Like many other of the great Disney movies, the brilliance of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe lies in a deep moral, vivid inspiration -- and a villain that scared the popcorn out of every child in the theater, and most of the adults.

When I rediscover my favorite Disney classics as an adult, I am stunned that I was able to watch these films as a child without seriously wetting my huggies. I willingly admit that I now quiver uncontrollably at the witch in Sleeping Beauty, the evil stepmother in Cinderella, and basically everything that happens in Alice and Wonderland from start to finish.

In Narnia, however, our leading villain, the White Witch, played by a delightfully evil Tilda Swinton, is frightening in both appearance and manner. She has taken control of the magical land in the absence of the rightful King Aslan. As it was stated in the prophecy, her rule will bring eternal winter to Narnia until two sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve come to the land and defeat her.

The saviors are found in the Pevensie children. When their parents are sent off to war, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are sent to live in the large, empty house of a quiet and seemingly self-reserved professor. Saddened and lonely in the absence of their parents, they escape through a mysterious wardrobe into the magical world of Narnia, leaving their own problems and sadness behind.

The intelligent and brave sibling team is divided when the youngest brother, the sullen and bitter Edmund, is manipulated and promised a kingdom by the White Witch. Thriving on competition with his older brother Peter, Edmund betrays the others, in pursuit of his own success.

With the help of various talking animals, the other three Pevensie’s rescue Edmund, and the four eventually defeat the White Witch and her army.

Along with a fantastically evil villain and a creative story line, this film captured the visual texture and beauty of every child’s imagination. With fauns and polar bear-lead sleighs littering the screen, this film meets the cinematographic intensity of The Lord of the Rings without the needlessly long and banal fight scenes.

The film version of C.S. Lewis’ classic also manages, as most film versions do not, to be very loyal to its book form. Both the film and the book open slowly, with nearly half of the story discussing the children’s entrance into the wardrobe. This is a perfectly crafted plot construction, because it allows the viewer to understand the symbolic nature of the wardrobe: an escape for four children, plagued by their own reality.

C.S. Lewis wove a heartwarming tale in Narnia about learning to fall when you are able, and rise when you are needed. The film adaptation takes the beauty and honor of this inspirational story and combines it with the glamour and illustration of the big screen. Loved it.