| | | |Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media Present...
Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.33:1, Spanish, French, Dubbed & Subtitled
Children escaping from the realities of war find themselves battling evil in an enchanted fantasy world in this made-for-TV drama. During the height of World War II, four children -- Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy -- are evacuated from London and find themselves staying in a small castle in the country owned by a mysterious professor. While playing in the attic, the kids discover an old wardrobe, and when they walk inside, they''re transported to the mythical land of Narnia. In Narnia, the wicked White Witch has taken control, and now the nation is in a constant state of winter (and without any Christmas to make the snowy period tolerable). Guided by Aslan, a talking lion, the children set out on a crusade to defeat the White Witch and banish her from Narnia.
"Spectacular epic film-making fills the screen. And your heart." Joel Siegel, Good Morning America
"What's best about it is that it seems real by the logic of childhood...As a story, it's timeless." Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times
"An entertaining, emotional, and surprisingly intimate movie--an epic saga of fauns and talking (Cockney) beavers..." David Edelstein, Slate
"A generation-spanning journey that feels both comfortingly familiar and excitingly original." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
"Plunges into an imaginative landscape as large as all creation - and never slackens its barreling pace or shrinks its panoramic scope." Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun
"A movie of intelligence and power, of beauty, universality and largeness of spirit." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"Well told, handsome, stirring and loads of fun." Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post
Editor's Note
Director Andrew Adamson gives a new dimension to C.S. Lewis's enchanting story with this long-awaited Disney adaptation. As the story begins, Mrs. Pevensie--in order to keep her children safe during World War II--sends Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmond (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) off to stay at a professor's country estate. Away from London and under the care of a strict housekeeper, they are instructed to stick to themselves and stay out of trouble. But when an innocent game of hide-and-seek leads young Lucy to a spare room containing a large wardrobe, she discovers something that will change their lives forever. Inside the wardrobe there is a world frosted with ice and filled with magical beings. Known as Narnia, the land is stuck in eternal winter at the hands of the cruel White Witch, played with great force by the pale, strong-featured Tilda Swinton. When she steps back into reality, Lucy struggles to convince her skeptical siblings of the things she's seen. After much disbelief, the others finally enter the world as well, learning that the creatures of Narnia have long been waiting for humans like themselves to appear and break the witch's spell. But in order to be of any help to the lovable talking beavers, fawns, foxes, and centaurs that they meet, the four will have to face betrayal by one of their own as Edmond cracks under the witch's tempting offer of unlimited Turkish Delights. Under the leadership of the great lion Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), can Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and the oldest, Peter, prove themselves heroes in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil? High-budget special effects, impressive performances by the film's young newcomers, and beautiful set design move this film far beyond previous television adaptations.
| Features | Bloopers | | Discover Narnia Fun Facts | | Kidsand Director Commentary | | Filmmaker's Commentary | | Full Screen Presentation | | Audio: English Dolby Digital (5.1); DTS Dolby Digital Surround | | Subtitles: Spanish, French |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 3/28/2008 |
| Running Time: 135 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2005 | | Catalog ID: 4098603 | | UPC: 00786936292916 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | Grammy, Harry Gregson-Williams, Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | | | Grammy, Imogen Heap, Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | |
Winner (2006) | | | British Academy Awards, Howard Berger, et. al., Best Make Up/Hair | |
Nominee (2006) | | | British Academy Awards, Dean Wright, et. al., Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects | | | British Academy Awards, Isis Mussenden, Best Costume Design | | | Golden Globe, Harry Gregson-Williams, Best Original Score - Motion Picture | | | Golden Globe, Alanis Morissette, Best Original Song - Motion Picture | | | MTV Award, Tilda Swinton, Best Villain | |
Winner (2006) | | | Oscar, Howard Berger, Tami Lane, Best Achievement in Makeup | |
Nominee (2006) | | | Oscar, Terry Porter, et. al., Best Achievement in Sound Mixing | | | Oscar, Dean Wright, et. al., Best Achievement in Visual Effects |
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[The film] remains remarkably faithful to Lewis' story, and the innocence of his passion begins to shine through. It's there, most spectacularly, in Aslan, the lion-king messiah." -- Grade: B 12/16/2005 p.59-60New York Times
"[T]he spirit of the book is very much intact....[The film uses] available technology to capture both the mythic power of Lewis's tale and, even better, its charm." 12/09/2005 p.E1-E13 USA Today
"Its epic scope and elaborate battles will raise comparisons with Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy..." 12/09/2005 p.8E Sight and Sound
"[Swinton] is magisterially wonderful as the witch-queen of Narnia." 02/01/2006 p.47 Premiere
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "[W]e get dazzling special effects, battle sequences, and a menagerie of cool creatures." 05/01/2006 p.93 ReelViews 8 of 10
This marks the fifth time that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been adapted, but the first time it has been accomplished as a major motion picture...The acting is fine, although lacking in the recognition category. The biggest stars are Tilda Swinton and Jim Broadbent, neither of whom would be considered a "household name." Swinton does a good job boosting the evil quotient of her character, while Broadbent's part qualifies as little more than a heavily made-up cameo. As previously mentioned, Liam Neeson has a sizeable vocal part. Also lending their voices are Rupert Everett and Ray Winstone. Three of the four children are portrayed by actors in their first major roles. Only Anna Popplewell has a prior resume...It's difficult to determine how audiences will react to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Those expecting something in the vein of Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings will not be satisfied. Much has been made about the movie's "Christian connections." However, while it's true that Lewis' books are allegorical (with Aslan representing Christ), the movie doesn't hammer home this point. It's on-screen for those on the lookout, but I can't imagine anyone considering this a "religious picture." It's fantasy lite - a story with dwarves, giants, minotaurs, cyclopses, and witches that can be enjoyed by families. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The film has been directed by Andrew Adamson, who directed both of the "Shrek" movies and supervised the special effects on both of Joel Schumacher's "Batman" movies. He knows his way around both comedy and action, and here combines them in a way that makes Narnia a charming place with fearsome interludes...The effects in this movie are so skillful that the animals look about as real as any of the other characters, and the critic Emanuel Levy explains the secret: "Aslan speaks in a natural, organic manner (which meant mapping the movement of his speech unto the whole musculature of the animal, not just his mouth)." Aslan is neither as frankly animated as the Lion King or as real as the cheetah in "Duma," but halfway in between, as if an animal were inhabited by an archbishop...This is a film situated precisely on the dividing line between traditional family entertainment and the newer action-oriented family films. It is charming and scary in about equal measure, and confident for the first two acts that it can be wonderful without having to hammer us into enjoying it, or else. Then it starts hammering. Some of the scenes toward the end push the edge of the PG envelope, and like the "Harry Potter" series, the Narnia stories may eventually tilt over into R. - Roger Ebert
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