"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" snatches its young heroes from the perils of one war only to drop them smack in the middle of another. It hardly seems fair, but that's literature for you.

The Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, are packed up and evacuated from London during the Blitz of World War II. They're sent to the musty country manor of a reclusive relative known only as "the professor" (James Broadbent). What they find, at first, is loneliness and boredom in this museum of a house but eventually they stumble upon one of the best-loved portals of fantasy literature: C.S. Lewis' wardrobe.

The wardrobe, of course, leads to Narnia, a land populated with talking lions, fauns and witches but oddly no humans. The children find themselves to be the mythical creatures here and, more importantly, the key to a prophesy that promises the end of a hundred years of rule by The White Witch and the endless winter that comes with it. Suddenly everyone wants to get their hands on the Pevensie's. Each of the children takes up the mantle of destiny in his, or her, own way. Lucy (Georgie Hendly) chats up an unreliable faun named Mr. Tumnus and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) sneaks off to mooch candy from the witch.

But in Narnia small actions trigger large consequences and before they know it the four siblings are face to face with an imposing lion named Aslan, spiritual ruler of Narnia, and embroiled in an epic battle between the forces of good and evil.

If this sounds somehow familiar, it should. C.S. Lewis was friend and colleague to J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, and their common interest in mythology and experience of living in Europe during the rise of Hitler sent their creative tendencies in similar directions. But before you go looking for Frodo in the crannies of this movie, there are significant differences at play as well.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a simple story most readers discover at a younger age and as such it exerts a different hold on the imagination. Children often dwell between conflicting yearnings of discovery and retreat. Magic respects that need. While Lewis set out to write a Christian parable, his real success was to tap into this dark, rich corner of a child's psyche. As a result the movie finds its center in Lucy, the youngest sibling, and her discovery of a new friend in Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy).

The counter point to Lucy and Mr. Tumnus is the relationship between Edmund and his unfortunate choice for a mentor The White Witch (Tilda Swinton). While Keynes struggles to hold up his end of the bargain, Swinton is magnificent. Drained of color but burning with an icy malevolence, Swinton lights up the movie like a neon welcome sign at the gates of hell. She makes you believe that evil has a fighting chance in this charming movie.

Swinton has a strange fashion moment mid-film-someone seems to want her to look like a linebacker-but recovers beautifully for the final show down in her gown accessorized with a lion mane and war chariot pulled by two polar bears.

Director Andrew Adamson does some good work in this movie but he is no Peter Jackson. He doesn't have the same knack for choreographing battle scenes and, more importantly, his feel for the child's psyche that animates this story is uneven. There are flashes of real brilliance but at other times he struggles to capture the heart of Lewis' story and retreats in Disney video-release cuteness. But to his credit-and our good fortune-when he returns to Lucy and Mr. Tumnus the picture finds its way back on course.

One final note: While I'm a believer that kids like scary stuff in their movies, "Chronicles" features a crucifixion scene that could be a little overwhelming for very young children. So moms be warned.

Bruce Bulloch write regularly for this newspaper and can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com