I had recently finished reading Narnia for the first time when I was 11 and I think it was my mom who asked if we were interested in watching the BBC movies. Naturally me and my sister said yes and we watched them all in a row.
I think I watched all three of them twice but have not seen them since.
It wasn’t until after LWW came out in 2005 that I realized how much watching the BBC’s had influenced the way I had pictured certain parts in the books.
Even though I can take them or leave them and I haven’t seen them for a long time, they will always be part of my memories in Narnia.

I don't like the movies at all. I'm not trying to be harsh but the graphics, casting, music, acting, etc. were all horrible in my opinion. I only watch them when forced to, or if I want a good laugh.

Pattertwig,

Like you, I grew up with these movies. The haunting theme music has stayed with me always. It's one of those tunes that seems to have been there forever, like an old hymn.

I recently watched VDT on YouTube (they are all available there in full, apparently!), and while I did find more to be critical of, I still loved it. It evokes a strong sense of nostalgia in me. I'm watching the PC version now, and I think they did a great job of re-arranging the book plot sequence!

My story is pretty much the same as yours Pattertwigs Pal. I grew up with them and loved LWW and SC. The PC/VDT combo was very 'meh' in my opinion.

BBC pros: The loyalty to the story and characters. The music (I LOVE the music). The overall feeling of Narnian magic and wonder.

Walden pros: The special effects (duh ), props, and pretty much everything else that's technical. The actors/acting.

Maybe someday we'll get a movie that's the best of both worlds

I too grew up with the BBC Narnia series. I loved them all.

A) Because they were so close to the books
B) Because of the storybook feel
C) Because of the music
D) Because when I read the books, I got the same feeling from reading them that I did when I watched the movies. They were both Narnia to me.

I wish that they hadn't cut PC down so much, but for a low budget, tv series I thought they did a marvelous job of capturing the Narnia feel.

Maybe the new VDT will be the best of both worlds! *very hopeful indeed*

I voted "They're okay." While I grew up on them much like Pattertwigs Pal and FK and thoroughly enjoy watching them, I can't honestly say they're great movies. The acting is certainly lacking in places and the overall quality isn't the best. I understand this is because they had a very small budget, but being somewhat of a movie buff, these things are still hard for me to ignore. I do admit, however, that the BBC films have much more spirit than the Walden' versions, which at times feel very flat despite they're incredible visuals. So yes, I enjoy watching the BBC versions, but they are definitely lacking in areas.

I'll always be a,
NL101

*heartily hopes that fantasia's final sentence will come true someday*

I voted "love", even though "like an awful lot" would be closer to the mark. While not growing up with the films (they released when I was quite a grown-up already), when I saw them as an adult, I love(d) the fact they followed the books so closely. They're really quite magical and capture the spirit of Narnia to a "T".

My least favourite (though I still enjoyed it) is the PC/VDT combo. My most favourite? The Silver Chair, with LWW a close second. Tom Baker/Puddleglum is the best! And no matter what folk say, I do like Barbara Kellerman as the White Witch better than Swinton, by quite a long shot.

The music with that wonderful French Horn theme simply is Narnia! And one can almost read from the books verbatim when watching the movies.

Sure, the special effects are somewhat laughable, but for me, the fact that they stayed true to the original stories means the world!

Great topic Pattertwig!

I voted "I like them."
Shortly after our mom finished reading us the CoN for the first time, we found the BBC series at our library. We eventually bought our own set and watched them time after time. Like C. S. Sibelius, the theme music still goes through my head sometimes, and I can whistle it with ease. I will always appreciate, too, the great extent to which the lines were taken word-for-word from the books.

LWW was good. I remember that when we first watched the 2005 Walden movie, we missed the glowing, shimmering flying animals, despite their highly unrealistic appearance. They seemed more magical. The biggest negative in this one is Lucy- she is not at all as we imagined her. Georgie is 200% better!

VDT is my favorite of the four (I never thought of PC and VDT as one episode), though we always thought Caspian could never have changed from a small, dark haired boy to a tall blond young man in a mere three years! Lucy improved in this one (I.M.H.O.). Despite the unrealistic appearance of Reepicheep in these stories, I feel that he is much closer to the book character then Walden's PC Reepicheep, which saddens me. Hopefully that will be corrected in the upcoming VDT.

