So anticipation is at a fever pitch now for Friday’s release of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Christian moviegoers and are on this movie’s bandwagon almost like they were with The Passion of the Christ. Terry Mattingly wrote about the movie in his latest column, including this summary of a key scene:

In a lengthy speech after his resurrection, Aslan explains that the evil White Witch “knew the Deep Magic. But if she could have looked a little further back … she would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”

CS Lewis is my favorite author, Narnia among my favorite books. And I’m looking forward to seeing the film, which looks like a faithful adaptation with realistic effects. And I’m also looking forward to seeing how those who hate Harry Potter’s wizardry navigate the terrain around Narnia. those who decry the spells, potions, witches, etc. in the Harry Potter will need to address those same elements in Narnia, which should be interesting.

The core element of the Harry Potter books is that the evil Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby but was unsuccessful because Harry’s mom put herself in front of Harry to save him, instead taking the fatal blow herself. And Voldemort then couldn’t kill Harry because he’d been saved by another in his place. Sounds familiar.

I’ve read all the Harry Potter books except The Half Blood Prince (which is on my list to read over Christmas), and Gretchen and I have seen all the movies, having seen The Goblet of Fire on Friday night. Harry Potter doesn’t reach the heights of Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia, but it’s a thoroughly excellent series.