Narnia rules!

It would take a lot to please me, considering the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is my favorite book of all time. I remember well the first time I read that book. My parents kept calling me for dinner. I kept replying "a few more minutes, I'm almost done with the book."

I couldn't put it down. After I finished, I would never be the same.

I kept fantasizing about the book, how I would make dark rides based off of scenes from the book. I would start with the lamp post scene. The ride wouldn't begin in the Professor's mansion, but rather with the lamp post. I wanted Narnia, not Earth.

Needless to say, I had huge expectations coming into the film. Only absolute brilliance would please me and I demanded it as a bare minimum.

They succeeded.

Star Wars III and Harry Potter 4 were two movies I've seen recently that should have been great movies, but they weren't. They were only good. They were only good because they fell on their faces when it came to both character development and well-written dialog. Narnia had both.

Yes, all four children were made real. You could feel how they felt. You understood their weaknesses and their fears and you rooted for their strengths and their hearts to prevail. You saw Edmund have a shot of redeeming himself and you hoped he took it.

Not only did they develop the four children, they developed the Beavers. They made the White Witch scary. They made Aslan majestic. They made you sympathize with Thomas, the Fawn.

The movie's greatest scenes were shot in New Zealand, which is about the last place on Earth that isn't helplessly overpopulated, so you could have gorgeous backgrounds. The producers made every penny count, for they knew with a good movie they'd recoup the costs. They succeeded, and the movie will advertise itself. Don't be surprised if this movie stays in the theaters for a very long time.

Also, as a sound conneseur, they did a wonderful job with surround sound. The footsteps and the background noises fit. They really made sound a significant part of the movie experience.

One drawback though, as I give the storyline ten dead zombies, the effects only get eight. The reason is there are some scenes where it's blatantly obvious the camera folk shot the actors in front of a blue screen and applied computer animation later. Those scenes felt like that 1950s movie Shangra La.

This technology is imperfect. I won't fault the producers for deciding to use this technology over good old film tricks, although I'd take the old ways over computers any day, for computer animation still looks like it was done with computers.

Thanks go to Levi for introducting me to Imogen Heap. I recognized the music immediately, for they contributed a song to the soundtrack. The other songs fit the movie, so the sound team apparently did their homework. It wasn't as strong as a soundtrack as the Lord of the Rings films, but it worked.

Despite the imperfect rating for the effects, I'm still giving this movie ten dead zombies. This, Mr. Lucas and director of Harry Potter 4, is how an epic movie is supposed to be made. I really think you will too.

Parents - your call on the kids. Good creatures do die, there are scary monsters, and the White Witch is evil. The PG rating fits though, I'd strongly suggest being there with the little ones. Don't let them see it on their own, for there are a few frightening scenes. However, I think it's safe to bring the little ones, as long as you're there to make them feel safe.