Wow, I have never heard of anyone disliking a book because a film version that came out some 55 years later. I was not too impressed with the Lord of the Rings films, but I didn't go chucking away my leather bound copy of the book. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe film wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be, still it wasn't that great. It was too CG and too Disney. I was impressed, being from Disney and all, that they made it as faithful to the book as they did. I have yet to see any book that has been adapted to film faithfully enough to appease long time fans of the book. TLTWatW was bound to disapoint many long time fans of the book. Come on, don't loose your fondness for the books just because Disney decided to use them to cach in on the Lord of the Rings hype, there are still plenty of copies of the books out there that don't have movie advertisments printed all over them. Also, is the Black Cauldron actually your favorite book of all time? the way you said "I will get around to reading it soon" makes it sound as if you have not yet read it. I am only vaguely familar with the Prydian Chronicles of which it is a member.
I still like the book. I think it's a great book. But since the 2005 movie version is the thing America's familiar with, I can't consider it my favorite book of all time anymore. People will flame me if I hate the movie and say the book is my favorite book of all time. That's why I picked the Black Cauldron. Because I liked it's movie, so people won't get mad at me about that.
The Animated version came out in 79, from what I remember of it as a kid it is very accurate to the book. It is my favorite adaption of the book by far. However, the animation has that 70s 80s animation feel to it so most people to day who watch it for the first time dismiss it merely for its poor (for todays standards) animation. I noticed that (for people in the US) Wal-Mart has it in their childrens DVD section for under $10 (I think it was $7.99).
That's the same issue with my brother and sister. They both love the movie version and hate the animated version because it's outdated. I try to get them to watch it but they won't. Guess I'll just have to bury their DVD copy. And if they're too ckicken to go look for it, they might finally give the animated version a chance.
The 1988-1990 BBC made for TV versions were also pretty good, extremely cheesy by todays special effects standards, as some of the monsters on the queens side are actually cartoons. And all the animals are people dressed up in animal costums. In fact it was even a bit cheesy for 1988 standards, typical budget of made for TV BBC features. They only made The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Price Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair.
Yes, that's what I thought. Thanks for making that clear.
I didn't care too much for the BBC version. One of the main things that bothered me was the girl who played Lucy. Buck teeth, and quite often went about with her mouth hanging open. Mary Poppins would say: "We are not a codfish!"
