- “The Prisoner.”
- ―Otmin
General Otmin, or simply Otmin, is a major antagonist in the 2005 Disney/Walden Media adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He is a huge, black, male minotaur and the General of the White Witch's army. He is the undisputed leader of the minotaurs, a skilled tactician, a fierce warrior, and a loyal follower of Jadis the White Witch.
Background[]
Description[]
Otmin is much larger and more powerfully built than the other minotaurs, which are already large, powerful creatures. This fact may be why he is their leader, as the rest of the minotaurs both respect him and fear him. Otmin's fur is jet black, and his horns are white, and had gleaming silver metal tips on the end, which no doubt made them extra sharp, and, therefore, more dangerous in battle. Otmin's front was heavily armored, but his back was left bare, as was tradition for minotaurs, as wearing armor on their backs would indicate that they would consider retreating from the battlefield, which was shameful to their warrior culture. While most minotaurs fought with kopesh swords, flails, and single-bladed battle axes, Otmin fought with a double-bladed battle ax, which he carried by hand, and a huge falchion sword, which he carried in a scabbard on his back.
Personality[]
Otmin is shown to be an aggressive, vicious, warrior, and in battle, he is merciless towards his opponents. However, he is shown to be extremely loyal to Jadis, the White Witch, as he follows her orders, looks to her for permission to hit Aslan with his ax, and is quick to jump to her defense if she is threatened.
Role in the film[]
Otmin is first seen at the White Witch's camp, in Jadis' tent drawing up battle plans with her and a cyclops. When Oreius, the Centaur who was the General of Aslan's Army, leads a raid on the camp with several Narnian soldiers to save Edmund Pevensie, who was being held captive. Otmin hears the commotion outside and exclaims, "The Prisoner," and walks out with Jadis and sees many of their soldiers dead, which makes Otmin growl in anger, and Ginarrbrik tied to the tree where Edmund had been tied. Jadis frees the dwarf and turns to Otmin and says, "We have work to do."
Otmin travels with Jadis to Aslan's camp, along with several of his fellow minotaurs acting as her bodyguards, four cyclopses, carrying her throne, and Ginarrbrik, announcing her arrival. Otmin is quick to jump to Jadis' defense when Peter Pevensie threatens her when she claims Edmund's life as her property, by taking up his ax and snarling at Peter.
Otmin is present at the Stone Table when Aslan sacrifices himself to the White Witch in Edmund's place. Otmin is the first to walk up to the Great Lion and pokes him with the handle of his ax, which causes Aslan to growl at him. After looking to Jadis for permission, Otmin knocks Aslan down with his ax. He takes delight in watching the Great Lion be tortured, humiliated, and killed. After Jadis kills Aslan, she orders him to ready their soldiers for the upcoming battle, which he eagerly does with a battle cry.
At the start of the first Battle of Beruna, Otmin was at the head of the White Witch's army. He roared and raised his battle-ax, signaling the rest of the army to come forward. The White Witch's army greatly outnumbered the Narnian army. Jadis told Otmin she wanted all the Narnians dead, and the latter obliged.
Otmin led about half of Jadis' troops, which still outnumbered the Narnian troops, as the first wave to wear-out the Narnians. Otmin alone noticed the Gryphons and Eagles from the Narnian side flying overhead preparing to drop boulders on them, and shouted to his fellow soldiers to "LOOK TO THE SKY!" Otmin managed to avoid the rocks and continued to charge fiercely into battle, pulling out his falcion and killing several centaurs by slicing through their torsos and sending them tumbling.
Otmin's final scene was when he fought against Oreius, who was going after Jadis in an attempt to save Peter, who had been thrown from his unicorn and badly hurt. Oreius and Otmin charged fiercely, but bravely, at each other, the latter even snarling at the former. Oreius knocked Otmin's ax out of his hands, but the minotaur grabbed a tight hold onto the centaur's side. Oreius tried to shake Otmin loose, even slamming him into a boulder, but the minotaur still clung tightly onto the centaur's side as they rode through the battlefield together.
In the end, when Otmin was reaching for his falcion, Oreius stabbed the minotaur in his exposed back with his two short swords. Otmin released his grip on Oreius and fell down dead, face first onto the grassy battle ground with the centaur's swords still stuck in his back.
Video game appearances[]
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe[]
Otmin is the boss on the "Battle of Beruna" level. He is fought in the fourth part of the level after the player defeats the bad giants approaching the player's reinforcements. After the player depletes his health during battle by performing a number of special moves, Oreius manages to kill him to help Peter and Edmund during battle, just like he did in the film.
Trivia[]
- Otmin was a character created for the movie. His name was never mentioned, Jadis only addressed him as "General."
- Otmin was not mentioned in the book; however, there are minotaurs mentioned in the book.
- In the Extended Edition of the film during the Battle of Beruna, the duel between Oreius and Otmin was extended, adding additional shots of Otmin ramming into Oreius to which he gets pushed to a boulder followed by Oreius tossing his sword midair as Otmin tries to catch it but Oreius catches it just before Oreius kills him.
External links[]
Otmin on Narnia Wiki
