The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a good but not great presentation.
Some complaints related to shadow detail. While blacks came across as deep and tight, low light shots tended to be a trifle too dense.
I found these to seem slightly tough to discern, though not badly so. Dark scenes were acceptably visible for the most part, but they just appeared a bit thick.
Colors were consistently positive. The movie’s first parts went with a restricted palette to reflect the gloominess of war-torn England as well as the extended winter in Narnia.
Once spring came to Narnia, the tones brightened considerably. Whatever the setting, the movie featured hues that were appropriately full and dynamic.
Sharpness appeared solid for the most part. While wider shots could appear a bit soft, most of the movie demonstrated nice accuracy and delineation.
I saw no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and the image lacked edge haloes. A handful of small specks materialized but the movie usually looked clean. This left us with a largely positive transfer despite a few issues.
As for the film’s uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack, quality always appeared excellent. Effects showed fine delineation and accuracy, and they also offered terrific bass response.
Low-end provided great depth and bite. Music was similarly full and dynamic, as the score presented nice warmth as well. Speech sounded natural and concise.
The soundfield used the movie’s action scenes to bring it to life. Quieter sequences had their moments as well, as pieces like a train and general atmosphere showed nice breadth and definition.
However, it was the climactic battle and other showcase bits that brought the soundtrack to “A-“ level. These contributed a lot of useful material from all five speakers and tied the pieces together smoothly.
The information moved cleanly and provided strong localization. The soundtrack felt consistently positive.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the DVD version? The uncompressed audio offered a bit more range and bite compared to the lossy soundtracks of the DVD.
Visuals showed an uptick, with superior colors and delineation. Even with some small complaints, the Blu-ray clearly became the better option.
This set comes chock full of extras. Starting on Disc One, we find two separate audio commentaries, and the first includes director Andrew Adamson and actors William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley.
All five sit together for a running, screen-specific piece. I admit I didn’t look forward to this commentary, as I’ve not found much value in similar tracks with child actors.
They tend to be chaotic and not very informative. Happily, this one was much more successful than I expected.
Adamson tosses in some details about production elements like sets, effects and changes from the novel to the screen. However, issues specifically related to the kids dominate.
We learn a lot about how Adamson got them to produce the necessary performances, and the actors provide many stories about their experiences. They chat about the challenges of dealing with such an effects-intensive setting and other aspects of the shoot.
Occasionally the kids talk over each other – young Henley is the most impulsive - but the commentary remains surprisingly coherent and organized. Even Henley’s energetic asides seem charming instead of distracting.
Though a little dead air slows things down at times, mostly we find a lively and informative discussion. The participants mesh well to make sure we get a good feel for their experiences in this enjoyable and informative track.
For the second commentary, we hear from Adamson, production designer Roger Ford, and producer Mark Johnson. For this running, screen-specific piece, Johnson and Adamson sit together while Ford joins them from Australia via telephone.
Their conversation covers sets and locations, effects and various visual challenges such as animatronics, costumes and props, story issues, casting and characters, and general production information.
While drier than the first commentary, this one proves equally informative. Some redundant material appears, especially when Adamson discusses the child actors.
However, the more technical focus makes the track generally fresh. It goes through the appropriate topics in such a way to become enjoyable and useful.
The Bloopers of Narnia runs four minutes, 36 seconds. This presents a pretty standard blooper reel.
We get goof-ups and silliness, so don’t expect anything unusual. It is fun to see some of the shots before the addition of effects, though.
A trivia track appears as well. Called Discover Narnia Fun Facts, this piece throws tidbits onscreen throughout the movie.
Written by co-producer Douglas Gresham, we get factoids that tell us about author CS Lewis and the novels, background elements related to England in the WWII era, and other factual nuggets. These pop up rather infrequently and tend to stick with basic notes. They seem mildly interesting but not worth much effort to watch.
Disc One opens with ads for Sleeping Beauty, WALL-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Tinker Bell and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
As we move to Disc Two, we get a mix of additional extras, and these split in a few different domains. Creating Narnia opens with a documentary called Chronicles of a Director.
This 37-minute, 47-second piece offers notes from Adamson, Johnson, Ford, Moseley, Henley, Keynes, executive producer Perry Moore, Walden Media CEO Cary Granat, costume designer Isis Mussenden, editor Sim Evan-Jones, director of photography Donald M. McAlpine, creature and visual concept designer Richard Taylor, special makeup and creature designer Howard Berger, visual effects supervisor Dean Wright, Rhythm and Hues visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer, visual effects producer Randall Starr, Sony Imageworks visual effects producer John Clinton, and actors Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy.
The show traces how Adamson got the gig as director and then shows his work on the film. We watch his initial preparation and approach to the story, visual and character elements, casting and working with the actors, creature, weapon, and prop design, digital effects, and shooting in New Zealand and sets.
