The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe poster & wallpaper

Sesame Workshop

C.S. Lewis's beloved children's fantasy is as delicate as a Fabergé egg, and bringing it to film has tons of inherent risks. Faithfulness is not the problem in this live-action version from WonderWork...( read more  read more... )s, but pacing most certainly is. This realization is poky at times when it should be absolutely riveting, and yet it manages to be diverting during sequences that are primarily set-up or exposition. Four young children travel through an attic wardrobe to the magical land of Narnia. There, the White Witch keeps it "always winter and never Christmas," but her rule is in jeopardy as the fabled lord of the land, a huge lion named Aslan, is rumored to have returned. Sadly, near the end of the film, it's almost possible to hear the production team debating just where to spend its cash. They gave it their all to create the lion Aslan but had to settle for rudimentary animation for many of the truly magical creatures of Narnia. Suffice it to say, it's a nice try. --Keith Simanton

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60% liked it

58,882 ratings

Unrated, 95 min.

Directed by: Bill Melendez

Release Date: April 1, 1979

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DVD Release Date: November 2, 2004

Stats: 966 reviews

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Will as Peter in the muddle of the Battle Scene. Lucy at Mr. Tumnus' House
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Flixster Reviews (966)

  • AgentLexi2132
    February 3, 2008
    AgentLexi2132
    Pending Review...

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  • jsd35
    August 27, 2007
    jsd35
    Cheap animation, yes, but wonderfully spirited adaptation of the novel - and even though it edits out some stuff and changes the name of a character, it comes closer to the spirit of the book than the Disney version. ... Though I have to admit a certain bias: the version with US ...( read more)voice-over really grates (though I think it was done first) - the voices simply don't match the characters.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 15, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    A great animated version of the Narnia tale, which sparked my imagination.
  • Collegekid
    December 28, 2006
    Collegekid
    A good kids show.
  • brandonmachew
    August 1, 2006
    brandonmachew
    My favorite Cartoon as a child. This movie is absolutely amazing. The animation may not be great but the talen within the film is really, really good. Story is captivating. The New film version is based very much off of this animated version.
  • clairebear44
    November 17, 2009
    clairebear44
    I watched this so many times growing up and I used to love it. But honestly, apart from being close the story, this isn't very good. The animation isn't fantastic and the voices aren't all that great either.
  • ruthv13
    October 23, 2009
    ruthv13
    awesome movie!!that's all I can say!!
  • TomBowler
    October 19, 2009
    TomBowler
    Even though this film holds a sort of special place in my heart from my childhood, that doesn't make it good. It's pretty darn close to the book which is the one thing it can boast to the new and improved edition, but this doesn't really help. Seeing as it's a kids film, designed...( read more) specifically to be as G as cartoonly possible, don't be looking for anything amazing here. The writers have taken some liberties with the script, such as the child and lion dance after the stone table incident, and these are mostly good. However, you'll only really like it if you're five.

    Defining Scene:
    The first time Aslan is revealed.
  • zhaozhenmm
    August 14, 2009
    zhaozhenmm
    good and exciting!!!
  • lightxl
    August 11, 2009
    lightxl
    ive only seen the live action so it must be good!

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Trivia

The Lion, the Witch, and the Ward... Trivia

  • Which movie has 4 children end up being kings and queens after fighting a witch  Answer »
  • In which movie (based on a novel) are children called" Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve"?  Answer »
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had two fake working titles. What were they?   Answer »
  • fill in the blanks to create a new movie Dawn of ___ dead the ____ the witch and the wardrobe lord of the rings: the return of the ____  Answer »
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