2005 film by Andrew Adamson
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 high fantasy film directed by Andrew Adamson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ann Peacock and the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in the children's book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. The film is the first installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, and Georgie Henley play Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, four British children evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside, who find a wardrobe that leads to the fantasy world of Narnia, where they ally with the lion Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch (Tilda Swinton).
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe premiered on 7 December 2005, selected for the Royal Film Performance, before it was theatrically released on 8 December in the United Kingdom and 9 December in the United States. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $745 million worldwide against a $180 million budget and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2005. An extended edition was released on 12 December 2006, on DVD. Combining both releases of the film, in regular and extended edition, it was the third-best-selling and first-highest-grossing DVD in North America in 2006, taking in $332.7 million that year. At the 78th Academy Awards, the film won for Best Makeup and was nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects, while at the 59th BAFTA Awards, it won for Best Makeup and Hair and was nominated for Best Costume Design and Best Special Visual Effects. The score was nominated for Best Original Score and the song "Wunderkind" by Alanis Morissette was nominated for Best Original Song at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards. The score was also nominated for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and the song "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap was nominated for Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the 49th Grammy Awards.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was followed by Prince Caspian in 2008 and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010 to diminishing critical and financial reception. Nevertheless, the three films grossed a total of $1.5 billion worldwide.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.