told you - it’s not a huge spoiler since they didn’t bother making the rest of the series. The professor once got into Narnia as a boy. He brought the White Witch there and made the wardrobe from a tree that grew in England from a fruit he got in Narnia. This was a beautiful redemption for him to hear that the witch was finally dead and gone; and it’s why he wasn’t surprised about the children getting into Narnia through the wardrobe
Narnia will never get old. It's timeless and forever my fave comfort movie. It's the best!
As a Christian these movies meant so much to me, it really fueled my creativity!
I’m one of those who likes to believe that each sibling represents a Hogwarts founder 👀
Lucy - Helga Hufflepuff - yellow
Susan - Rowena Ravenclaw - blue
Peter - Godric Gryffindor - red
Edmund - Salazar Slytherin - green
Personality wise, as well, they really embody each house’s traits 🤣
Oh wow. Yeah they do. Maybe JK based them off these guys.
Yeah, its a very common comparison :D
This comment needs to be pinned for Alex to see
@@fightingfaerieshe did. JK pilfered alot of inspiration out of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkiens books. Without Lewis and Tolkien, there would be no Harry Potter.
This movie was such a big part of my childhood
ALEX FINALLY HAVING A TASTE OF WHAT A GOOD ISEKAI CAN ACTUALLY BE LIKE ✨
Narnia isnt a isekai.
It dosnt qualify in any point as an isekai.
Please dont use a word if you dont know what it means.
dont use weeb slang on us creations
@@sonicartzldesignerclan5763 Isekai literally translates to "Another World". Any story where a character goes to another world would be considered an Isekai.
@@jimberjamber8540 Answer and Explanation: There are several reasons why C.S. Lewis' novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe does not qualify as an isekai, even as a "western isekai." For one, the concept has its origins in Japanese literature and has evolved into what might be considered "light" or comic-book style literature.
Narnia isnt a isekai theres nothing to debatte about
Fun fact my Nan grew up next to CS Lewis, and her dad (my great grandfather) often went to the pub with both CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien… they were such good friends that my Nan was able to read the lion the witch and the wardrobe before anyone else and her one problem with it was how did the lamp post get there… this was later explained in prince caspian which was dedicated to her, she still had the first copy over in London!
There’s a prequel book that explains the Professor, the wardrobe, the random lamp post, and the origin of the White Witch. There’s another book that features an adventure during the time the kids were ruling Narnia.
Fun fact: The professor who the kids went to stay with at the beginning was one of the first humans to enter the world of Narnia. In fact, he was there when it was being created.
He took an apple from a tree in Narnia to heal his sick mother. He planted the apple in his back yard, and later the apple grew into a tree, which he later turned into a wardrobe.
36:05 that "Lionbird" is called a Griffin.
You do realise that The Goat guy is Professor Xavier
I was looking for a comment that pointed out that Sir Tumnis is James McAvoy😂