What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this is NOT the blockbuster 2005 Disney theatrical adaptation of the first book in C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia," but a long-neglected TV cartoon version, faithful but primitively-rendered by comparison. Suitably softened for network prime time, it still has a disturbing image of the noble lion-messiah Aslan after he has been tortured and (temporarily) killed by his evil enemies.

Parents can talk about Aslan's sacrifice and perhaps the Christian metaphor of his resurrection here.

Common Sense Media Review
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE premiered on network television in 1979 and has been recently re-issued on video in the current craze for all things Narnia. It's an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' first "Chronicles of Narnia" tale, and it came about as a joint project between the Children's Television Workshop, the Episcopal Church, and Bill Melendez, an animator who was one of the primary animators responsible for the classic TV "Peanuts" specials.

Does it look like "It's-a-Metaphorical-Struggle-Between-Good-and-Evil-Charlie Brown?" Not really, though the animation is almost as simplified. With its soft, flowing lines and basic hues (largely white, as this is set in a realm besieged by eternal snow), THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE looks like something very close to a coloring-book come to life. The atmospheric music associated with "Peanuts" is absent, replaced often with solemn quiet.

The storyline follows the book. Four kids -- Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Susan -- while staying at the home of an eccentric professor, discover that if they enter a large wardrobe stored in the attic, they pass into a mythical realm called Narnia, gripped by unending winter right now because of an all-powerful White Witch (resembling the wicked queen in Disney's "Snow White"), who has also, significantly, forbidden Christmas.

A Narnian prophecy holds that four human children ("sons of Adam and daughters of Eve") will arrive to end the White Witch's reign, and already the heroic lion Aslan is actively raising an army against the witch. The witch finds the rebellious and slightly bratty Edmund by himself and tempts the boy (with Turkish Delight candies) to betray the other kids, so she can capture them and prevent the prophecy's fulfillment. Thanks to some talking-animal allies of Aslan and none other than Santa Claus (Father Christmas cameos in traditional red-suit ensemble), the children are reunited and protected by Aslan's armies.

But the witch uses Edmund's treachery to invoke ancient law demanding the boy be handed over to her for punishment. In the most recognizable New Testament allegory, pure-hearted Aslan offers to die for Edmund's sins instead. Susan and Lucy watch in horror as the witch's army of goblin-creatures torment and kill the noble lion in G-rated Passion-of-the-Aslan style. But the "deep magic" on which Narnia was founded recognize the victim's innocence and returns Aslan to life, for a final victory. Though this cartoon version was suitably softened for network prime time, it still has a disturbing image of the lion-messiah dead (temporarily).

Compared to later, lengthier adaptions of the story, this cartoon does an efficient job of reproducing the simple, fairy-tale imagery and language of Lewis' prose for the youngest viewers. Rather remarkably, there are no musical song-and-dance numbers to get in the way of the narrative and either dilute or overemphasize the Christian elements. On a purely visual level, though, older fantasy fans might better enjoy the 2005 Disney movie, or the richly-drawn Rankin-Bass cartoon versions of "The Hobbit" and "A Flight of Dragons" that also aired on TV around this period. Just that the Charlie Brown gang could break character and render something very different might be a draw for kids old enough to appreciate that side lesson: don't put all your Peanuts in one basket.