50 Fun Facts About The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Which enchanted sweet does the White Witch feed Edmund to win his loyalty in Narnia?

Turkish delight is the bait that turns Edmund against his family, and sales of the sweet rose after the 2005 film reached cinemas.

C. S. Lewis said Narnia began with an image of which creature carrying an umbrella through snow?

A faun with parcels in a snowy wood was the image Lewis had carried since his teens, and it became Mr. Tumnus, the first Narnian that Lucy meets.

Which later Oscar winner for Michael Clayton played the White Witch in the 2005 Narnia film?

Tilda Swinton was the first choice for the role, the one part filled without the long search that the four Pevensie children required.

When the Pevensies stumble home after years ruling Narnia, what has happened to time in England?

None has passed: the four kings and queens are children again at the very moment they left, and the Professor believes every word of their story.

Aslan's death and return to life in the first Narnia book mirror the story of which figure?

Jesus Christ is the parallel, with two twists: Aslan gives his life for one boy, Edmund, and lies dead for a single night instead of three days.

Which actor voiced Aslan in the 2005 Narnia film after Brian Cox was dropped from the role?

Liam Neeson sought out the part himself, and his casting was only announced in July 2005, a few months before the film opened.

Which threat to wartime London sends the Pevensies to the Professor's house in the Narnia stories?

The Blitz drives the four children out of the city, and it echoed real life: in 1939 three evacuated schoolgirls came to live at Lewis's own home.

Which game are the Pevensies playing when Edmund follows Lucy into the wardrobe and reaches Narnia?

Hide-and-seek sends Edmund in after Lucy, who had found Narnia earlier while exploring; the 2005 film moved the game to her very first trip.

In which Southern Hemisphere country did filming begin on the 2005 Narnia film?

New Zealand hosted the main shoot from June 2004, before the crew moved on to the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Poland for the last scenes.

Which possession of the White Witch does Edmund smash in the final battle for Narnia?

Her wand was the Witch's most dangerous advantage, and Edmund is gravely wounded in breaking it before his sister Lucy revives him.

Which visitor, shut out of Narnia by the White Witch's magic, hands the Pevensies weapons for the fight ahead?

Father Christmas is the first sign that the hundred-year freeze is failing, since the Witch's spell had kept him away for as long as it held.

Which talking animals shelter the Pevensie children in Narnia and lead them to Aslan?

Beavers, a married pair and friends of Mr. Tumnus, take the children in and tell them of the prophecy that four humans will end the Witch's rule.

Which out-of-place object in a snowy wood marks the spot where Lucy first steps into Narnia?

A lamp-post shines there because the Witch once hurled an iron bar torn from a London street light, and it took root in Narnia's newly made soil.

On which ancient landmark does the White Witch kill Aslan in the first Narnia story?

The Stone Table breaks as Aslan returns to life, undone by a magic older than the Witch's own that reverses the death of a willing victim.

Which small animals gnaw through the ropes binding Aslan's body in the first Narnia story?

Mice free the dead lion, and as a reward their kind later gained the speech and wits of Narnia's other talking animals.

What kind of animal is Maugrim, the captain of the White Witch's secret police in Narnia?

A wolf: Maugrim springs at Susan near Aslan's camp, and killing him earns her brother the title Sir Peter Wolfsbane.

Which actor, later Professor X in the X-Men films, played Mr. Tumnus in the 2005 Narnia film?

James McAvoy stayed hidden from Georgie Henley in costume until their first scene was shot, so her Lucy met Mr. Tumnus for the first time on camera.

At which seaside castle with four thrones are the Pevensies crowned kings and queens of Narnia?

Cair Paravel is a ruin by the time the four return in the next book: one year at home turns out to be 1,300 years in Narnia.

Which title does Lucy, the youngest Pevensie, receive when she is crowned a queen of Narnia?

The Valiant suits the child who found Narnia first and kept faith in it when her brothers and sister doubted her; Susan became the Gentle.

Which animated hit had Andrew Adamson directed before he made the 2005 Narnia film?

Shrek won the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and Adamson began his Narnia script with a 20-page treatment written from his memories of the book.

Which name of the White Witch appears just once in the first Narnia book, on an arrest notice?

Jadis is named only on the notice left on Mr. Tumnus's door, and Lewis did not explain where she came from until he wrote a prequel years later.

Under Narnia's Deep Magic, the White Witch may claim the life of anyone guilty of which offence?

Treason is what Edmund committed against his own family, so the Witch walks into Aslan's camp to demand the boy's blood as her lawful due.

C. S. Lewis dedicated his first Narnia book to Lucy Barfield, who had which connection to him?

His goddaughter lent the heroine her name, though Lewis admitted in the dedication that she had grown too old for fairy tales while he was writing.

Narnia author C. S. Lewis died on the very day in 1963 that which world leader was assassinated?

John F. Kennedy was shot less than an hour after Lewis collapsed, and Brave New World author Aldous Huxley died that day too, so both writers' deaths were overshadowed.

In which city across the Irish Sea was C. S. Lewis, the Oxford don who created Narnia, born?

Belfast was his home until his mother died when he was nine, after which his father sent him to boarding school in England.

Which fellow Oxford fantasy writer helped win Narnia author C. S. Lewis back to religious faith?

