After an air raid during World War II, the Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy) are evacuated from London to the country home of Professor Kirke.

During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers a wardrobe and hides inside, only to find that she has entered a magical winter world. Lucy finds a lamppost and encounters a faun named Mr. Tumnus, who invites her to his home and tells her she is in Narnia. Tumnus puts Lucy to sleep by playing a flute lullaby, and when Lucy wakes up, he explains that the White Witch cursed Narnia to eternally experience winter and never Christmas; any humans encountered are to be brought to her. Tumnus instead sends Lucy home, where she finds hardly any time had passed, and her siblings disbelieve her story due to the normal state of the wardrobe.

Lucy later returns through the wardrobe, followed by Edmund. Edmund meets the White Witch, who claims to be queen of Narnia. Edmund tells her about his siblings and Tumnus, and the Witch offers him Turkish delight and kingship if he brings his siblings to her castle. After she departs, Edmund and Lucy reunite. Lucy informs Peter and Susan, but Edmund lies out of spite. When Peter and Susan bring the issue to Professor Kirke, he suggests Lucy is telling the truth.

While fleeing the housekeeper after accidentally breaking a window, the four siblings retreat to the wardrobe and enter Narnia. Peter berates Edmund for lying and forces him to apologize to Lucy. They discover that the Witch has taken Tumnus, and they meet a couple of talking beavers, who say Aslan plans to return and regain control of Narnia, and there is a prophecy that says if two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit on the thrones of Cair Paravel, the Witch's reign will end.

Edmund sneaks off to visit the Witch, but she is furious that he came without his siblings. The Witch sends wolves to find the children, and Edmund is imprisoned, where he meets Tumnus. The children and beavers escape, and the Witch demands Edmund reveal their location. Tumnus defends Edmund, but the Witch reveals Edmund's treachery before turning Tumnus to stone.

While Peter, Lucy, Susan, and the beavers travel, they encounter Father Christmas, a sign that the Witch's power is weakening. He gives them tools to defend themselves — Lucy receives a cordial that can heal any injury, and a dagger; Susan receives a magical horn, and a bow and quiver of arrows; and Peter receives a sword and shield. After evading Maugrim's wolves due to the melting ice, the group reaches Aslan's camp, where he is revealed to be a lion who promises to help Edmund. Two wolves ambush Lucy and Susan, but Peter kills Maugrim; Aslan's troops follow the other wolf to the Witch's camp and rescue Edmund.

The White Witch journeys to Aslan's camp to claim Edmund, but Aslan secretly offers himself instead. That night, as Lucy and Susan covertly watch, the White Witch kills Aslan, then deploys an army to slaughter Aslan's troops. Lucy and Susan send a warning, and Edmund persuades Peter to take command. In the morning, both armies violently clash. Aslan is resurrected, citing magic beyond the Witch's understanding, and takes Susan and Lucy to the Witch's castle to free the petrified prisoners. Edmund is mortally wounded while saving Peter from the Witch, but the reinforcements arrive and Aslan kills the Witch. Edmund is healed by Lucy's cordial, and the Pevensies are crowned King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant.

Fifteen years later, the Pevensie children, now adults, pursue a white stag. They encounter the lamppost which Lucy first saw when she entered Narnia. They cross back through the wardrobe, becoming children again. Professor Kirke finds them, asking why they were in the wardrobe.

In a mid-credits scene, Lucy attempts to use the wardrobe, but Professor Kirke tells her he has also tried, and they will probably return to Narnia when they least expect it.

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are evacuated from London in 1940, to escape the Blitz, and sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke at a large house in the English countryside. While exploring the house, Lucy enters a wardrobe and discovers the magical world of Narnia. Here, she meets the faun named Tumnus, whom she addresses as "Mr. Tumnus". Tumnus invites her to his cave for tea and admits that he intended to report Lucy to the White Witch, the false ruler of Narnia who has kept the land in perpetual winter, but he repents and guides her back home. Although Lucy's siblings initially disbelieve her story of Narnia, Edmund follows her into the wardrobe and winds up in a separate area of Narnia and meets the White Witch, who calls herself the Queen of Narnia. The Witch plies Edmund with Turkish delight and persuades him to bring his siblings to her with the promise of being made a prince. Edmund reunites with Lucy and they both return home. However, Edmund denies Narnia's existence to Peter and Susan after learning of the White Witch's identity from Lucy.

Soon afterwards, all four children enter Narnia together, but find that Tumnus has been arrested for treason. The children are befriended by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, who tell them of a prophecy that claims the White Witch's rule will end when "two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve" sit on the four thrones of Cair Paravel, and that Narnia's true ruler – a great lion named Aslan – is returning at the Stone Table after several years of absence. Edmund slips away to the White Witch's castle, where he finds a courtyard filled with the Witch's enemies turned into stone statues. Edmund reports Aslan's return to the White Witch, who begins her movement toward the Stone Table with Edmund in tow, and orders the execution of Edmund's siblings and the Beavers. Meanwhile, the Beavers realise where Edmund has gone, and lead the children to meet Aslan at the Stone Table. During the trek, the group notices that the snow is melting, and take it as a sign that the White Witch's magic is fading. This is confirmed by a visit from Father Christmas, who had been kept out of Narnia by the Witch's magic, and he leaves the group with gifts and weapons.

