Search - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on DVD

Emmy-winning adaptation of a childhood favorite

Darren Harrison | Washington D.C. | 05/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Winning a 1979 Emmy award for "Outstanding Animated Program" (executive producer David D. Connell and producer Steven Cuitlahuac Melendez) and being nominated for a second in Outstanding Individual Achievement - Animation Program" (writers Bill Melendez and Connell), this animated version of the C.S. Lewis book holds a special place in my heart - it was the adaptation that introduced me to Narnia.
Directed by Bill Melendez (the man who gave us the Charlie Brown and Peanuts movies) this cartoon is beautiful in its simplicity. Of course to am eight-year old the Christian imagery was not apparent, but what I do remember through the clouds of nostalgia is being entranced by the magic and the adventure. Made for television it was one of those movies tha tbecame a perennial favorite for British television during the movie-heavy Christmas period and was one that I eagerly awaited (this was after all the days before the mass ownership of VCR's.) So, it was with a mixture of excitement and nervous anticipation that I picked up my copy - and I was not disappointed.
Of course for big-screen spectacle nothing can really match the 2005 Disney blockbuster of the same name (which has become Disney's most successful live-action movie ever with grosses over $740 million and has a second movie PRINCE CASPIAN prepping for a summer 2008 release,) but for simple storytelling and involving characters this animated movie is successful in what it sets out to do.
Featuring clever narration by the leads, dead-on expression by the characters and lines taken from the Lewis book this movie succeeds in making a faithful, good adaptation in 95 minutes.
This version also features two of the most recognizable voices from British television of this era in Leslie Phillips as Mr. Timnus and Leo McKern as the professor, amongst a cast of largely unknowns.
The animation can appear inconsistent at times but the drawing style is both unique and enchanting. This is a far better work than the BBC production, which featured terrible production design and acting and perhaps the most fake-looking Aslan possible.
The story is well-known but for those who are unfamiliar with the novel or the adaptations the story revolves around four children who are sent to live with a professor. There they find a passage to a mysterious land known as Narnia through the back of a giant wardrobe. Narnia is a world in a state of perpetual winter due to the rule of the evil White Witch. But, the childrens arrival has been foretold and a determined group of magical creatures, led by the noble lion Aslan believe they are the ones predicted to deliver Narnia from the witch's iron grip.
This is a "kid-safe" production that parents need not worry about showing to their children, the action scenes are done just right and the dark moments are not taken too seriously, and yet there is enough intellect in the exposition to satisfy adults.
The music by Michael J. Lewis is also a highlight which is full of light and fits the scenes perfectly.
There are two versions of this movie available on DVD. In an unusual move the cheaper of the two is actually better. Whereas the more expensive version clocking in at just under $25 has only some trailers, the cheaper one (for about $14 or less) has information on Lewis and the Narnia books). Certainly the cover and menu's may be better on the more expensive one, but other than that the cheaper version is the easier one to recommend."