J. R. R. Tolkien argued the case on a late-night walk in 1931, then was disappointed when his friend joined the Church of England instead of the Catholic Church.

Which prequel about the wardrobe's origins is numbered first in modern editions of the Narnia books?

The Magician's Nephew was the sixth book published, yet later editions moved it to the front; Lewis had told a young reader the order hardly mattered.

By which name, taken from a childhood pet dog, was Narnia author C. S. Lewis known to his friends?

Jack stuck for life after his dog Jacksie was killed by a carriage and the four-year-old announced that he would answer to no other name.

Skandar Keynes, Edmund in the 2005 Narnia film, is descended from which Victorian naturalist?

Charles Darwin was his great-great-great-grandfather and the economist J. M. Keynes a great-great-uncle; he later left acting to become a political adviser.

Which studio made the first two Narnia films with Walden Media before pulling out in 2008?

Disney walked away after Prince Caspian, so 20th Century Fox stepped in to make the third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Which instrument does Mr. Tumnus play to lull Lucy to sleep on her first visit to Narnia?

A flute tune is meant to keep Lucy drowsy until he can hand her to the Witch, but he bursts into tears, confesses the plan and guides her home instead.

Which gift does Lucy Pevensie use to save her wounded brother Edmund after Narnia's great battle?

A cordial made from the juice of fire-flowers can heal almost any injury, and one dose pulls Edmund back from the edge of death.

In the Narnia stories, which storm-felled tree supplied the wood for the Professor's wardrobe?

Apple wood: as a boy the Professor planted the core of a fruit he had carried home from Narnia, and the tree that grew from it later became the wardrobe.

Which animals, barred by quarantine rules, had to be built as animatronics for the 2005 Narnia film?

Reindeer were refused entry over fears of Q fever, so four mechanical stand-ins with swappable brown and white skins were built for the sledge scenes.

In which category did the 2005 Narnia film win its only Academy Award from three nominations?

Best Makeup was its one win, and effects artist Howard Berger's children had persuaded him to change the White Witch's hair from black to blonde.

Bill Melendez, who animated a 1979 TV version of Narnia, brought which comic strip to the screen?

Peanuts made his name, and his Narnia cartoon drew 37 million viewers on CBS and won the first Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.

Which broadcaster made a 1988 serial of the first Narnia book using actors, puppets and animation?

BBC puppeteers performed Aslan while Ronald Pickup supplied his voice, and the serial opened a run of four Narnia adaptations that lasted until 1990.

What do the White Witch's followers do to Aslan's mane before she kills him in Narnia?

Shave it off is the order: the crowd also muzzles and jeers at the bound lion, and Susan later removes the muzzle to restore his dignity.

What kind of creature drives the White Witch's sledge when Edmund first meets her in Narnia?

A dwarf holds the reins in the book without ever being named; the 2005 film called him Ginarrbrik and had Susan shoot him in the final battle.

Which wish-granting animal are the grown-up Pevensies hunting when they stumble back out of Narnia?

A white stag is sighted near Mr. Tumnus's home, and the chase carries the four rulers out of Narnia, ending what is remembered there as a Golden Age.

Narnia's Professor Kirke was modelled on W. T. Kirkpatrick, who was what to the teenage C. S. Lewis?

His tutor, nicknamed Kirk, drilled the teenage Lewis in clear thinking, which is why the Professor answers doubts about Lucy's story with cold logic.

Which artist, chosen by C. S. Lewis himself, drew the original pictures for all seven Narnia books?

Pauline Baynes won Lewis's praise for her detail, and when the final book took the Carnegie Medal he asked her whether the prize was not really theirs to share.

Which Railway Children author sent a girl to a magic place through a wardrobe long before Narnia?

E. Nesbit set the pattern: in 1948 Lewis told a visiting American writer that the children's book he was struggling to finish was in her tradition.

Early American editions of Narnia renamed Maugrim as Fenris Ulf, a name from which mythology?

Norse legend has a monstrous beast called Fenrir; Lewis made the change himself for the US printing, and editions since 1994 have restored Maugrim.

Which Saturday Night Live sketch about going to see the Narnia film helped make YouTube famous?

Lazy Sunday has Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rapping about a matinee trip, and bootleg uploads drew five million views when YouTube was months old.

Which blockbuster's success persuaded producers the 2005 Narnia film could stay set in Britain?

Harry Potter proved that audiences would follow a British story; an earlier plan at Paramount had moved the Pevensies to the United States.

How does Aslan bring the statues in the White Witch's castle back to life in Narnia?

He breathes on them one at a time, and among those freed is the giant Rumblebuffin, who repays the favour by smashing down the castle gates.

What do the Pevensie children take from the wardrobe to keep warm when all four first enter Narnia?

Fur coats were sensible Susan's idea, and at the end the four must explain to the Professor why some of his coats are still somewhere in Narnia.

At which Oxford college was C. S. Lewis teaching English when he wrote the first Narnia book?

Magdalen kept him for 29 years, and in March 1949 he read two chapters of the new story to a dinner guest there, who told him it was good.

The name Narnia comes from a real hill town, known today as Narni, in which European country?

Italy's town of Narni was called Narnia in Latin, and Lewis had underlined it in a school atlas of the ancient world simply because he liked the sound.