The children and the Beavers reach the Stone Table and meet Aslan and his army. The White Witch's wolf captain Maugrim approaches the camp and attacks Susan, but is killed by Peter. The White Witch arrives and parleys with Aslan, invoking the "Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time" which gives her the right to kill Edmund for his treason. Aslan then speaks to the Witch alone, and on his return he announces that the Witch has renounced her claim on Edmund's life. Aslan and his followers then move the encampment on into the nearby forest. That evening, Susan and Lucy secretly follow Aslan to the Stone Table. They watch from a distance as the Witch puts Aslan to death – as they had agreed in their pact to spare Edmund. The next morning, Aslan is resurrected by the "Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time", which has the power to reverse death if a willing victim takes the place of a traitor. Aslan takes the girls to the Witch's castle and revives the Narnians that the Witch had turned to stone. They join the Narnian forces battling the Witch's army. The Narnian army prevails, and Aslan kills the Witch. The Pevensie children are then crowned kings and queens of Narnia at Cair Paravel.

After a long and happy reign, the Pevensies, now adults, go on a hunt for the White Stag who is said to grant the wishes of those who catch it. The four arrive at the lamp-post marking Narnia's entrance and, having forgotten about it, unintentionally pass through the wardrobe and return to England; they are children again, with no time having passed since their departure. They tell the story to Kirke, who believes them and reassures the children that they will return to Narnia one day when they least expect it.

Television

The story has been adapted three times for television. The first was a 10-part serial produced by ABC Weekend Television for ITV and broadcast in 1967.^{[citation needed]} In 1979, an animated TV movie,[61] directed by Peanuts director Bill Melendez, was broadcast and won the first Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.^{[citation needed]} A third television adaptation was produced in 1988 by the BBC using a combination of live actors, animatronic puppets, and animation. The 1988 adaptation was the first of a series of four Narnia adaptations over three seasons. The programme was nominated for an Emmy Award and won a BAFTA.^{[citation needed]}

Theatre

Stage adaptations include a 1984 version staged at London's Westminster Theatre, produced by Vanessa Ford Productions. The play, adapted by Glyn Robbins, was directed by Richard Williams and designed by Marty Flood.[62] Jules Tasca, Ted Drachman and Thomas Tierney collaborated on a musical adaptation published in 1986.[63]

In 1997, Trumpets Inc., a Filipino Christian theatre and musical production company, produced a musical rendition that Douglas Gresham, Lewis's stepson (and co-producer of the Walden Media film adaptations), has openly declared that he feels is the closest to Lewis's intention.[64][65][66] It starred among others popular young Filipino singer Sam Concepcion as Edmund Pevensie.[67]

In 1998, the Royal Shakespeare Company did an adaptation by Adrian Mitchell, for which the acting edition has been published.[68] The Stratford Festival in Canada mounted a new production of Mitchell's work in June 2016.[69][70]

In 2003, an Australian commercial stage production by Malcolm C. Cooke Productions toured the country, using both life-sized puppets and human actors. It was directed by notable film director Nadia Tass, and starred Amanda Muggleton, Dennis Olsen, Meaghan Davies, and Yolande Brown.[71][72]

In 2011, a two-actor stage adaptation by Le Clanché du Rand opened off-Broadway in New York City at St. Luke's Theatre. The production was directed by Julia Beardsley O'Brien and starred Erin Layton and Andrew Fortman.[73] As of 2014, the production is currently running with a replacement cast of Abigail Taylor-Sansom and Rockford Sansom.[74]

In 2012, Michael Fentiman with Rupert Goold co-directed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at a Threesixty 'tented production' in Kensington Gardens, London. It received a Guardian three-star review.[75]

A new stage adaptation debuted at Leeds Playhouse in 2017.[76] The production then transferred to London's Bridge Theatre in 2019.[77] Beginning in November 2021, the show began a tour across the U.K. and transferred to the West End's Gillian Lynne Theatre for an engagement lasting from 28 July (previews from 18 July) 2022 to 8 January 2023.[78][79] Directed by Michael Fentiman, the production stars Samantha Womack as the White Witch; Ammar Duffus, Robyn Sinclair, Shaka Kalokoh, and Delainey Hayles as the Pevensie siblings; and Chris Jared as Aslan.[80]

Film

In 2005, the story was adapted for a theatrical film, co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media.[81] It was followed by two more films: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,[82] the latter of which was produced by 20th Century Fox instead of Disney.[83]