Ivan Head wonders why we linger on a fly in the film of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and discovers a possible link to 19th Century American poet, Emily Dickinson.

Now that a cinema has come to Narnia, at least to its outskirts, it is not surprising that visitors to Narnia pass through a curtain of advertising for franchised meals and drinks before the titles appear. Even a magical kingdom needs an economy. But I would like to comment on one aspect of the film itself.

In the film version of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, some significance must be attached to the Fly that appears just before Lucy enters the wardrobe for the first time. The Fly is on-image for about three seconds, and we have to decide to notice it and not dismiss it as trivial. Three seconds is not much, but in the book, it gets even less.

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