The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (TV 1979)

Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a lion messiah.

Director:

Bill Melendez

Writers:

C.S. Lewis, David D. Connell (story),

Stars:

Simon Adams, Nicholas Barnes, Sheila Hancock

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Simon Adams	...	Edmund (voice)
Nicholas Barnes	...	Edmund (voice)
Sheila Hancock	...	Jadis - The White Witch (voice)
Arthur Lowe	...	Mr. Beaver (voice)
Leo McKern	...	Professor (voice)
Don Parker	...	Mr. Beaver (voice)
Leslie Phillips	...	Mr. Tumnus (voice)
Beth Porter	...	Jadis, The White Witch (voice)
Liz Proud	...	Mrs. Beaver (voice)
Susan Sokol	...	Susan (voice)
Victor Spinetti	...	Mr. Tumnus (voice)
Stephen Thorne	...	Aslan (voice)
Dick Vosburgh	...	Professor (voice)
Rachel Warren	...	Lucy (voice)
June Whitfield	...	Mrs. Beaver (voice)

Storyline

Four children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are evacuated to the country in World War 2. They stay in a large house owned by an old Professor. First Lucy, then Edmund, then all four children find their way through an old wardrobe into Narnia, a magical land with talking animals and mythical creatures such as fauns and dwarves. But Narnia is held under a magical spell by the evil White Witch to ensure it's always winter but never Christmas. The children have to battle evil creatures and deal with betrayal and treachery but make many good friends as well. Finally, with the help of Aslan (The Lion) they defeat the evil witch and spring and freedom come back to Narnia.

---

Plot Keywords:

narnia | children | wardrobe | lion | christmas | 

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

---

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der König von Narnia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Children's Television Workshop (CTW), Bill Melendez Productions, TVC London

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Lucy: You're not a bad faun at all! You're the nicest faun I've ever met.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Jack Frost (1997)

User Reviews

Probably the ONLY version of this story that works, and works well.

From the director of the Charlie Brown and Peanuts movies, comes this funny, delightful little cartoon adaptation of the classic C.S. Lewis novel. Although made for television, it still holds a bright candle to the book itself. With such clever narration by the lead voices, and the expressions given to the characters, this one delivers a gold trophy. Every line, and action is directly from the book, and portrayed well. Beth Porter certainly supplies the most fun as the voice of the desperate white witch. All other character voices are pleasant and appropriate. The running time is not three hours, so they managed to fit an entire story into the cartoon. You are actually watching the novel, and all things that C.S. Lewis may have written in the novel, that cannot be stated by the characters, is well implied. This TV special is probably the only version that could possibly work as well as it did. The voices fit the actions as dead on as perfection, and the dark moments are not taken too seriously. This make for a good animated adaptation!