I read "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman several years ago, and I found to be an interesting and inspiring book. Although I realize now that the book was focused on an anti-Christianity theme, I did and still do not find the book offensive. It is a smartly written novel, and many young adults in my generation enjoyed the great work. Thus, I was excited when "The Golden Compass" was released in motion picture. The trailer showed many impressive (Although many would disagree) special effects, and I had high hopes that the film would succeed, despite some boycott lead by some religious organizations.

I vaguely remember being read of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" when I was quite young, and I remember watching the BBC version of the work, which was terribly boring. Today, I had the opportunity to watch the Disney adaptation of the book. I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis, the author of "The Chronicles of Narnia", due to his pioneering of Christian thought in the philosophical realm.

Philip Pullman wrote "The Golden Compass" to counter Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia", because Pullman wanted to counter Lewis' references to various Christian influences in the young adult books. If you read Pullman's work, he has various anti-Christian (Or more broadly, anti-Religion) tone in his novel. Regardless of the literary battle between the two authors, I wanted to watch both movie adaptations of the books and decide which movie was better.

I found the Disney's version of "The Chronicles of Narnia" better in most areas than "The Golden Compass". "The Golden Compass" might have had better actors with better acting, but that was the only component that might have been better than "The Chronicles of Narnia". "The Golden Compass" used a lot of impressive computer animations, but the effects did not blend well with the environment. A lot of the special effects seem to be out of place, and the audience could clearly tell that the movie directors were just overshooting the visuals without merging with the rest of the environment. Although "The Chronicles of Narnia" focused most of its special effects on the battle scenes, it was well done. I would grade the use of special effects as a tie between both movies.

There are many failures of "The Golden Compass", but the fatal mistake was ending the movie too short. Many in the movie theatres did not realize that the movie actually ended until the end credits started to roll. As a person who already read the book, I felt that the movie version failed to translate the true literary image of Pullman's work into motion picture.

Some of the high remarks of "The Chronicles of Narnia" is the hyper emotional component in the plot. I grant that the acting was not the best, but the movie was able to synergize all other components of the film to successfully deliver the emotional shocks in critical moments. Regardless of age, all audience would have a close emotional tie with the film. I call this one of the best modern Disney productions. (Right behind "Enchanted", which has smartly exploited the Disney fairy tale theme to the next level)

I could go on and provide a more solid justification for my judgment, but after talking to all of my friends, many would agree that "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a better film than "The Golden Compass". Overall, I still enjoyed both movies. I am disappointed that the sequel for "The Golden Compass might not be in the works due to poor earnings from the first movie, but I am looking forward to the upcoming sequel for "The Chronicles of Narnia"!