This summer, I read my daughter The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. For her birthday, my daughter received the film version and has been wanting to see it. Tonight, my wife was out to dinner with friends, so I took the opportunity to make Saturday evening a dad/daughter movie night.
We got through about 40 minutes of the film before she’s had enough. Throughout the action, she kept comparing what she saw with what she had imagined when I read her the book.
- “I didn’t think the house was that big.”
- “I thought Mr. Tumnus would have four legs!” (She didn’t really know what a faun was, it turns out.)
- “I thought the Wicked Queen’s hair would be white.”
- “I thought Susan wouldn’t be that old.”
She eventually wanted to press pause because the film got too scary. I guess it’s easier to imagine a less threatening version of the Wicked Queen’s castle. The visuals of stone giants and terrifying wolves and ice sculptures were too much.
For now, the book is beating the film. We’ll see what her verdict is when we actually finish the film.
Learning Together 