Narnia: 70th Anniversary Video
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis was published on October 16, 1950. That’s 70 years ago today!
This commemorative video was produced with the permission of The CS Lewis Company Ltd and Netflix. Huge thanks to the passionate fans around the world that contributed.
Despite publisher Geoffrey Bles’s fears that The Lion would fail and harm sales of Lewis’s other books, it became a classic. 70 years later, it has been translated into 47 languages, and was included in Time Magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Novels.”
It was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe turned out to be just the first of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series that has now sold over 100 million copies. (The Magician’s Nephew, a prequel, was published five years after)
Join us in celebrating the 70th anniversary of this timeless story! Post a comment below about how you discovered The Chronicles of Narnia and what it means to you.
Happy Narnia Day!
When I was 6 years old, my parents took me to the exotic land of Turkey – which is where Aslan got his name. (Aslan means “lion” in Turkish.) My mother brought along her old 1970s boxset of the Narnia books. A local BBC channel was airing reruns of their Narnia series, and around the same time I read all the books, enjoying them and lapping them up. I have been a Narnia fan ever since, and have enjoyed companion books and adaptations of the books for screen, stage and sound.
I like the characters, the worlds, the colours, the excitement and the themes in Narnia. Narniaweb has been such a deep resource brimming with excellent insights that help me dive deep into the most special pool in the Wood between the Worlds, the Narnian pool.
I am so thrilled to be a part of this video alongside Will Moseley, Douglas Gresham and many Narniawebbers and Narnia fans. This will be a token to cherish, until the eightieth anniversary, and onwards to its centenary.
I tried it when I was 13, but had grown up too much to like it. A wise friend advised me to try it during my university years…and I have loved it ever since.
The books are full of hope, encouragement, consolation, and challenge for me. Perhaps I am Jill, facing Aslan for the first time, and confessing, “I was showing off, sir.” Perhaps I am Lucy trying to find the courage to follow Aslan when no-one else will, or Shasta when he discovers that he has never really been alone.
These stories are full of truths which, when we plant them in our minds, grow into strong and noble qualities in our lives. Those of us who read them as adults know that we are still growing up, and we will never be too old to enter Narnia or to walk alongside a magnificent Lion.
Cool seeing a few familiar (and famous) faces! Thanks for doing this guys!
My older brother first introduced me to Narnia when I was about 5 or 6, telling me the short version of each book after he’d read it. When I was 12 I read the books myself, mainly because I was drawn to the medieval setting, and since then, with many rereadings, l have grown to love them, and have likewise enjoyed the BBC series, the audio dramas, and the films.
Narnia did to me what it did for many others- it assured me that I wasn’t alone in longing for something outside of this world. It showed me wonder, in scenes such as the one being narrated in this video. It showed me humility and repentance in the stories of characters like Eustace, Edmund, Lucy and Shasta. And it showed me love in the character of Aslan.
My love for and understanding of the truths within these books has only grown since then, and l sincerely hope that never changes.
Thank you for the commemorative video. It was good indeed.
These wonderful books have exerted such an influence over my life and ideas. I read the Magicians Nephew first. I must have been nine or ten. It was in a bookcase at the end of my classroom. I was entranced by it and read the rest of the series in quick succession. Thank you C.S. Lewis!
I remember that my elementary school teacher read the Narnia books to us, beginning with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I was eight years old then and the Narnia books were not so old at that time. They were considered modern classics even though they were old fashioned fairy tales. The advantage is that fairy tales are always vintage but never become outdated. Thank you, Mr. Lewis for giving us this wonderful story that we will always enjoy. ๐
So honoured to be included in this! It was a joy to watch! ๐
Lewis’s narrative voice has been like a friend to me throughout my life and the stories themselves have continually pointed me to the glory of God.
The first one I read was The Magicianโs Nephew – I didnโt realise it was part of a wonderful series
Awesome video, guys! So many great readers. (Not me, I mean. I hate my voice in recordings. But I still wouldn’t have been able to help feeling disappointed if I hadn’t been included.)
I don’t have a very exciting story about how I first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When I was little, my mother thought I’d really enjoy it, so she read it to me and I did. Actually she gave me the picture books by Deborah Maze and I watched the BBC tv serial, then she read me the actual book.
I’m sure I heard before that the publisher was worried about LWW being a flop (since it sounds like something I’d have heard) but I really was surprised to be (re)informed of it. Does anyone know why? Were lions, witches and wardrobes considered really unmarketable back then?
I might be wrong, but I don’t think there were like a lot of children’s fantasy books out there at the time (other than like Brothers Grimm stories I think). So maybe the publisher was thinking people wouldn’t like a new type of book?
Goes to show how traditional publishers can be wrong though. It’s kinda fascinating/sad to think how many great books/series are out there that we’ll never read because they didn’t get published.
