The movie ends exactly like the book (there's some minor changes in Professor Kirk's dialog to hint more strongly at the fact he's been to Narnia himself, (which, of course, Lewis hadn't thought of yet when he originally wrote the book) but that's it. And yeah, I always thought it must have been weird and strange, but I guess the implication is that their Narnian memories quickly become dreamlike to them when they're back in England.
And yes, they do go back, a year or so later their time, to discover that hundreds of years have passed in Narnia. (Lucy and Edmund go back yet a third time before Aslan tells them they're too old.)
I very much liked that the movie hinted at causes for Edmund's behavior, something the book mentions only once in passing. But when I was a kid, reading the books, that never bothered me. Nor did the comparative lack of explanation for why the children were special to Narnia. When we're kids, we naturally assume we're the center of the universe. If we go to a magical kingdom, of COURSE we'll be the long-prophecied hero. Almost all kids-go-to-magic-country books are like that.
no subject
And yes, they do go back, a year or so later their time, to discover that hundreds of years have passed in Narnia. (Lucy and Edmund go back yet a third time before Aslan tells them they're too old.)
I very much liked that the movie hinted at causes for Edmund's behavior, something the book mentions only once in passing. But when I was a kid, reading the books, that never bothered me. Nor did the comparative lack of explanation for why the children were special to Narnia. When we're kids, we naturally assume we're the center of the universe. If we go to a magical kingdom, of COURSE we'll be the long-prophecied hero. Almost all kids-go-to-magic-country books are like that.