2005, the wardrobe opens on screen: the film that gave birth to this site

The first major film adaptation of Narnia, directed by Andrew Adamson: a huge success, an Oscar, and the birth of blog.narnia.ch.

• Released on December 21, 2005 in France, Belgium, and French-speaking Switzerland (from December 7 in German-speaking Switzerland).
• Approximately $745 million in worldwide box office revenue.
• Academy Award for Best Makeup (2006).

• Year — 2005
• Format — film

Technical details

• Original title — The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Release dates —
  • United States — December 9, 2005
  • United Kingdom — December 8, 2005
  • German-speaking Switzerland — December 7, 2005
  • France — December 21, 2005
  • Belgium — December 21, 2005
  • French-speaking Switzerland — December 21, 2005
  • Canada — December 9, 2005
• Awards —
  • Academy Award for Best Makeup (2006)
• Book adapted — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Cast —
  • Peter — character

    Peter Pevensie

    — William Moseley
  • Susan — character

    Susan Pevensie

    — Anna Popplewell
  • Edmund — character

    Edmund Pevensie

    — Skandar Keynes
  • Lucy — character

    Lucy Pevensie

    — Georgie Henley
  • Jadis, the White Witch — character

    Jadis, the White Witch

    — Tilda Swinton
  • Mr. Tumnus — character

    Mr. Tumnus

    — James McAvoy
  • Professor Kirke — character

    Digory Kirke

    — Jim Broadbent
  • Aslan (voice) — character

    Aslan

    — Liam Neeson

In which books

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Other names

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Andrew Adamson

In brief

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson, previously known for Shrek. Douglas Gresham, Lewis's stepson, is co-producer. The film lasts 2 hours 23 minutes.

It was filmed in New Zealand, with scenes in Central Europe. The four children are played by William Moseley (Peter), Anna Popplewell (Susan), Skandar Keynes (Edmund), and Georgie Henley (Lucy). Tilda Swinton is the White Witch, James McAvoy is Mr. Tumnus, Jim Broadbent is Professor Kirke, and Liam Neeson voices Aslan. The music is by Harry Gregson-Williams.

Did you know

Released in December 2005, the film grossed about $745 million worldwide and became one of the year's biggest box office hits. In France, it sold more than five million tickets in nine weeks and ended with 5.26 million. In 2006, it won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

On screen

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the most faithful of Walden Media's three films. It adds a prologue set during the Blitz bombings, a chase on a melting river, and a grand finale battle. The details of the differences are on our dedicated page.

And for us

This film is the origin of this site: blog.narnia.ch was born in April 2005 to follow its preparation, and lived through its release day by day. The film was released on the same day, December 21, 2005, in France, Belgium, and French-speaking Switzerland, but from December 7 in German-speaking Switzerland, two weeks earlier. The blog had published the entire countdown calendar in its countdown. This story is told in the blog archives.

Going further

• All Narnia film adaptations
• Differences between the books and the films
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Blog archives (2005-2010)
• Characters unique to the films

## See also - [Narnia on screen, on radio and on stage]( - [The Volcano Too Much: Narnia films judged by Lewis' standards]( - [The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]( - [The archives of the blog (2005-2010)]( - [Characters unique to the films]( - [2005, the year the wardrobe cracked open: our briefs before release](