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
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. 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 castle, and Aslan restores the captives with his breath, including Mr. Tumnus, back to life. They then head over to the battle, 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 run away. Lucy heals Edmund with the cordial, along with the others who are wounded. 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.

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)