The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (animated)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an animated television program based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Originally a British production, a version was made for US TV with American voices replacing the British voices.

Plot
The episode starts with the grown ups getting ready to spend an evening out. Angelica then asks her mother to buy her a new Cynthia dress, but Charlotte says no since she had already bought her a dress not too long ago. Tommy's Uncle Ben and Aunt Elaine then arrive, having agreed to watch the babies and Angelica while their parents are out. They want to have practice with taking care of kids, as they have decided that they want to have children of their own. Betty wishes Ben and Elaine luck, but this doesn't discourage the couple (or, at least, Elaine), as they had already planned every minute of their day in a schedule and even bought the babies new clothes. The new clothes annoys Angelica, as she is still angry over not getting her new dress, and she states to herself that babies don't even need clothes anyways, as they are happy without them. When she hears that Tommy's uncle and aunt want to have a baby, she gets an idea; as soon as the adults leave, Angelica tells the babies that by saying that they want their own baby, Ben and Elaine meant that they wanted to take one of them away. Horrified at the idea of being separated from their parents, Tommy tells his friends that they need to be the opposite of what Ben and Elaine expect of them, meaning that they have to behave horribly so that they will lose interest and won't take any of them.

Meanwhile, Elaine comes in and tries to tell a story to the babies, but they start crying and screaming nonstop and don't let Elaine speak. She gives up and Ben suggests changing the schedule and move on to the diaper change in an attempt to calm them down, believing that the babies are fuzzy because they need changing. Once again, the kids run around screaming in Tommy's room, forcing Elaine and Ben to chase after them (except for Chuckie, who is already toilet trained, so he just sits quietly and covers his ears from all the noise going around him) and forcibly change them and also put on the new clothes on all of them; Chuckie is dressed in an old fashioned french suit, Tommy in an uncomfortable, girly onesie, Lil in a pink dress with a large yellow bow and Phil in blue pants, a white shirt and a blue cap, much to their chagrin.

Finally, Elaine decides it's time to feed the kids and tells them that since they have new clothes, they need to stay clean, but this only results in the babies throwing food at the adults, themselves and the entire house, which finally breaks Elaine, and she and Ben leave the babies in the kitchen and sit in the living room in misery. Angelica takes the chance to make a deal with them; if she manages to get the babies to behave, they take her to the Cynthia store and get her the dresses she wants. Not having any other choice, they accept and Angelica leaves for the kitchen, where she tells the babies to stop since they don't need to be bad anymore; Elaine and Ben decided that they don't want any babies after all. The babies stop but feel sad at the idea of Elaine and Ben not wanting to be parents anymore and feel guilty for their actions, so they crawl out of their high chairs and decide to apologize to the adults by hugging them, which makes Elaine happy again.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy enter the wardrobe and appear in Narnia. During this time, Edmund unwittingly reveals that he really was there before, causing Peter to yell at him. Lucy then leads them to Mr. Tumnus' Cave, but it has been broken into and smashed. It turns out he has been arrested for not handing Lucy over to the Witch. They then see a beaver, who leads them over to his house. After dinner, Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver say that Mr. Tumnus has been taken to the Witch's castle and turned to stone, but fortunately Aslan is on the move. Aslan is a mystical lion who is the true king of Narnia, and they will meet him at the Stone Table because of a prophecy. It is said that if four humans sit on the four thrones at Cair Paravel (two "sons of Adam" and two "daughters of Eve") then the Witch's reign and life will end.

Edmund appears to be missing. The beavers know he has gone to the Witch's house. When he reaches there, Edmund sees statues all over the courtyard. He encounters a wolf, Fenris Ulf, the chief of the Witch's secret police, and enters. When he sees the Witch, she gets angry over him coming alone, but he tells them where the others are and that Aslan is on the move. The Witch heads out on her sleigh, setting the harness without bells, taking Edmund with her, and orders Fenris Ulf and his wolves to go to the beavers' house, kill whatever they find, and then head to the Stone Table to kill the humans should they manage to overtake them.

By the time the wolves reach the beavers' house, everyone is already heading for the Stone Table. They hide in a cave in the ground, but hear bells. Mr. Beaver goes to check, thinking it's the Witch, but it isn't her at all, but Father Christmas, who has given a fox and some other creatures some food. They continue on their journey, but the witch is right behind them. She reaches the fox and his friends, and when she learns where they got the food from, she becomes enraged and turns all of them into stone. By this time, the snow is starting to melt, preventing the Witch from using her sledge, so they walk. The dwarf realizes that Aslan is behind her winter being destroyed, but when he mentions this, she threatens to kill the next one to mention Aslan's name.

