The Chronicles of Narnia The first time I heard about Narnia was during the first days of my arrival in the US, almost six months ago. I vividly remember the day the husband and I were talking a walk through the quaint streets of Harrisonburg, VA when we came across what looked like a college student house with a sign on its entrance that had but a single word upon it: Narnia.

Being the curious "immigrant" then, I asked the husband about the significance of this word. He was more than happy to answer my query, as, to my utter surprise, he turned out to be an ardent Narnia fan. A few months later, the movie Narnia made it to the big screen. So this weekend we had to watch the film, primarily for me to fulfill my curiosity about Narnia and for Jeff to re-live his childhood reading memories.

I loved it. I enjoyed the plot, the scenery, the storyline, and the acting. I regard the film as a mesh between The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, combining the elements of children’s escapades similar to those in the Harry Potter series with the scenes of war found in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Watching the movie, which I understand is the first of many more Narnia movies to come, made me very interested in reading the whole series of books. And speaking of books, it’s worth noting that a Jordanian publisher has already translated the Chronicles into Arabic. Here is an excerpt from an AP article published in The Jordan Times last week:

A Jordanian publishing house on Wednesday introduced Arabic translations of the first three books in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, timed to coincide with the release of the film version of one of the books in US and European cinemas.

"I thought, if the American and European children enjoy such fairy tales, why not our Arab children," Sinan Sweis, director of Ophir Publishing, said after a launch ceremony attended by the publishers, British embassy officials and about 70 students.

I’m also wondering if anyone besides me has noticed the insertion of Turkish elements in the movie. The lion in the film is referred to as "Aslan," which, as I understand it, is Turkish for "lion." Also, the younger brother in the movie, Ed, is so enamored with Turkish delights that he asks the white witch to give him some and it becomes a bit of the reason for his treachery.

All in all, I would say the movie is worth your time and money whether you’re a fantasy fan or not. Score: 4/5.