Der König von Narnia

C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" will forever remain one of the most timeless allegories, and stories in fiction, and lessons ever written. It was inevitable that this gem of a story be done for the sake of media, and no better a way to have been done as so in 1979. Featuring the voices of unknowns, this animated version, done by the "Peanuts" gang, put together drawn sequences, and still frames to piece together a wonderfully told version.

The story revolves around young Lucy, who enters the land of Narnia through an old wardrobe at the house of a professor which they are staying at during the war. Naturally, she shows this world to her siblings, exciting and dangerous adventures follow. Great story kids are able to follow but even more fun for older people as well. The story is told to perfection, as most every line is directly from the book, and given in such realism, it is hard to believe you are watching a small television program, and not something more. The action scenes are just right for the kiddies and the exposition scenes are full of enough intellect for adults to boot.

Music score is beautiful, and full of life, like "Narnia." I am an adult and I still love this film, cannot get enough of it. Great especially for film buffs or those like myself who enjoy talking about films to that level.

10/10

This version is by far the best and most faithful to the original books, including the new one Disney just put out. Though a few things are missing and one or two changed, it is 90% true to the book with a good portion of the dialogue. True, the animation is from the 70s but that makes it even safer for younger kids and I still find it enjoyable. The voice characterizations were incredibly on the money. The witch seemed to come straight off of the pages of the book as did Aslan. The musical score for this production is absolutely beautiful and captures the feeling of Narnia, and should not be overlooked. The scene beginning with the girls following Aslan to the stone table and culminating with his death was portrayed very tastefully yet powerfully. I can never watch it without crying. My children and I have seen all of the versions (including Disney's latest) and this one is by far the favorite. A classic.

To the reviewer who argued that this animated feature does not capture the essence of the novel, I must say I am astounded at such a claim. I must say I have never seen a better translation of spirit from page to screen, and it is a shame this film was not theatrically released, and more well-known. When I saw the BBC production, I was horrified. Not because of the production value (I rather prefer lower-budget, more theatrical presentations), but due to the poor and often outright terrible acting, as well as the very bad choices in handling the material.

Case in point was the six-foot tall man, and five-foot tall woman, in beaver costumes with the faces cut out! Why not be more realistic by having actual beavers in the shots? I am not saying they should have pulled a "Mr. Ed" and inserted footage of animals eating, with looped dialogue, but just to show the real animals, and have their voices spoken almost by telepathy would be much preferred, if not more faithful to the novel's depictions. I must say as it was, I could not help but be half-disgusted, half rolling in the floor laughing at that choice of production design.

Also, why did the filmmakers go out on a limb to invent new scenes for the film that were not in the novel? Those additions only served to water down the source material, and give it a plodding, dull feeling. Did the screenwriter really feel it necessary to take an hour-and-a-half long story, and double it to three hours running length? That must have been a mandate from the BBC, just so they could use up an extra hour-and-a-half worth of airtime they know would be heavily watched. And as for the lack of Christian allegory the other reviewer mentioned, I must say again I am shocked. In my opinion the BBC version was the one that glossed over this aspect, while the animated one almost hits you over the head with it. Not that I am complaining, because I find this particular allegory the best ever produced in a narrative form, excepting maybe The Green Mile, but I am just arguing that due to the inflections of speech, compositions of shots, et cetera, this animated film definitely delivered allegorically. Even at the age of 10 when I first viewed this, I could not miss this point. I hope that everyone looking to give this story a try in screen form will look to the animated version first and foremost. The BBC versions are a curiosity at best. Now, if only the 1960's television version would surface somewhere...

I was 7 when this film came on television so I was able to watch it when it first aired. I recall falling deeply in love with this fantasy story as a child and was given the entire 7 book collection as a gift. Needless to say, I read the entire collection because of my love for this made-for-TV Movie. I do not personally have the books but the are still in the family.

This old TV film is a good watch but I will admit that it is not perfect yet it is a good classic TV film for kids and adults alike.

If you liked the older animated dramas like "The Hobbit (TV Movie 1977)", "The Black Cauldron", "The Secret of NIMH" or "The Last Unicorn" then you might like this TV movie classic The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (1979).

9/10

This is one of the best animated films I've ever seen. C.S. Lewis' classic book comes alive with vigor and fun. I recommend this to anyone who has read books by Lewis, and especially to fans of the Chronicles of Narnia. The illistrations are exceptional and the music is very good.