Peter, Susan, Lucy and the beavers finally reach the Stone Table and meet Aslan, who gives them gifts. Peter gets a sword and a shield; Susan gets a bow, arrows and a horn, which will call help of some kind to her; Lucy gets a dagger and a small cordial of juice that will heal any injury. Aslan shows Peter the castle of Cair Paravel, where he will be the high king. He suddenly hears Susan's horn, and sees her being threatened by Fenris Ulf. Peter fights the wolf and kills him, and Aslan spots another wolf running away, and sends several creatures after him, knowing that he will be heading back to the White Witch and Edmund. Aslan then makes Peter a knight.

The Witch hears from the wolf about Fenris Ulf's death, and is about to kill Edmund when the rescue party arrives and stops her. They find Edmund and take him to the Stone Table, but the Witch and dwarf stay hidden by pretending to be a boulder and a stump. Later, the dwarf tells Aslan that the Witch would like to see him. Aslan agrees, on the condition that the Witch leave her wand behind. She does, and tells Aslan that Edmund is a traitor and she must kill him or else, according to the Deep Magic, Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. Aslan talks with the Witch, and she is convinced to renounce the claim on Edmund's blood. When she asks how she knows that his promise will be kept, he roars at her and she runs off.

Aslan instructs Peter on how to fight in the battle, but when Peter asks him if he's going to be there, Aslan says he might not be. That night, Lucy and Susan have trouble sleeping, so they go and find Aslan, who appears to be walking somewhere. He says they can come with him, but tells them to stop when they reach the Stone Table. when he arrives there, the Witch is waiting for him with her followers, and they have him tied up, shaved, and a muzzle placed on him. Apparently, the witch had agreed for Aslan to be killed instead of Edmund. She then stabs Aslan dead with a dagger, and she and her followers head for battle.

Once they're alone, Lucy and Susan take the muzzle off, and mice nibble away at the cords. Later, the Stone Table cracks, and Aslan reappears, alive and well, with his mane grown back. He says that there is an even deeper magic, which states that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Stone Table will crack and death will work backwards. Aslan, Lucy and Susan then head over to the Bronx Central Park Zoo, and Aslan restores cut and smash animal enclosures all the animals, including Mr. Tumnus, back to life. They then head over to the battle, animals to the rescue where the Witch is turning Aslan's Army into stone. Edmund breaks the Witch's wand, and she injures him. Peter comes to his brother's defense, and just when she is about to kill him, Aslan and the wild beast. He leaps from a high ledge, and the witch screams and drops her weapon in horror, as he lands on top of her, crushing her to nothing. With the witch dead, all of her followers then turn all the wild zoo animals and bunnies battle White Witch's Army and zoo monster big mighty roar and White Witch's Army bats and dogs screaming and running and stampede and flee. Tigger and get the contraptions into the mother contraption. Rabbit tells Tigger his invention has caused nothing but trouble from the start. hati tells tigger Upset, Tigger agrees... He feels he's a failure and decides to leave the 100 Acre World. TTFG... Ta Ta for good... The others sadly watch Tigger walk away Lucy heals Edmund with the cordial, along with the others who are wounded. Tigger in the middle of the dark blue could, wondering what he is. By sun shine and sun come out, Eeyore passes by and tells him that he's still Tigger on the inside. Tigger then happily bounces around and his real stripes reappear. Zoo Animals Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are then crowned kings and queens of Narnia, at Cair Paravel, with Aslan walking off unnoticed. Many years later, they are informed by Mr. Tumnus of the White Stag, who will give them a wish if they catch him. They chase the White Stag through the wood, and suddenly go back through the wardrobe, and are no longer kings and queens. No time has gone by at all. They animals back to the pickles home, and the adults by hugging them, which makes Elaine happy again.

The parents arrive as Angelica is pointing out the dresses she wants for Elaine and Ben to buy. Stu is shocked by the mess in his house while a slightly amused Betty asks Elaine Betty saying so, you two still thinkin’ about some cubs of your own? if even after this they still want children. Elaine replies that she and Ben may not be ready for kids...unless they turn out like Angelica since, as far as Elaine and Ben are concerned, she saved.

Voices

 * Lisa Moss as Lucy Pevensie
 * Nicholas Barnes as Edmund Pevensie
 * Stephen Garlick as Peter Pevensie
 * Shelley Crowhurst as Susan Pevensie
 * Sheila Hancock as The White Witch
 * Arthur Lowe as Mr. Beaver
 * Leo McKern as Professor Kirke
 * Leslie Phillips as Mr. Tumnus
 * June Whitfield as Mrs. Beaver
 * Peter Hawkins as Dwarf and Fox
 * Stephen Thorne as Aslan

Differences from the book

 * Lucy's first arrival at Narnia and meeting with Tumnus are seen in a flashback.
 * 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".
 * Mrs Macready, the Professor's housekeeper, was dropped from the film and instead of the children being chased to the Wardrobe in the spare room, they all decided to try and get to Narnia all together after the Professor has discussed the truth about it with Peter and Susan.

Trivia

 * This is the first animated adaptation of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
 * This adaption follows the book far more closely than the other adaptions (the BBC TV series and the Disney movie).

Der König von Narnia (Zeichentrick)