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 one is even superior to the 1988 BBC TV presentation, which was dull in story, shoddy in effects, less-than-mediocre casting, and horrible action. But I do wish the animation was better. However, the animators did do good on the expressions of the characters. Just as with the 2005 version, everything was as I had imagined, it's just that this was an animated feature, and that was a live action feature. That is the only difference. Some people might wonder why the only thing I dislike about it is the animation, and say that I should have given it a higher rating, since that was the only thing wrong with it. WRONG! With animated films, it is always very complicated to try to understand how to write a review on them. The animation in movies that are animated all the way through should at least mean something when you review them. With movies that are animated at only some parts, this opinion should not be used as much, because, more than likely, there is more live-action in the movie than there is animation.

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

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. Maestro Michael J. Lewis serves us an impressive and, at times, tear-jerkingly powerful musical score to energize the senses. Truly on par with Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams. 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!

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.