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.

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 the White Witch (Tilda Swinton).

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.

In September 1940, after surviving The Blitz, the Pevensie children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy – are evacuated from London, England to the country home of Professor Kirke.

When she wakes up, he explains that he had intended to betray her to the White Witch, who has cursed Narnia to eternally experience winter and never Christmas; any humans encountered are to be brought to her.

They meet talking beavers, who say Aslan plans to return and regain control of Narnia, and that there is a prophecy that when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit on the thrones of Cair Paravel, the Witch's reign will end.

He gives them tools to defend themselves — Lucy receives a dagger and a cordial that can heal any injury; Susan a magical horn and a bow with a quiver of arrows; and Peter a sword and shield.

That night, Lucy and Susan see the Witch kill Aslan at the Stone Table and deploy an army to slaughter his troops.

The radio-announcer that Peter listens to on the rainy day near the beginning of the film is played by Douglas Gresham, co-producer of the movie and C. S. Lewis's stepson.

[19] The success of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone prompted the producers to feel they could make a faithful adaptation of the novel set in Britain.

[21] Following an Academy Award win for Shrek, director Andrew Adamson began adapting the source material with a 20-page treatment based on his memories of the book.

This was changed in the movie because Adamson said he could vividly remember a huge battle,[9] an example of how Lewis left a lot to the readers' imagination.

Other small changes include the reason all four children come to Narnia, in that an accident breaks a window and forces them to hide.

Weta Workshop head Richard Taylor cited Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights as an inspiration on the film.

They were denied by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, citing the potentially deadly Q fever, from which the North American reindeer population suffers, as the reason.

[citation needed] The cast and crew spent their time in New Zealand in Auckland before moving in November to the South Island.

Shooting locations in the South Island included Flock Hill in Canterbury, the area known as Elephant Rocks near Duntroon in North Otago, which was transformed into Aslan's camp.

[30] They filmed in the Czech Republic (Prague and České Švýcarsko National Park), Slovenia and Poland after the Christmas break,[6] before wrapping in February.

According to Sim, "The way you can just take stuff and sort it out and be the keeper of the story without having to interact with actors, crew and reign" drew him to film editing.

In addition there are three original songs in the film; "Can't Take It In" by Imogen Heap, "Wunderkind" by Alanis Morissette and "Winter Light" by Tim Finn.

[35] He composed the original score and then spent late September through early November 2005 conducting the Hollywood Orchestra and overseeing the recording of the English choir.

[35] For "colour", he employed instruments used in ancient folk music, and to underscore critical dramatic moments, he added choral textures and, occasionally, a solo voice.

The album features songs by contemporary Christian music artists, such as Bethany Dillon, Kutless, and Nichole Nordeman.

[37] In "Lazy Sunday", Parnell and Lonely Island member Andy Samberg rap about among other things, going to see The Chronicles of Narnia at an afternoon matinee.

[37] "Lazy Sunday" is credited with helping revive Saturday Night Live which was stagnant in the years before the song's release.

Several bootleg copies of "Lazy Sunday" were uploaded to the video-sharing YouTube, which had only launched earlier in the year, where they were very popular and gained a combined total of five million views (a very large number for an online video at the time).

The site's critical consensus reads, "With first-rate special effects and compelling storytelling, this adaptation stays faithful to its source material and will please moviegoers of all ages.

"[57] On Metacritic the film holds an average weighted score of 75 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

"[61] Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News gave it 4 out of 4 stars and said: "A generation-spanning journey that feels both comfortingly familiar and excitingly original."

[63] John Anderson of Newsday reacted negatively to the film, stating "there's a deliberateness, a fastidiousness and a lack of daring and vision that marks the entire operation.