Narnian Questions

First of all, sorry for no new cartoon today! Slight technical difficulties. I’ll be posting it tomorrow — a rare Friday post!

But as Bill Cosby says (in the greatest stand-up performance ever committed to film, Bill Cosby Himself), that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.

So the other week I re-watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Aside from having a title that makes Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull appear to be the very embodiment of brevity, I was never a big fan of the huge Narnia film. If the magnificent Lord of The Rings trilogy had never been made, I think I might think higher of the film…but coming after those films, to me the first Narnia picture was just a pale reflection. There was some fun to be had, for sure, but for the most part I found it way too simplistic and made-for-kids. That’s not a bad thing, just means it didn’t really appeal to me.

But with the sequel out in theatres, and getting pretty decent reviews, I figured it’d be worthwhile to re-watch the 1st one. I have the type of personality that pretty much demands that I rewatch the 1st movie before seeing the sequel, so that its fresh in my mind (even though I’m quite sure comprehension of the sequel does NOT hinge upon a recent viewing of the first one!). I also wondered if my feelings about the first film would change upon a repeat viewing.

Well, they didn’t really.

But what I found myself thinking about as I re-watched The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, were all sorts of questions I had about the world of Narnia that the film presented.

What exactly is the back-story? How did Aslan ever lose control over Narnia? Where did he vanish to for a hundred years? How was the White Witch able to shroud Narnia in a perpetual winter, and what exactly happened during the course of the movie that caused her winter to fail?

Why did Aslan choose this moment to return?

What exactly was the deal behind the prophecy about the four Pevensie children? Who gave that prophecy? Why exactly were those 4 kids necessary for Aslan to defeat the Witch? Why couldn’t Narnia be free until they arrived?

How did the magical Wardrobe come to be in the posession of the Professor? The film seemed to imply that he’d been to Narnia before, or at least that he knew of it. What was his connection to Narnia? Did he somehow stop being able to enter Narnia once he grew older, or something like that?

I read all the Narnia books many times as a kid, but that was years ago and I have absolutely no recollection as to whether any of these questions are addressed in any of the later books. But my curiosity is piqued!