The Book Vs. The Movie: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

The Book Vs. The Movie: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe- written by the Hobbit with contributions from the Elf, Ent and Unicorn. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. 

The Book: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Book: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Age Suggestion:  8+ (3 rd grade and up)
Author: C.S. Lewis
Pages: Will vary by edition, average 200 pgs.
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Family, war, bravery, persistence, friendship
Warnings: Brief descriptions of war scenes and battles. Children being sent away during wartime.

Quick Summary of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Book

C. S. Lewis is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers, and his children’s series, the Chronicles of Narnia, are classics and has sold over 100 million copies. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was selected by PBS’s The Great American Read as one of America’s top 100 most-loved novels. And it’s a favorite in our house!!

The story is set during the blitz in World War II. Four children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie) are sent to the country. Exploring the house where they are staying, they find a large wardrobe. Lucy goes through the wardrobe and finds that it is a portal to another world – Narnia. Narnia is populated by talking animals and other mythological creatures such as dwarves and giants, the land is held in perpetual winter by the White Witch. However, there is a rumor that the true king of Narnia, the great lion Aslan, will soon return to Narnia to free it from the White Witch. The four children enter and become part of this magical story.

Discussion Questions
for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Book and Movie:

1) Which character did you relate to the most? Which did you want to relate to the most?
2) Each of the four children reacted differently when they first entered Narnia. How do you think you would feel if you found yourself in a different world?
3) One of the more familiar phrases in the book is from Mr. Beaver when describing Aslan. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” Explain how being good and being safe are different, as seen in Aslan.
4) Lewis did not intend Aslan to be Jesus, but rather to be what Jesus might look like in a different world. Where is Aslan like Jesus and where is he different?
5) If you were given a magical gift that you could only use to help other people, what would you want it to be?

Our Curriculum for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

You can find our curriculum for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe here! It can be used with the book, movie, or both.
This digital download includes:
* more background information
* extra discussion questions
* a quiz with answers
* essay prompts
* a movie and book comparison Venn diagram & more.
Find it on Teacher’s Pay Teachers here
You can also get Narnia Bundle Here

The Movie: The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Movie: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe
Rating: PG
Age Suggestion:  8+
Running Time: 2 hrs. 30 min.
Release Date: December 9th, 2005
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Themes: Same as the book: Family, war, bravery, persistence, friendship
Where To Stream: Disney Plus, or rent it here
Warnings: Light, mostly gore free, images of battle scenes and sword fights. But while the battle scenes are not very bloody- they are very intense for a PG rating. Children being sent away during the war and long drawn out dramatic scenes are other things that guardians should be aware of.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Movie Review:

While it is certainly not exactly how I had envisioned it while reading the books, the film crew did a wonderful job of bringing Narnia to life. And even though the blend of the animated and physical world is 15 years old at the time of writing this, it is still very well done! For me, the movie absolutely captured the general spirit of the book. And while there are many that debate whether or not the movie dropped too much of Lewis’ allegory, I think it was just the right amount for this big screen movie.

The Chronicles of Narnia books vs. the movies is a fun discussion to have. The following two movies stray a lot more from the book than the first one does. We all really enjoyed the first movie! The acting, cinematography and story adaption were all very well done. Is the book still better, in our opinion, yes. Do you loose a lot of great scenes from the book, also yes. But the wonderful thing about having a book you enjoy be turned into a movie you enjoy is that you now have more of that story and you like both adaptions, so there’s just more to enjoy!

What is your favorite adaption of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe? Please take a second to share this post!

Check Out These Next!:

–Prince Caspian Lessons and Curriculum

–The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Lessons and Curriculum

–5 Lessons from Narnia on Communication

–10 Lessons from Tolkien on Reading Day

-Tolkien: The biopic movie review from big Tolkien fans

–Audiobooks for the Whole Family

–5 Things We Learned from Mr. Rogers and more on the movie and documentary.

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