@narnian78 You might like to put a sticker on the cover, to mention the aspects that make PG. You could suggest that parents preview,  to guide the parents with younger children. 

We also have the old BBC Narnia on DVD. I replaced the VHS tapes about ten years ago. I never was very concerned about the BBC Narnia not being appropriate for children with the battle scenes that were not very gory. In all of the years that the tapes and DVD’s were in the library I never received any complaints about the programs. Most people like them, and probably the same would be true for the Walden films.  The Walden films have been seen at least once in theaters by many Christians.  I have seen both of them in Christian book stores, although it’s been at least ten years since we have had one of the stores in the nearby town. I think it is a good idea to offer both versions for viewing options. 

Posted by: @narnian78

I never was very concerned about the BBC Narnia not being appropriate for children with the battle scenes that were not very gory.

And the Understatement of the Year Award goes to...   Slashing at CGI ghosts and oddball characters in really hokey costumes, anyone??  

I'm pretty sure all the BBC Narnia adaptations were G-rated in Australia (that would be U-rated in the UK), that is, suitable for general (universal) audiences. I can't remember about the Walden films, but it sounds like they would be PG at most.

Like just about all films, "suitable for children" or "for families" really depends on the individual children and families! There are some kids who aren't scared or upset by anything, and some kids who will react badly to things that most people wouldn't think of as scary. I know as a child I was absolutely fine with some scenes in movies that were supposed to be frightening, and yet I was also terrified of some utterly silly and non-threatening things that just somehow struck a bad chord with me, maybe because they reminded me of some nightmare I'd once had.

I think the best thing is for the parents to watch the film along with their children, or if they're concerned about it beforehand, watch it first by themselves without the kids to see if there's anything in there they know wouldn't be appropriate for their particular children. That's what I'd do if I had kids, anyway! (And mine would definitely grow up on the Narnia books first and foremost, as soon as they were old enough to understand them, so they'd have that background in place to compare to any film adaptations and there wouldn't be anything unexpected as far as battles or monsters go.)

I haven’t posted anything in quite awhile. I’ve been sick with a cold going around.

Well, it would depend on the child’s understanding. I am a children’s worker and each has their own maturity level.

As for showing the Walden films, I think it would also be advisable not just for parents but for school teachers to preview it before showing their class. 

Did anyone here first watch the Narnia Walden movies by borrowing them from a church library or a public library? Or was it a movie theater where you first saw them?  I was just curious. I have always wondered about where people first viewed them.  I think probably a church or public library is better for family viewing, although a movie theater has the advantage of a big screen.  I think the church libraries have offered the BBC series more often than the Walden films. But before the big screen films were made the BBC series was the only production of Narnia available other than the audio dramas and the 1979 animated movie. 

I missed the cinema release of the first film so I purchased the DVD when it came out. To be honest I was a bit disappointed. Although the film followed the plot of the book fairly closely I felt it deviated quite significantly from the spirit. 

As a result of that I didn't go to the cinema releases of the next two films or buy the DVD's, although I recorded them both when they were eventually screened on terrestrial TV.

@hermit

I don’t think I would dislike any of the three films now, although I did not care much for Prince Caspian when it first came out.  There was too much in the film that was not in the book such as the extended battle scenes.  But today that doesn’t keep me from enjoying some of it, although there are still parts of it that are less appealing to me.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was much more accurate to the original story.  Voyage of the Dawn Treader had some issues with adding things not in the book like the green mist. The three films were actually all quite realistic looking and beautiful to watch. The acting by the cast in all three films was quite good on the whole. I ended up buying all three of the movies on Blu-ray because I thought they were enjoyable enough to watch again at least several times. It didn’t matter that much to me if the movies weren’t perfect.

I watched all the Narnia movies in cinemas but keep in mind that they were all released different years and I was different ages at the times. (Also, as others have mentioned, not all parents are going to have the same opinions about what's appropriate for their kids at what age, partly because their kids are all different.)

It's also worth keeping in mind that the BBC adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe really scared me and other kids when we saw it as kindergartners, so it's not like more modern equals scarier.  

Depends entirely on the family and their standards for what their kids can watch. I was walking out of PC for the first time and had a mom tell me she never would have brought her kids if she had known it was that dark. I never would have been allowed to watch VoDT and PC until I was 12-14. Probably closer to 14 because of the emphasis on the magic part. I didn't watch Star Wars until I was 14. It's just the way my parents wanted me to be old enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality and have a good grounding before diving off into things that can get murky. I was allowed to watch the BBC Narnia series because of how close they were to the books. 

I wonder how many people here actually own both the BBC Narnia and the Walden films.  I bought them both, but it was several years after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was released on DVD that I purchased my own copy. I added the first movie and Dawn Treader to my own collection when the Blu-ray’s were available, and later I added Prince Caspian because I wanted all three movies on Blu-ray.  As for the BBC Narnia, I replaced the VHS tapes with DVD’s and I bought the same set for the church library.   I had thought the BBC series was the best for family viewing, but now I think people in my church should have the option of viewing both the old and new versions. It is not a bad idea to buy them for yourself to watch at your own convenience, and perhaps your family will want to view them when they are no longer in theaters. People are still discussing both versions, which shows their enduring interest in them.

Well I have both sets, although I don't have a family!  But I can share them with my church family as needed.  I'm known as a Narnia enthusiast. And I watch either from time to time.

Posted by: @narnian78

Or was it a movie theater where you first saw them?

I saw VOtDT in theaters. I think that TLtWatWD was borrowed, and PC was bought. About whether it would be appropriate for younger audiences, it would depend largely on the age-range, and the standards of the family. If the families largely home-school their children then they may have stricter moral standards, due to homeschoolers being somewhat more innocent then their public-schooled peers. That isn't always the case however, since some homeschool families I've known allowed their 7-year-olds to watch LotR.

@narnian78 I have all the Walden Narnia movies on DVD and the BBC series.  I watched all the Walden films first at the cinema before purchasing on DVD.  I would strongly recommend both productions for families.  The BBC ones would be more suitable from a younger age, as I found showing my kids (who are homeschooled - and as was said in the most recent comment, are probably more innocent than their public-schooled peers).  I often recommend for anyone, child or adult alike if they want to get a taste of Narnia is like and a taste of what the books are like then they should see both productions, as IMO I think both the Walden productions and the BBC productions catch some (but different elements) of the magic and the heart of the stories, so to get a somewhat balanced taste it's best to view the two, as I think in many areas the books fall somewhere in between them.  Although of course there's are elements which both productions miss, so of course the best thing is to read the books.