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NARNIA MANIA! The theatrical and DVD releases of Disney Home Entertainment’s production of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe have been accompanied by a number of DVD titles that congregations will find useful in a variety of settings and applications.

C. S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia
Good Times Video, producer, 2006 Amazon.com, distributor, $12.99. DVD: color, approx. 54 min. plus bonus material; stereo, closed-captioned; not rated Film Advisory Board, Inc. Award of Excellence winner.

This DVD tells the story not only of the creation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but also of the man who wrote the popular books and his journey of faith from which they grew.

Anton Rodgers, who plays Lewis in adulthood and old age, captures Lewis perfectly. A fine supporting cast portrays the major and minor characters in Lewis’s life as well as Lewis as a child and a young man. The production, especially Rodgers’s performance, is moving, humorous, and riveting by turns.

It is especially good in the telling of Lewis’s faith life. From his youthful atheism to the first glimmers of faith, his conversion, and subsequent joys and struggles as a believer, we hear and see Lewis, often in words from his own books. For example, Rodgers speaks the heartrending opening line of A Grief Observed verbatim — “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear” — over the scenes about Lewis’s despair at the death of his wife, Joy Davidman.

The film lets us see and hear the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe come into being as Lewis reads an early draft of the book to his friends, including J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, in an Oxford pub.

As Lewis the narrator, Rodgers addresses us directly, as if we were there with him in his home. This produces a powerful immediacy and connection with Lewis but also the experience of watching and listening to a master storyteller ply his craft. The effect is gripping, for young and old alike.

Beyond Narnia’s 54-minute running time makes it an easy fit for use in adult forums, confirmation ministry, Sunday school, or other venues. It makes an excellent companion piece to the Narnia theatrical productions that will answer many questions and provide an illuminating context to help viewers get more from the movie.

But make no mistake, Beyond Narnia stands on its own as fine filmmaking and as a stirring witness to the power of faith in Christ. I defy you to view this DVD (especially the last scene) and not be moved.

Enter the Wardrobe
Luther Productions, 2005, $29.95. 2481 Como Ave. St. Paul, MN 55108 651-646-5526 DVD: color, approx. 38 minutes (includes bonus material and PDF study guide); not rated.

Can Fantasy Carry the Gospel? (a product related to Enter the Wardrobe)
Luther Productions, 2005, $14.95. 2481 Como Ave. St. Paul, MN 55108 651-646-5526 Audio CD; approx. 48 min.

These two releases from Luther Productions provide enlightening observations and insights into the content and theology of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as well as the Narnia stories as a whole.

Both releases feature the same panel of five Luther Seminary faculty members discussing the literary, theological, evangelical, and other themes of Lewis’s stories. These conversations provide an excellent way to equip pastors, teachers, youth staff, and lay leaders to discover the riches of faith and life — for young and old alike — that C.S. Lewis placed in every Narnian plot twist and character.

It is clear from the DVD and the CD how much each of the participants finds these books to be imaginative ways into the gospel. In form and in effect, Lewis’s tales are worthy of the truths to which they point. And, as the panel makes clear, there is great fun and high adventure in the bargain.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Special two-disc Collector’s Edition Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2005, $34.99 DVD: color/stereo, approx. 135 min. plus 8 hrs. bonus material; rated PG.

This is the current “gold standard” for Narnia productions. Well-scripted and -directed with gorgeous exteriors and excellent special effects, this Disney version is faithful to the book and the author’s intent. The interactive 3D topographical map of Narnia will appeal to video gamers and offers an in-depth feel for the land of Lewis’s imagination.

A 1988 BBC production of four Narnia books (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and The Silver Chair), which aired on public television in the United States in the 1990s, is available in a three-disc DVD set and on videocassette. Though lacking the superior special effects of the Disney production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, they tell the stories well and have the practical advantage of being available on loan through local libraries and covering three Narnia books not otherwise on film.

A congregation with the titles reviewed above would have an effective set of teaching tools with which to guide travelers young and old through the wardrobe and into the wonders that are the Chronicles of Narnia.

Geoffrey L. Scott, Lutheran Partners’ video review editor, is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Menomonie, Wisconsin.