''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is an animated

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

program that was broadcast in two parts on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on April 1 and 2, 1979, based on the 1950 novel '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

Plot

When four orphaned children Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter stumble into an old Wardrobe they find themselves in a magical land called Narnia with talking animals, fauns, hags, the Wicked White Witch and the great lion Aslan. There they meet the friendly Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, who help them on their quest to find Aslan the great lion. Only he can help save Lucy's friend Mr. Tumnus (the faun) from the White Witch. They have a fun mysterious time there, and ultimately end up ruling as kings and queens, until they end up back home. The Professor tells the children that they will return to Narnia one day.

Production notes

The rights to produce the television program were given to the Episcopal Radio TV Foundation in the mid-1950s when C.S. Lewis was recording the Episcopal Series of the Protestant Hour radio programs. Dr. Ted Baehr was elected President of the Episcopal Radio TV Foundation as ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' was preparing to be broadcast by CBS, and he supervised the distribution of the subsequent video. The CBS program had 37 million viewers and won two Emmy Awards.

Voices

UK version

* Lisa Moss as Lucy * Nicholas Barnes as Edmund * Stephen Garlick as Peter * Shelley Crowhurst as Susan * Sheila Hancock as Jadis - The

White Witch Jadis is the main antagonist of ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) and ''The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. She is commonly referred to as the White Witch in ''The Lion, the Witch and ...

* Arthur Lowe as Mr. Beaver *

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Cla ...

as Professor *

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

Mr. Tumnus Tumnus is a faun in the ''Narnia'' books written by C. S. Lewis, primarily in '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' but also briefly in ''The Horse and His Boy'' and in ''The Last Battle''. He is the first creature Lucy Pevensie meets in N ...

June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy '' Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...

as Mrs. Beaver *

Stephen Thorne Stephen John Thorne (2 March 1935 – 26 May 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings, and for his portrayals of several ''Doctor Who'' villains ...

as Aslan

US version

* Rachel Warren as Lucy * Susan Sokol as Susan * Reg Williams as Peter * Simon Adams as Edmund *

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet, and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

as Mr. Tumnus *

Dick Vosburgh Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was a Grammy-nominated, Tony-nominated American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain. Early life Vosburgh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He persuaded his ...

as Professor * Don Parker as Mr. Beaver * Liz Proud as Mrs. Beaver *

Beth Porter Beth Jane Porter (born May 23, 1942) is an American stage, film and television actress and writer, who has worked in Britain for most of her career. She became a British citizen in 2014. Early life Beth Porter made her first professional appea ...

as Jadis, The White Witch *

as Aslan The only actor to appear in both versions was Stephen Thorne (who voiced Aslan).

Differences between novel and animated film

*The meeting with Father Christmas, as well as the season's arrival, is omitted (though he is mentioned by some Talking Animals). Instead, Aslan gives the children their weapons. *There is a point in which eventually all four of the children enter the wardrobe (albeit two are still skeptical of Narnia). In the novel, this is in order to escape a housekeeper whom they do not like, but in the cartoon there is no specified reason. *The novel, and other adaptations, clearly portray the children as evacuees staying at the home of the Professor during World War II. In this cartoon, no particular reason is stated for them staying there. *No mention is made of World War II, and the clothing style of the children suggests a present-day setting. *Rather than ask Edmund what he would most like to eat (whereupon he chooses Turkish delight), as in the novel, The Witch simply offers him Turkish delight directly. *The wolf Captain of the White Witch's Secret Police is named "Fenris Ulf" (like in early American editions of the book) instead of "

Maugrim Maugrim is a fictional character in the 1950 novel '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' by C. S. Lewis. A Narnian wolf, he is the Captain of the White Witch's Secret Police. In early American editions of the book, Lewis changed the name to ...

". * Mrs. Macready, the Professor's housekeeper, was dropped from the film, and instead of the children being chased into the Wardrobe in the spare room, they all decided to try to get to Narnia all together after the Professor had discussed the truth about it with Peter and Susan. *The White Witch's dwarf was last seen before the battle and it is unknown what happened to him after the battle. *In the cartoon, the Minotaurs are on Aslan's side. In the novel, the Minotaurs work for the White Witch.

Releases

* Released on VHS in 1985 and 1991 and 1998. * Released on DVD on Region 1 and 2 in 2006.

VHS UK history

*'' Children's Video Library'' (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe 1970s American television miniseries 1979 television films 1979 films TV 1979 Television shows directed by Bill Melendez American television films Fantasy television films 1970s children's animated films Films based on fantasy novels