Never having read any of the books, nor seen any of the films, and suspecting that I only have it in me to do one or the other, I've taken advice in the past as to which would be the better option. The advice has been conflicting, but on balance the films seemed a better bet, so if they're any good after all, I'm planning on working through however many are out on dvd in time for the next big screen release, whenever that is.
This one, the first, is a fairly auspicious start. It's clearly a fantasy movie (that goes without saying) but the path it chooses differs from many of its type, keeping things pretty light in such a way that the darker moments never get all that dark. It's painted in bright colours; it's probably fair to say that it is a film made primarily for kids, or if not, at least with a very firm eye to being kid-friendly. But it's neither too hokey, nor too twee, nor really tongue in cheek (though it's certainly knowing about its own sheer Englishness), and it's well served by both the child actors and the host of established adults in roles large and small, likeable, villainous, or ambiguous as required. (I commented a while ago to Tamara that a lot of actors who I particularly like had ended up in the franchise; she responded, not entirely accurately but not entirely inaptly either, that that was because I like English actors.) Happily, apart from the inevitable static interference, I've managed to avoid learning almost anything about the series over the years since it first exploded, so anything that the next few have up their sleeve ought to be fresh to me, just as was, by and large, the case with this one.
