If you ask anyone about Narnia today, they’ll probably picture Liam Neeson’s voice coming out of a CGI lion or Tilda Swinton looking terrifyingly icy in a fur coat. But before the big-budget Disney era or even the BBC’s cozy, slightly clunky live-action series, there was the the lion the witch and the wardrobe original movie from 1979. It was an animated feature, a joint venture between the US and the UK, and honestly? It’s weirder and more haunting than anything that’s come since.
It’s easy to forget.
Most people just don't realize that the first time C.S. Lewis’s masterpiece jumped from the page to the screen, it wasn't with actors. It was with hand-drawn cells. Specifically, it was the work of Bill Melendez, the guy famous for the Peanuts specials. Imagine Charlie Brown's DNA mixed with the high-stakes theology of Narnia. It sounds like a mess. Surprisingly, it worked. It aired on CBS over two nights in April 1979, and for a whole generation of kids, this is Narnia.
The Animation Style Nobody Expected
You’ve got to understand the vibe of late-seventies animation to get why this movie looks the way it does. It isn't Disney-smooth. It has this slightly jagged, psychedelic quality that feels a bit more like The Last Unicorn or the 1977 Hobbit. It’s grainy. The colors are muted. When the White Witch appears, she isn't just a mean lady; she’s this spindly, pale specter that feels genuinely dangerous.
The character designs were handled by British illustrators, and you can tell. They didn't go for "cute." The Beavers look like actual, slightly disheveled animals, not stuffed toys. Aslan is massive, but his face has this heavy, almost weary wisdom. It captures that Lewis-esque "he's not a tame lion" energy perfectly. Some people find the animation "cheap" by today's standards. They're wrong. It’s atmospheric. It uses shadows in a way that modern CGI just can't replicate because it’s too busy trying to look "real."
Why the 1979 Cast Mattered (Even the British Ones)
One of the strangest things about the the lion the witch and the wardrobe original movie is the voice acting. Since it was a co-production, there are actually two different soundtracks. If you watched it in the US, you heard one set of voices. If you were in the UK, the Pevensie children were re-dubbed to sound properly British.
Stephen Thorne voiced Aslan. He was a veteran of Doctor Who and Shakespearean theater. His voice didn't just boom; it resonated with a kind of ancient authority. When he roars, it feels like the speakers might actually crack. Then you have Rachel Warren as the White Witch. She doesn't scream. She’s cold. Brittle. She sounds like someone who has actually lived through a hundred years of winter without Christmas.
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Sheila Hancock, who played the Witch in the British version, brought a whole different flavor of menace. It’s these subtle choices that make the 1979 version feel more like a play than a cartoon. It treats the source material with a level of respect that's almost intimidating.
Plot Loyalty and the "Scare Factor"
A lot of modern adaptations try to "fix" the pacing of the book. They add massive battle scenes or weird subplots about Peter’s angst. The 1979 original doesn't care about that. It sticks to the book like glue.
- The wardrobe discovery is quiet and eerie.
- The Stone Table scene is legitimately traumatic for a "kids" movie.
- The transformation of the stone statues is hauntingly beautiful.
I remember seeing the Ghouls and the Cruels surrounding the Stone Table as a kid. They weren't just generic monsters. They looked like something out of a medieval woodcut. They were jagged, multi-eyed, and terrifyingly silent. The film didn't feel the need to explain them away. They just were. That’s the magic of this original movie—it respects a child's ability to be scared and fascinated at the same time.
The Technical Reality of the Emmy Win
People forget this movie won an Emmy. It took home the award for Outstanding Animated Program in 1979. That wasn't a fluke.
The production was massive. They had to coordinate between Melendez’s studio in California and the creative teams in London. Because it was intended for television, the aspect ratio was a tight 4:3. This creates a sense of claustrophobia in the Witch's castle that you don't get in the wide-screen versions. You feel trapped. You feel the winter.
The music, composed by Michael J. Lewis, is another layer of weirdness. It’s heavy on the synthesizers and woodwinds. It sounds like the late 70s, sure, but it also sounds like another world. It doesn't try to be an epic orchestral score. It’s melodic and often very lonely.
What Most People Get Wrong About "Originals"
Usually, when we talk about an "original movie," we think of the first theatrical release. But Narnia is different. Because C.S. Lewis was so protective of the rights (and his estate remained so for a long time), the path to the screen was fragmented.
The 1979 animated version is the first feature-length film. Before that, there was a 10-part black-and-white series in 1967 that is mostly lost to time. If you want to see where the visual language of Narnia on screen actually started, you have to look at 1979. It set the template. The way Lucy looks, the way the lamp post glows in the dark—these visual cues started here.
The Legacy of the Hand-Drawn Narnia
Is it dated? Maybe.
If you're used to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second, the flicker of 1970s animation might bother you. But there’s a soul in the the lion the witch and the wardrobe original movie that’s missing from the $200 million versions. There is something about the hand-inked lines of Aslan's mane that feels more "real" than a billion rendered pixels.
It’s about the feeling.
The 1979 version captures the melancholy of Narnia. The book isn't just an adventure; it’s about loss, sacrifice, and the weird, thin line between our world and something much older. The animation captures that thinness. The backgrounds often look like watercolor paintings, giving the whole thing a dreamlike quality. It’s as if the world might dissolve if you look away for too long.
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How to Watch It Now
Finding this movie used to be a nightmare. For years, it was stuck on faded VHS tapes with "Property of [Insert Random Library]" stickers on them.
- Check Physical Media: The DVD releases from the early 2000s are the most reliable way to see it without the "VHS shimmer."
- Streaming: It occasionally pops up on niche retro services, but rights issues between the Melendez estate and the C.S. Lewis Company make it a "now you see it, now you don't" situation.
- YouTube: Look for "1979 Narnia" and you’ll often find fan-uploaded clips that show off that iconic, creepy Stone Table scene.
The Actionable Verdict
If you’re a Narnia fan, you owe it to yourself to track this down. Don't watch it expecting Disney. Watch it expecting an artifact.
Steps to appreciate the 1979 original:
- Watch the Stone Table scene first. It’s the litmus test. If you can appreciate the stylized, scary design of the Witch’s army, you’ll love the rest.
- Listen for the score. Pay attention to how the music changes when they’re in the wardrobe versus when they’re in the snow.
- Compare the Witch. Look at how this version portrays Jadis not as a warrior, but as a crumbling, ancient force of nature.
The the lion the witch and the wardrobe original movie isn't just a curiosity. It’s a masterclass in how to adapt a complex, tonal book on a TV budget without losing the heart of the story. It proves you don't need a thousand digital artists to make a lion feel like a god. You just need a few good animators and a deep understanding of why the story mattered in the first place.
Go find a copy. Turn the lights down. Let the graininess of the 70s take you through the back of the wardrobe. It’s a trip worth taking.
Next Steps for the Narnia Enthusiast
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To fully understand the evolution of Narnia on screen, your next move should be a side-by-side comparison of the "Turkish Delight" scenes across the 1979 animation, the 1988 BBC version, and the 2005 film. Notice how the 1979 version focuses on Edmund’s isolation and the eerie silence of the Witch’s sledge, rather than the spectacle of the candy itself. This reveals the core philosophy of the original movie: atmosphere over aesthetics. Afterward, look into the production history of Bill Melendez Studios to see how their experience with A Charlie Brown Christmas influenced the pacing and emotional weight of this often-overlooked fantasy classic.