I have to side with Narnia. Mostly because I knew about it longer than LOTR and have read all of the books seen all of the movies, the fandom is more exciting to me and I have more merchandise from Narnia.

Even though I'm a huge Narnia fan, I have to go with LOTR. The Chronicles are great, very rich little books. But the LOTR comes from such a vast universe with thousands of years of rich history. There's just so much history to learn and find out.
And as far as the movies. I gotta side with LOTR there too. The LWW and PC are both good movies and pretty decent adaptations. But VDT is a very mediocre movie and a terrible adaptation. But LOTR in my opinion are some of the best films ever made. And they do an amazing job of translating Tolkien's "Unadaptable" story to the big screen.

If we were talking about the books of Narnia vs. LOTR I would say Narnia. I have been a long time Narnia fan and only 2 years ago did I finally read LOTR. Narnia to me has always been an awesome series to me and although I enjoyed LOTR, I have to say I did not enjoy it as much as Narnia. I also believe that Narnia has deeper meanings in the stories than LOTR does.

But, since we are talking about the films, I will discuss those too. LWW was a very good film and I enjoyed more than I enjoyed the FOTR but, we have to take into account the other two films.

PC was a decent film but I have to say I think I enjoyed Return of the King and Two Towers more than PC. But, there is one last film that totally killed the Narnia franchise and made me place the LOTR films (not the books mind you) above the Narnia films.

VODT was a disaster. I loved Will Poulter but, the movie in itself lack depth, plot and to follow the story told in the book. So, yeah the LOTR films won but, for the books Narnia won.

I look back to the LOTR with a lot of pleasure. But at the time, the big rivals to LOTR were the HP films, for three years running. The Narnia films then started up once again at the end of 2005, but did not complete the septology. On the whole, I prefer the Narnia films, as I haven't stopped dreaming the series would be completed, and the Hobbit films, though interesting, haven't yet grabbed my loyalty anywhere near as much as the Narnia films.

Thank you all for your post. I am very thankful that God has given me the opportunity to be with other Narnia fans. I myself would prefer the narnia books, and of the films, once they are finished, I believe that I will certainly pick the narnia series once they are finished. While I might understand some criticisms of vdt, I'v always liked it, and I think that much of it was close to the book. To me the hobbit films do not match lotr, and were a disappointment. Despite, some things I disliked in the narnia films{ as Eustace said, not the books}, narnia is one of my favorite series, that I have greatly enjoyed. The LWW deserved to top 1 billion at box office. I believe that film to be a masterpiece.

I am a serious fan of both LOTR and the Narnia books.

When it comes to the films, I know that it is always more satisfying to watch the whole story of LOTR, which is a big time commitment, but that I can enjoy just one of the Narnia films at a time, which is a bonus. I've also got the option of watching the BBC set as an alternative.

In spite of the features that I don't like, I probably like Narnia slightly more, although I have lived with LOTR for ten years now, and it has been a welcome part of my life. (And I am a hobbit really) ( )

If I had to rank them...

BBC Narnia
LotR
Walden Narnia
Hobbit films

The BBC Narnia first as they are closest to the book. Despite the made for tv serial format, they brought the CoN to life quite well. LotR because of the high quality of the films and the attention to detail. The only reason I'd rank them over the Walden Narnia films is due to VDT. The technical quality was great, but unlike LotR, the story telling portion suffered. The book parts of VDT were spot on. The green mist part... not so much. The Hobbit films are last just because they aren't finished yet. Determination to be made at a later date on those. I included them on the list though as they are in the LotR universe.

I think I enjoyed each of them just as much as all the others when I first watched them.
And Narnia is even closer to my heart than Middle-earth - although Middle-earth is a more developed place and thus in some ways a better read.

But looking back at the films and thinking about them just as films, I think I'm more impressed with the LotR films than the Walden Narnia ones. Although there were plot changes in LotR, even some that I didn't like at all, I felt that there were more, and more important ones, in the Narnia films - especially in the last two. Some changes will be necessary, but they didn't stop at that ...

I enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia books more than the Lord of the Rings book but I enjoy The Lord of the Rings movies far more than The Chronicles of Narnia movies (LWW and PC are above average but VDT is pitiful).

For me The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe would have won hands down if they had allowed Aslan to maintain his omnipotence. In the scene with Saint Nick...He should have said, in regard to breaking of the White Witches curse, Aslan is on the move...and secondly when Aslan says to the centaur..."there must be an explanation...In those two scenes the producers, writers, or who ever took away Aslan's deity which made everything loos its purpose. The other two...sorry...Susan and Caspian kissing???? King Peter a whiny brawling brat??? and VTD...need I say more?

As far as the LOTR...I'm not sure that Peter Jackson understood Tolkien's moral universe either....Especially in the Return of the King.... But at least he built tension well, he got the overall plot...

So for me TLTW&TW wins as far as close adaption except for the two scenes mentioned above....after that, LOTR wins. And I would really rather Narnia have won...after all I've been a Narnian for almost 50 years.

Maybe one day Hollywood will learn not to mess with a classic!...Then again....maybe they'll never learn.

I have loved the Narnia books ever since I was little, so that definitely beats LOTR. However, the LOTR movies are obviously more well-crafted in almost every respect than the Narnia movies. LWW is probably my favorite film, especially because of all the fond Christmas memories of when it came out, but all the LOTR movies are so well done. I wish we had someone that cared as much about Narnia to direct the movies as LOTR had.

I'm a HUGE fan of both series but without a doubt the LOTR films are unfortunately much better films then the Walden ones. They just had so much more passion behind the project and because of that, those films are some of the greatest movies of all time.

I wish we had someone that cared as much about Narnia to direct the movies as LOTR had.

Well there is still hope for the Silver Chair!

I think I'd put LWW first, then LotR, PC, BBC SC, The Hobbit I&II (didn't see 3 yet) , Animated LWW, VDT& BBC PC/VDT (I like VDT half better), and finally BBC LWW...

PC, LOTR, and the Hobbit are all on par with special effects... Lotr and LWW has the best story... and I still feel LWW gives me the biggest sense of wonder and nostalgia... and honestly it made Narnia feel more real than anything else I listed.

They're hard to compare though. They're two different styles of fantasy... I have to say I like Narnia slightly better for it's history and how even the animals seem to have a steak in what's right and wrong...

I wish we had someone that cared as much about Narnia to direct the movies as LOTR had.

I wish some of us knew how to direct XD