If I'd ever lost a sense of the wonder of Narnia, this film would have recreated it. It's sumptuous, making me yearn for a place of living trees and talking beasts and Aslan with an ache that almost hurts. I remember sitting crying in bed as a child in the knowledge that I'd never get into Narnia, wardrobe or otherwise, and the frustration hurt almost as much as real grief. But I found my own Narnia in the beauties of Christianity, which is I think what Lewis was getting at, although I'd give my eye teeth for a cruise on the Dawn Treader (if I still had any, that is).
Not much is said about the Second World War in the books; Lewis glosses over the horrors, as it's not really part of the Story. The film sets war-torn London as it's opening scene right off, however - the Lufwaffe, the bombs dropping, the craters and the crouching fear. This has the effect of drawing us straight into a Narnia where it is always Winter and never Christmas, and the spies of the evil Queen are everywhere - even some of the Trees are on her side.
War is no place for children, in any world, and Lucy's sweet simplicity and naive trustfulness are a sharp contrast to the underhanded dealing of Edmund and Mr Tumnus, whereas Peter and the Beavers are true as steel. The Fox was never in the books; he replaces a little group of woodland creatures turned to stone by the Witch for celebrating Christmas. Another change was that Mr Tumnus and Edmund actually meet in the House of the White Witch, and it is implied that the faun was tortured. I feel that CS Lewis's book was far more straight forward in the thematic dealings - there was no need for these overt contrasts, as he focussed more on the process of change, and especially the melting of the ice and the Witch's realisation that she is undone. Edmund also suffers a much longer and more painful journey of discovery.
Tilda Swinton is excellent as Jadis - you can feel the evil even as you marvel at the icy beauty. Apart from the feeling that Lewis needed some serious therapy when it comes to the fairer sex, one's overpowering sense is of repulsion. Of course, there never originally was a polarbear-drawn chariot with spikes, or a unicorn for Peter to ride (Jewel was in The Last Battle, and it's disrespectful to even suggest riding a unicorn. And one doesn't even think of putting a bridle on a Talking horse...
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