The Magician's Nephew (Radio Theatre)

This review is for the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre adaptation of The Magician's Nephew. This is the sixth book of the Chronicles of Narnia (in publication order), and tells the story of the creation of Narnia and how evil first came to that land. Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer are the first two children from our world to step foot in Narnia.

I love the spiritual parallels here. Because The Magician's Nephew isn't among my favorites of the Chronicles, I tend to not reread it very often, and so I think those parts are fresher to me. I loved the explanation of the fruit and how the Witch would always hate it because she ate it at the wrong time and without permission. It's also noted how people justify their actions by saying that show more "common rules" don't apply to them, because they are engaged in Great Things (piffle). There is a strong relation between the Deplorable Word and the atom bomb of our world... chilling. The genius of Lewis is in how he makes these ideas so simple — or rather, is able to strip away all the confusion we adults like to cloud them with.

The Focus on the Family Radio Theatre dramatization of this story is excellent. I have a few quibbles, but they are minor in light of the whole. They didn't make it quite clear enough that Uncle Andrew couldn't hear the animals speak. I think a lot of the comedy was lost in the description of how they tried to plant him, too. But the voice actor who played Uncle Andrew was wonderful, just as I imagined him. I also really liked the Cabby, Digory, and Polly. David Suchet's Aslan wasn't loud and overplayed either in this story. I think he is growing on me a bit.

Some parts of this story were very emotional for me, like when Digory withstands the temptation of the Witch about the apple and later brings an apple to his mother. The children are quite believable in their quarrels (though they never become irritating). The sound effects were excellent, and I liked the music especially during the Creation. They didn't try to overdo it.

All in all, this is another skillful adaptation that is well-executed and entertaining. I recommend it! show less

2 CD's; 150 minutes
A boy and a girl are tricked into using magic rings. A beautiful and terrifying queen escapes from a dying world. A lion the great lion Aslan sings a new world into existence. And so Narnia is born, and already a dark treachery threatens its future. The Magician's Nephew is the epic prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.