The White Witch as Tragic Figure

We went to see the Narnia film yesterday. E (4) got scared in places; D (8) liked it and couldn't wait to see what he hopes will be the next one, The Horse and His Boy. I liked it too: better than RotK. But (as in Tolkein) the great problem is transcribing the power and dignity of the characters in the book into actors. And it doesn't really work. In particular the White Witch, though she makes a stab at it (ho ho) isn't the Witch of the books - just not powerful enough. Instead she sort-of transmogrifies, towards the battles at the end, into a tragic figure. I don't think its deliberate, and there are only hints of it, perhaps more in my mind than anywhere else. But it could have been there, and perhaps it should have been...

[Written in 2006, unfortunately by editing it just now I've lost the exact date, but in retrospect I like it so will publish it.]

2024: "Jadis" is French for yesteryear.