The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

"The beloved masterpiece comes to life."

2005 2h 23m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

76%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.9

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 11,820🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●75Metacritic★6.9IMDB · 450,246

AdventureFamilyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.

“The beloved masterpiece comes to life.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Disney PlusSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Georgie Henley
Lucy Pevensie
Skandar Keynes
Edmund Pevensie
William Moseley
Peter Pevensie
Anna Popplewell
Susan Pevensie
Tilda Swinton
White Witch
Liam Neeson
Aslan (voice)
James McAvoy
Mr. Tumnus
Jim Broadbent
Prof. Digory Kirke

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson, Ann Peacock, Stephen McFeely
Languages: English, German
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$180M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Chronicles of Narnia Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

259+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrew Adamson, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrew Adamson directs. Donald McAlpine behind the camera. Harry Gregson-Williams scores. Jim May cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$180M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
3Released 21 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
5International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
6Part of the "The Chronicles of Narnia Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7259+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
8Directed by Andrew Adamson, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
9Original score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
10Editor Jim May shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
11Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes and William Moseley carry the top of the cast.
12Marketing tagline: "The beloved masterpiece comes to life.".
13IMDB entry: tt0363771 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1411,820 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
15Classified under 21 themes, including "witch", "sibling relationship", "saving the world", "based on novel or book".
16Released under 43 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original score: Harry Gregson-Williams
Editing: Jim May
Production design: Roger Ford
Costume design: Isis Mussenden
Makeup / hair: Tomáš Kuchta
VFX supervisor: Carlos Arguello
Sound: Richard Beggs
Stunt coordinator: Ryszard Janikowski
Runtime: 143 min · 2h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $180,000,000
Box office: $745,013,115
Return: 414% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 75/100
IMDB rating: 6.9/10 · 450,246 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 18 wins & 46 nominations total

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film
Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling
TV Krant Filmposter Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Chronicles of Narnia Collection

Modern theatrical film productions based on the book series «The Chronicles of Narnia» by C. S. Lewis.

Also by

Andrew Adamson

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-11-03
★ 9/10
Long bloody title, but a great film no doubt. I had seen <em>'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'</em> before but hadn't watched it for years and years, I remembered the vast majority though - it's a memorable film after all. There's a great battle scene in there, some fun characters and strong effects. It's a tad too long, but not by much. It has a nice charm to it also, as they set up Narnia excellently. The quartet of children are very well cast, all four of them suit their roles to a T. Georgie Henley is sweet as Lucy, while William Moseley and Anna Popplewell fulfil the roles of Peter and Susan comfortably. Edmund, meanwhile, is of course annoying, but Skandar Keynes does a good job portraying him. Elsewhere, Tilda Swinton and Liam Neeson are terrific casts as the White Witch and Aslan. Both do great, especially Swinton. James McAvoy, Ray Winstone, Michael Madsen and Rupert Everett are smart choices too. I've, as far as I'm aware, never seen the two sequels so very much look forward to seeing what they have in store for me. They'll do well to match this first film, that's for sure.
MustachedMovieMan2023-10-25
★ 10/10
In my last review (which you can find on my Letterboxd), I said The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a "nearly perfect film." Well, I am here to say that with this viewing, to me, it is a perfect film. I used to always think this film was a sort of step below LOTR, and, while LOTR is indeed a masterpiece of cinema, I don't regard this film as lesser. The movie is just pure magic! Every aspect of the movie (minus the CGI – which doesn't really hold up [except for Aslan] but is still serviceable) is even better with age! And I find myself moved emotionally by more things this time than I ever have watching this film. The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is just phenomenal. Especially "The Battle" – that goes without saying. But this time, part of the magic and nostalgia I was struck by was the musical piece that sounds like it's a song. The one that plays while the train is leaving London. (I found out it's actually about halfway into the track "Evacuating London.") That magical song, combined with the great camera work by Donald M. McAlpine and the appearance of the movie title makes for feelings of peak nostalgia and magic for me. Also, this film has one of the best opening scenes of all time. When Netflix (finally) remakes the films, I don't know how they can top this opening. – In fact, that's another thing about this movie: There are so many things that I don't think any remake could top. Liam Neeson as Aslan, Tilda Swinton as Jadis, the White Witch, and James McAvoy as Tumnus. – Oh, and, though he's not in the book, the centaur, Oreius (played by Patrick Kake), is so cool! Can't top that. Also, the costuming is excellent – especially for the White Witch – and the gryphons are so cool! The sound design on their shriek gives me chills (in a good way). And I can't go without saying that this is also an emotional story because of what the story represents, the symbolism of the story. Edmund represents us – represents me, a sinner. I who have walked in rebellion against God, and who am by nature opposed to God. And as such, I deserve the wrath of God, punishment that He would be fully just to give me. But Aslan represents Jesus Christ. Like Aslan sacrificed himself for Edmund, dying the death he should have died, Jesus sacrificed Himself in our stead, taking upon Himself the wrath of God we deserved, so that “if [we] confess with [our] mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in [our] heart that God raised Him from the dead, [we] will be saved” (Romans 10:9), we “will not perish but have eternal life” (from John 3:16), and as a result of that faith, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (from Romans 5:1). ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1‭-‬10‬ “[1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [2] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— [3] among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
CinemaSerf2024-07-20
★ 7/10
CS Lewis certainly had one heck of an imagination and it is rarely better exemplified than in this lovely fantasy adventure. Four wartime siblings are evacuated from London to stay with the reclusive "Professor Kirke" (Jim Broadbent) in the relative safety of the English countryside. Once they get there, the housekeeper "Mrs. Macready" (Elizabeth Hawthorne) makes it quite clear that they are to be seen and not heard! Boredom sets in and thus a game of hide and seek seems sensible. "Lucy" takes refuge in an old wardrobe - a wardrobe that has a secret! Much to her astonishment, she finds herself in a snowy land with a single streetlamp and there meets "Mr. Tumnus" (James McAvoy) - a scarf-clad faun. She returns to her brothers and sister and after some convincing, they join her in the wardrobe and all discover the delights and dangers of "Narnia" meeting loads of new friends and a couple of not so nice wolves, too! This is the first of the adventures of the "Pevensie" children in this mysterious land where animals can talk and winter is perpetual under the control of the villainous "White Witch" (Tilda Swinton). They align with "Aslan" the all powerful lion (voiced by Liam Neeson) and have a battle royal to free the kingdom from her icy grip. The CGI isn't, to be honest, great. Indeed, some of the effects are a bit cheap and cheerful for 2005; but the story, settings and characterisations are great - as is Harry Gregson-Williams' eerie and gentle score.