The Jill in SC was commonly held in our house to be as close to the book as it is possible to be. Whomever is chosen for the Walden SC had better be good!
The only other annoyance (outrageously unrealistic talking animals aside) is Prince Rillian in SC. We called him "Paint Face" (because of the mask) and though we laughed at him, we actually found him rather frightening. More so than the White Witch! Of course, now I just laugh, but I do think the producers/director could have done a better job with that character.

I voted "love", even though "like an awful lot" would be closer to the mark.

I voted the same way, because although I do enjoy them very much- especially VDT- I'm not sure if I could in all honesty say that I absolutely love them. But I do enjoy them- so much so that when I found the complete series (complete as in LWW, PC, VDT & SC) on DVD on my vacation two years ago down in the States, I bought it immediately. I haven't regretted the money spent on it, either, although it was only $20.00 or so.

For me though, LWW was one of my very first introductions to the story, to Narnia. My memory is a little hazy as to whether I watched the BBC version first or read the book first, although I'm pretty sure both happened at the relatively the same time. Our library had LWW on VHS and I watched it several times in between the time I first stumbled into Narnia through the Wardrobe with Lucy and the time I first saw Walden's LWW (which was in Dec. '06). I'm sure that the series will always remain special to me, and since I rather like old movies where the filming styles and etc are not as "up to date" as with today's films and movies, the old filming styles and special effects in BBC's Narnia really don't bother me at all.

Im voted they're okay, I think the effects were alright considering the time period they were in, but the acting could have been much better, secondly Caspian looked too young in Prince Caspian, he's supposed to be Peter's age. The part that bugged me the most was in LWW they used horses for the White Witches stags, instead of deer, highly annoying. VDT was pretty good, SC was okay, but too violent in some parts. I kind of wish that they hadn't merged PC and VDT, but I can understand why they did. I feel that some of the costumes were really good, while others needed massive improvements. Besides LWW most of the entrances into Narnia looked cheesy. Aslan's voice seemed to rough and harsh. I do like that they stayed close to the books, however.
*edit: The music's alright, but certainly not as good as in the Walden versions.

Ok I have to admit that I do like how close these movies are to the books, but besides that, I don't like anything else in them.

*also hopes that fk's last sentence will come to pass*

I like them.
1. They were like the books! I don't mind some tweaking to more easily show a story on film, but I cannot stand fundamental changes to characters, and thus, the story.
2. The music. I hear that theme and I immediately think Narnia.
3. Some of the acting. Sophie Wilcox was not my favorite Lucy, but Samuel West was an amazing Caspian in VDT, and Warwick Davis is superb as Reepicheep. Come to think of it, I like all of the casting in VDT except Lucy. I didn't like Barbara Kellerman playing both the White Witch, LotGK, and the Hag, but I liked her as LotGK so it works. I also really liked Rilian in SC, even though he didn't look like Hamlet.
4. I can much more easily watch them and not be critical of the effects than I can the new ones. The movies are supposed to outstanding in effects, but there are couple of times where the green screen is just too obvious and Aslan in PC looks like a stuffed toy. At least the lion in the BBC is a stuffed toy, so saying it looks like one is okay. Although when I was about five I thought he was a real lion.
5. I also have an easier time than some watching it because I have seen a lot of BBC miniseries from about the same time and they are truly better than every single one I've seen. Sure, it's sometimes obvious they're on a soundstage, but much less so than in other miniseries of the time.

I don't have much time. And I'll probably say what others have said.

I voted "I like them."
1. I grew up on these movies.
2. I loved the music theme.
3. They were like the books!
4. SC was my favorite of the four [and my favorite book until recently ... now it's VDT. ]
5. I didn't think the animal costumes were very good.
6. I didn't like the casting of Lucy.

I'm curious. Has anyone seen the two-part interview with the BBC cast on YouTube? It's part of my Narnia playlist, along with the BBC theme.