THIS IS AMAZING VIDEOO!! THANKYOU FOR ADDING MY NAME THANKYOU IM SO SPEECHLESS AND ALSO IM CRYING CAUSE THIS IS SO SO BEAUTIFUL AND I JUMPED WHEN I SAW WILLIAM MOSELEY OMG
so ive know narnia since 2008 its 6 years old and i know it from the movie at that time i didnt read narnia book narnia brings my life back
when im down then i think about narnia im changing 360 i feel alive again:)
no one can describe how much i love Narnia it brings my life back i mean like it brings something that was unexpected and i can’t even describe it too. its good thing its really a good thing it learns me how to love my own family even sometimes they make me mad,
and ofcourse lovin people that you can called new friends annd loving animals and most important lovin God
like you know i mean like everyday when i think narnia i think about heaven its so peaceful and 1 day i live there with my family and my friend
and ofcourse i really hope that in Jannah theres a talking animal and kind myhtology creature like mr tumnus,oreius,beavers and like narnian creatures and im going to meet aslan that i always thought its represent god and you know its so peaceful ๐
narnia effects me so muchh when i was a a kid i have so many experience and so many imagination.
NARNIA MADE MY LIFE BETTER
OMG IM IN TEARS
if u wanna know my story experience and imagination check it on
instagram : @ageofpevensie
Thank you so much for making the wonderful video to celebrate this special day!!
I hadnโt known the existence of the chronicles of Narnia until my mother took me and one of my friends to the cinema to see the first movie when I was in primary school.
Because I had always dreamed of talking animals and going to magical, I was shocked with the story so much!
Narnia literally has everything I had dreamed of!
(I must admit that crushing on Skandar was another reason though)
And I love the characters in the books. I think each of characters have similarities which readers have ever had before.
Especially, I think I had same prospective aspects which Edmund has and which Jill has.
After we had seen the movies, going to the UK had become one of my dreams.
But I hadnโt been able to have a opportunity to make it come true until I suffered eating disorder because of my job.
And then I remembered my dream to go to the UK, and this was the reason that I could escape from the work place.
Narnia is the one who gave me a dream, and the dream saved me from the worst situation, and gave me opportunities to see a lot of people outside of my home country Japan.
And now, Iโm here in the UK!
I canโt describe this happiness that I could celebrate this special day,joining this amazing project in the country where Narnia series were born
Happy 70th anniversary
My dad (who is now 92) read these to me when I was growing up, and I have read them over and over. Even now my teenage daughters will hear a snippet of the audiobook and say, “Can we listen to the whole thing?”
I have always known Aslan but he didn’t become real to me until I was in my 40s (about 10 years ago). It was through the Narnia books that I realized that the voice of God is always kind. It might not always say what you want, but it is never nasty. The Narniad opened the door to all things “Lewisian.” Mr. Lewis says things so well. Happy birthday, LWW!
I love Narnia, and I was sad that I wasn’t included in the video. But it’s life, one day it will work.
The short story: My sister made me listen to her read it. Little did I know how much that book would change my life.
What a wonderfull job aslan,is on the mov
I hear you; I wasn’t included, either. I was hoping that they might run the credits over top of a sort of Zoom-meeting-style image of all of the other readers who didn’t make the final cut for audio. (If the editor gets bored, I suppose there could be an “honorable mentions” cut.) I saw my pseudonym in the credits, though; you’re probably mentioned there, too.
Iโm old enough that the books were newly published when I first heard the Narnia series. Six years old, fresh from evening bath, cuddled on my Grandfatherโs lap in his easy chair next to the crackling fire in the stone fireplace, I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his wonderful deep voice reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We went through the entire series, which I read for myself as soon as I was able. My first purchased hardback series was the Narnia series with the original pen and ink illustrations. It was my privilege and delight to cuddle up with my young sons and introduce them to this beloved series (โDo the voices, Mom!โ). Now my eldest grandchild is just about ready to be introduced to Aslan, Narnia and all of the adventures, wonders and points to ponder. I canโt wait!
When I was little, late 80’s, I remember knowing the story of the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, but I don’t remember actually reading it until I was in middle school. Perhaps someone told me about it or read it to me. I tried to continue reading the other books, but lost interest soon after. I don’t know why, but recently I have been very interested in reading the rest of them for the first time as an adult. Lucky me! I consider it my current life adventure, poking my head in thrift stores to snatch up copies of all the books, when they appear. I’ve never been a religious person, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Aslan. He’s always been the greatest example of what I would imagine God would be like, and feel like I owe the story for helping make me honest the person I am today.
sadly in my 20th, I still don’t have one of those book ๐
This made me think of C.S. Lewis’ quote in the beginning of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
“Someday, you’ll be old enough for fairy tales again”.
Good for you, though! For sending in a video of you reading LWW. Brave one. ๐ More than I can say for myself: I didnโt even bother myself to consider trying it. ๐
I’m sorry you have not got the Narnia books. Are they available in your country? Can you buy online?
It’s amazing to think that 1 of my 2 favorite series of books is being celebrated this year! The other is of course The Railway Series. I fondly remember the Walden movies which inspired me to read the books during late 2018, during which I discovered this amazing website, and the rest is history!