The title of “Chronicles” seems a little misleading, as it implies the program will focus on Adamson’s experiences. That’s not the case, as it presents a pretty broad overview of the production.
And a good one at that, as it touches on most of the important factors. We get a good feel for the various elements, and the many excellent behind the scenes bits certainly help. We see a lot of fine material such as Aslan test footage and other preparatory materials. “Chronicles” stands as a fine documentary.
In the 26-minute, 24-second The Children’s Magical Journey, we find comments from Henley, Moseley, Keynes, Adamson, Popplewell and McAvoy. As implied by the title, “Journey” focuses on the experiences of the child actors.
We hear about their casting and relationships with each other, shooting in New Zealand, training and rehearsals, the kids’ costumes, and general stories from the set.
Once again, footage from the shoot serves as the highlight of this show. We discover many nice clips that demonstrate the reality of the production.
Things feel a little fluffy and chipper, but I expect that from a program focused on kids. The piece remains breezy and enjoyable.
From One Man’s Mind goes for three minutes, 54 seconds and offers a simple overview of the life and career of author CS Lewis. We get basics about those areas along with some notes related to the creation of Narnia. If you watched the text commentary, you’ll already know most of this, but the featurette serves to provide a passable summary.
In Cinematic Storytellers, we focus on the filmmakers. All together, these eight pieces last a total of 55 minutes, nine seconds.
They concentrate on Weta Workshop’s Richard Taylor, KNB Creature Shop’s Howard Berger, costume designer Isis Mussenden, production designer Roger Ford, director of photography Don McAlpine, editor Sim Evan-Jones, composer Harry Gregson-Williams, and producer Mark Johnson.
Each featurette includes remarks solely from the filmmaker under examination. They cover general and specific experiences during Narnia as well as some impressions of their overall careers. I like the way these pieces emphasize the work of the different specialists, and they give us a nice overview of their jobs and duties.
The 11 elements of Creating Creatures occupy a total of 53 minutes, 55 seconds. These examine the White Witch, Aslan, Tumnus, the wolves, centaurs, minotaurs, ankle slicers, Ginarrbrik, the beavers, satyrs and goblins.
Across the 11 clips, we hear from Andrew Adamson, actors Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Patrick Kake, Kiran Shah, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Ray Winstone, Dawn French, Shane Rangi and Eoin Walsh, costume designer Isis Mussenden, visual effects producer Randall Starr, Creature Effects Inc. crew Jeanne Vosloo, special makeup and creature designer Howard Berger, visual effects supervisor Dean Wright, Rhythm and Hues creature development supervisor Will Telford, Aslan character lead animator Greg Steele, visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer, Sony Imageworks animation supervisor Dave Schaub, Sony Imageworks character animator Kelly Hartigan Goldstein, Sony Imageworks digital effects supervisor David A. Smith, animal supervisor Sled Reynolds, creature and visual concept designer Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop design supervisor Ben Wooten, Weta Workshop designer/sculptors Greg Tozer and Christian Pearce, Rhythm and Hues animation supervisor Richie Baneham, Sony Imageworks character animation lead Jeff Schu and fabrication department supervisor Beth Hathaway.
The pieces examine the visual design of the characters and the execution of these ideas. These cover areas like costumes, makeup and wigs, computer animation, animatronics, working with real animals, and performance issues.
All of these add up to a terrific examination of the creatures and characters. We learn many nice nuances of what the parts required and cover all the appropriate details. This is a nice collection of featurettes.
Next we find Anatomy of a Scene, an area that covers two segments: “The Melting River” (11:31) and “Behind the Battle” (7:47). These present notes from Adamson, Wright, Ford, Moseley, Henley, Popplewell, Starr, Johnson, Baneham, Sony Imageworks CG supervisor R. Stirling Duguid, Massive supervisor Dan Smiczek and Andrew Adamson’s executive assistant Alina Phelan.
We look at the miniature and full-size sets as well as various aspects of the shoot and effects, and the clips dissect the various elements well. It digs into them with more of the usual fine material from the set and plenty of insightful comments to reveal how they created this sequence.
Heading over to Creatures, Lands & Legends, Creatures of the World goes for 13 minutes, 39 seconds and looks at 11 of the movie’s characters, all of whom we saw in “Creating Creatures”.
However, this set offers a different emphasis. It offers quotes from the Narnia novel that describe the characters.
We hear these as we look at character art. It provides a nice way to learn a little more about the creatures as designed by Lewis.
An interactive map appears via Explore Narnia. This functions the same way as “Creatures of the World” as it takes us through Narnia locations, and the clips fill a total of six minutes, 49 seconds.
We go to “White Witch’s Castle”, “Cair Paravel”, “The Lantern Waste”, “Battlefield”, and “The Stone Table”. It offers a decent look at the different spots.
New to the Blu-ray, Battle for Narnia
offers an interactive strategy game – I guess. I tried it on two separate players and couldn’t get it to work on either one.
