YMMV / The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1979)

• Awesome Music: This movie may be pretty wretched to look at, but to listen to? That's another kettle of fish altogether. Highlights from the score include the Battle of Beruna and the theme that plays when the siblings chase the stag.
• Broken Base:
  • This version of the White Witch. Half the viewers find her So Bad, It's Good and the performance to be incredibly Narmy. Others find that even if she is over-the-top, she's quite terrifying in parts - and captures that unstable vibe that Barbara Kellerman was going for in the BBC version.
  • The cutting of the book’s World War 2 context is also divisive. Some fans don’t mind, as the book only uses the four siblings’ status as Blitz Evacuees as a plot device to place them in an unfamiliar old house, without discussing it beyond the opening paragraph. Others hate the change, arguing that the original context adds important emotional subtext - e.g. that maybe Edmund’s bad attitude partly stems from the traumatic events of the Blitz, and wartime sugar rationing adds a further reason why the Witch’s Turkish Delight tantalizes him so much - which in this version gets lost.
• Cult Classic: This Narnia adaptation has a following among children of The '80s and The '90s. It was available on home video then and also aired frequently in rotation on North American cable television.
• Ham and Cheese: Sheila Hancock really hams it up as the White Witch in the British dub, ironically also being a Cold Ham in some parts. Beth Porter in the American dub is also quite a ham.
• Narm:
  • The cheesy seventies animation makes for this at times. Mr. Tumnus is particularly narmy, especially during the scene with Lucy that's supposed to be very sad ("I'm crying because I'm such a BAAAAD FAUN!!"). Yes, that line comes from the C. S. Lewis book; no, it doesn't help. Plus the White Witch who practically screams every other line.
  "If EITHER of you mentions the name 'ASLAN' again, he WILL BE INSTANTLY KILLED!!!"

  "HOW will I KNOW the PROMISE will be KEPT?!"
  • During the otherwise terrifying chase from the wolves, there's a re-used shot of the Pevensies and Beavers walking calmly, which immediately cuts to a shot of them bundled up and terrified.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The wolves trying to hunt down the Pevensies and Beavers. Not only is the music extremely eerie, there's one part where the wolves lunge right at the frame, as well as a shot showing the destroyed interior of the dam. The windows are smashed - giving the impression the wolves just crashed through in the hopes of ambushing them.
  • The White Witch stabbing Aslan in this version is accompanied by thunder clapping and her voice echoing around the mountains - and then a deathly silence.
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: A few of the voice cast do pretty good jobs here.
  • Lisa Moss does a great job as Lucy, perfectly capturing her All-Loving Heroine and Plucky Girl attitude.
  • Stephen Thorne goes for a nice authoritative yet gentle take on Aslan - bringing both the commander and the companion when he needs to.

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