Der König von Narnia

This fable is wonderful. We have 4 young children: Peter(Richard Dempsey), Susan(Sophie Cook), Edmund(Jonathan R. Scott) and Lucy(Sophie Wilcox); taken from London in 1940 to avoid the onslaught of the German Luftwaffe. They arrive at an old manor house in the country where they meet a kindly old professor(Michael Aldridge). The boys aren't thrilled by the empty and damp house, but the youngest, Lucy, is enchanted. They decide to explore the grounds, but have to explore the house instead of the grounds, due to a rainstorm. Lucy discovers a large, decorative wardrobe which appears to be made out of oak or some other hardwood. She goes in and is transported to another world. A world of witches, nymphs, talking fawns and other wonders. She can't convince her brothers and sister, but eventually as they are trying to avoid the stern governess, Mrs. McCready(Maureen Morris), they follow Lucy into the world. Then the real adventure begins.

This fable is layered with metaphors and symbolism. C.S. Lewis became a dedicated Christian late in life and the symbolism in the story shows his faith, as well being a good story.

All of the young people and others portray their roles with gusto. A couple of the actors go over the top, but it adds to the story. But the one that caught my eye was young Sophie Wilcox who played Lucy. This child was so animated. The range of her emotions traveled from joy to sadness to anger and back again. Lucy was portrayed as an innocent defending her family and loyal to her friends. There was no guile in her. Then there was her brother, Jonathan R. Scott(Edmund), who betrayed the family to the "White Witch"(Barbara Kellerman), because of anger and greed. The love of his family and King Aslan(William Todd Jones) saves him.

The special affects were the affects that were popular during the late 80s. Not as spectacular as in the Harry Potter movies, but the engineering of Aslan as a large male lion was wonderful.

I'm 44 and I recommend this film to anyone who wishes to go back and relive some wonderful childhood moments.

Laura

Being from America I remember this film when I was very young, honestly it was great for my young mind. Then after the movie I read all the books, great books if you haven't read them you should.

Now as a adult I see many people have never heard of the movie and when they see it they mock it, but to me its still great this is one of few movies that are remotely close to the book , I do suggest to everyone who loves the books they get this movie or rent it, give it a try. What will it hurt, not much I know. Just because its a old film doesn't mean it will suck , and just because it didn't have a big TV budget doesn't mean it will be bad.

Disney's upcoming movie is certainly an exciting prospect; I know it will be excellent since WETA is involved. (They did all of the Lord of the Rings props and costumes and more.) Many of us who look forward to the 2005 film fondly remember growing up with the BBC "WonderWorks" version from 1988. The best way to watch this movie is: not after Lord of the Rings. I mean it. You are spoiling it for yourself if you go into it expecting too much.

The worst thing about this film is definitely the effects. Most of them you can move beyond if you try to have a pre-Toy-Story-revolutionized-world attitude. The worst thing for me was the green-screen flying sequence. Even with an open mind, that one's tough.

Aslan actually looks pretty lion-ey until he talks, then you have to try to concentrate anywhere but his mouth. Anyone remember "Wishbone," the PBS beagle-mutt who took us all on adventures in classic literature? His mouth didn't move at all, and by the third or fourth episode, you believed it without a problem. If you have patience, Aslan gets better as the movie progresses. He falls a little short of "majestic," but the Stone Table scene had me in tears even when I was past the cry-in-Free-Willy age. (The Beavers also take a little imagination -- but come on, it was 1988... how else do you do a Beaver who talks and acts?

Those few less-than-stellar aspects aside, this movie was fantastically done. The acting was definitely the strongest point. The Professor was hands-down the best character as far as performance goes, though he was in it little, but the others were all good too. Barbara Kellerman as the White Witch was excellent as well; I think that of all the comparisons between this film and the upcoming version, the White Witch will be the hardest for me to accept. I mean sure, they can beat the all technical stuff without any effort at all, but can the new White Witch be quite as regally evil? We'll see. The four children are very naturally good, they act just like four young British children who come upon such and adventure would act. (Which is a much bigger accomplishment than it sounds, and not all that common. Can anyone say nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker?)

Also, the script is taken from the book nearly verbatim, which gives is much credibility. Anyone who feels the need to improve upon C.S. Lewis loses a few points in my book.

Long story short, if you have the ability to forget you've seen computer-animated creatures interact flawlessly with live action, and you can use your imagination a little, then you will enjoy this beautifully crafted tale. Although, I do recommend trying to see it BEFORE you catch Disney's in December. :-D

I've watched this a zillion times with my kids, and never tired of it. But I wonder now what it will seem like after having seen the big-budget 2005 Narnia. While my kids adored the modern version, I found it lacked the charm/continuity of this the 1988 BBC version. In the modern Narnia I hated the father Xmas scene, also the initial scene of Lucy and the fawn. By the way I'd never realised there were religious undertones to TLWATW, I still think you have to look really hard. I'm writing this without having read other recent comments so look forward to see how many of you preferred the old version.

Keep looking for Narnia!

Every child has a memory of a TV programme they watched when they were little and played it back for as long as they can remember and it always reminds them of the good times in their childhood. CS Lewis's Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe was one of them for me. I watched Rainbow, Simon and the Witch, T-Bag, Rod Hull and EMU along with Grottbags but Lion Witch and the wardrobe brings back the best.

I was never to much fussed or even liked Prince Caspian and The Silver Chair but this was a childhood masterpiece and also classic. The witch is still the most scariest thing I have ever witnessed, even in my adulthood the thought of her voice sends shivers down my spine. I always thought Aslan was a dark character as the Lion. The scene where it is night and he sends Lucy and Susan away and he lies onto the stone table awaiting the Witch to come and take his life in a bargain that she would release Edmund from her powers still keeps in my head as it was one of those famous scary scenes from kid programs.

I now have the box set of the entire films that were made and I have taken a liken to Prince Caspian but still no luck on The Silver Chair but with the movies coming along soon then I could be changed which will probably be the case as the whole thing is supposed to give Lord of the Rings a run for it's money which will be interesting to see.

Not matter how Good the new Lion, Witch and Wardrobe will be this is will always have a place in my heart for making my life as a child enjoyable one as it kept me excited every Sunday evening when they showed each episode on BBC One and I will always think of that Witch.