The Chronicles of Narnia- BBC series

I've just re-watched my childhood favorite, the BBC miniseries "The Chronicles of Narnia" which had Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, Voyage of the Dawn Treader AND The Silver Chair. Fortunately, it was very enjoyable. Unfortunately, it turns out the special effects could have been made by me and the acting was for the most part worse than a middle school play.

However, I must pay homage to this series that began my love for CS Lewis. I named my first pet Mr. Tumnus because of this series, and I compare the new Disney versions to these mercilessly (and however bad, they are often better in my mind). While the Disney versions have better actors, effects, and a much larger budget that allowed for a richer experience there was something genuine in this version. It felt more homely, more British, and a little bit spookier. Aslan, though he was a rigid puppet that didn't really open his mouth, seemed more real (though isn't that always the case in puppet vs. digital?). And while Reepicheep, that faithful mouse, was Warwick Davis ("Willow", prof. flitwick in Harry Potter) inside a large mouse suit and they never explained why he wasn't mouse sized, I still loved him.

The fight scenes were virtually nonexistent, Prince Caspian looked like he could barely make a sentence let alone lead an army, and while the White Witch wasn't as odd or cunning as in the Disney version she still had a nasty looking grin that scared me as a kid. I think I'll never know exactly what struck me about this series that made me watch it over and over, but there must be something to the heart of the series that makes it a smaller but valiant alternative to the big budget version.