It is part of a series, features a battle of good versus evil in a magical world, is filmed in New Zealand and has creatures created by the famous Weta Workshop. One would not be going out on a limb to call "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" a Happy Meal version of "The Lord of the Rings." But who says that is a bad thing?

Based on the classic children's novel by C.S. Lewis, the film chronicles the fantastic exploits of four adventurous young kids — Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie. During the German air raids of World War II, the children are sent away from their home in London to the more peaceful country estate of Professor Digory Kirke (Jim Broadbent, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason").

One rainy day while trying to entertain themselves with a game of hide-and-seek in the mansion, the youngest sibling, Lucy, happens upon a curious wardrobe. While she originally intends only to use it as the perfect hiding place, among the wardrobe's fur coats she haphazardly enters a snowy forest. Upon meeting a pleasant faun named Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy, "Wimbledon"), Lucy discovers that she has found an entry into a magical world called Narnia. However, the land is plagued by an infinite winter imposed by the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton, "Broken Flowers"). And the worst part — it is always winter, but never Christmas.

Though they do not believe her story at first, eventually Lucy's brothers and sister stumble through the wardrobe and enter Narnia as well. It turns out the four children are part of the prophecy of the events necessary to break the witch's never-ending winter. With the help of Mr. Tumnus, some friendly beavers and a lion named Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson, "Batman Begins"), who is the real king of Narnia, the Pevensie children set out on a courageous mission to put an end to the White Witch's wicked reign.

The four young leads, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy (played by unknown British child-actors William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley, respectively) are given the daunting task of carrying the film. Unfortunately, at the beginning, their acting definitely leaves something to be desired. This is especially true for Henley's Lucy. Although her character is central to the plot development in the first part of the film, her performance is nowhere near Dakota Fanning status. Thankfully all of the children's performances do improve as the story develops, but overall they are far from memorable — not likely to reach the celebrity status of the "Harry Potter" cast, for instance.

The true kudos should be given to Swinton. It is as if the White Witch is a part she was born to play. She is equally evil as she is eloquent, with her pale skin and menacing eyes combined with her phenomenal costuming. Swinton's performance is so dead on that it is likely to give some of the little kids in the audience nightmares (and probably even some of the big kids in the audience as well).

However, what is most astonishing is that arguably the best performances are not even done by actual actors. The multitude of talking CGI characters is amazing, truly becoming the aspect that makes "Narnia" most fun to watch. Had the film been made only a few years earlier, it would not have been much more impressing than the BBC miniseries rendition from the '80s that most of the current generation grew up with. In the new version, the visual effects used to create Narnia and its creatures end up making the movie. The cast features everything from fauns to centaurs, to unicorns and griffins. But by far, the hilarious duo of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver (voiced by Ray Winstone and Dawn French) is the biggest scene-stealer. Talking beavers that are not only incredibly funny, but believable — now that is truly a cinematic accomplishment.

If at any time the viewers think that the film is becoming borderline cheesy or childish, it is important to remember that "Narnia" is pretty kick-ass for a PG-rated movie. A testament to this is the battle scene, which is pulled off well without the hackneyed Hollywood formula of blood and guts.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is only book one of seven in "The Chronicles of Narnia" and with the success and praise the first installment is bound to receive, viewers can eagerly anticipate the subsequent chapters in the years to come.

Grade: AB