The Chronicles of Narnia Never Has the Magic Been so Real Radio Theatre Full Cast Drama Audio Cd

"Focus on the Family" is always a bit tough for me, because while I strongly disagree with their political stance, I dearly love their Radio Theater productions. Along with groups like the ZBS Foundation's Jack Flanders and Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe series, FOTF is one of the few producers of high quality radio drama in the US. There is the dilemma that purchasing their product puts money in their coffers to further their political agenda, but in the end I am buying the product, not the point-of-view. This complete "Chronicles of Narnia" is just an amazing production, and an incredible deal. For the low price you get all seven books in the Narnia series, done in full-cast audio productions. Each book has between 2-3 CDs depending on the length. That is an astounding twenty-two hours of audio adventure for less than twenty dollars. I actually owned the FOTF production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe separately which I bought for about the same price as this entire series. FOTF did everything right with their adaptation, including hiring British actors for the children There have been some complaints about the choice of David Suchet for Aslan, and his way of portraying the character, but I personally thought he was an excellent match, with a deep imperious voice. His intonation is rhythmic, which I think adds to the supernatural nature of the character as opposed to the human children. Each episode is given an introduction by Douglas Gresham, CS Lewis's stepson, who talks about his personal memories of each story and gives delightful background of their creation and publication. I really enjoyed his introductions, and felt that this "special feature" added quite a bit to the whole production. I realize when I got this set that, while I love several of the books in "The Chronicles of Narnia," I had never actually read the entire series. Somehow I made it through childhood without reading "The Horse and His Boy," "The Silver Chair" and "The Last Battle," although I devoured the other books multiple times. It was nice to revisit the land of Narnia again, and to get all the stories this time. Listening to this excellent radio production has made me want to go back and read the books again, and this time read them all. On a side note: I am impressed that FOTF does not take the opportunity to sell a political message with this series. The text is true to the author, which includes Christian themes, but they are not overly emphasized nor to Douglas Gresham's introductions touch on these points. The stories are presented as the classics they are, enjoyable by everyone regardless of politics or religion. Read more

As a lover of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, I was both eager and unsure of another adaptation. I was very pleased with this production, however, finding myself once again getting pulled into the magical world of Narnia. The Radio Theatre does an excellent job of dramatizing while remaining faithful to the series with few changes. It is well-acted, has believable background sounds, and great music to help set the right mood. My children and I love listening to it in the car on trips, or even at home while doing chores. Read more

Let me start by saying that I've read the Narnia books many times in the past 30 years and believe they are some of the best fantasy books ever written. I was hesitant to buy this audio version as I do not care for audio books in general. However, I was searching for something to listen to while recovering from surgery and hoped that this would be better than an audio book since it is billed as "Radio Theatre." WOW! The quality of the production (the music score, voices, sound effects...the whole production) is outstanding. I have been able to visit Narnia in the quiet, dark comfort of my room. It has been a truly enchanting experience to be able to go there with my eyes closed in a truly relaxed state of mind. My heart was pounding during moments of suspense and I felt absolute joy during the victories experienced in the various books...there were scenes that moved me to tears (even though I knew what was coming...the anticipation was far greater listening to this production that it is when I read the books). They did such a great job of capturing scenes such as Aslan singing creation into being in the Magician's Nephew. I could go on like this for quite some time, but hopefully you get the idea. I will listen to these stories again and again...it was also very nice to fall asleep to. This set is a BARGAIN for $33.00. I am buying several more to donate to a local hospice, as well as for Christmas and birthday presents. I absolutely recommend this specific version of the Chronicles of Narnia to anyone from 8 to 88 who has even the faintest hint of imagination alive in them! If you're old enough to be a fan of "old-time radio theatre," you'll find yourself in listener's heaven for a lovely 22 hours! Read more

Throw out the scratched up DVDs your kids have seen a million times, and get this extraordinary set of audio cd's. We have six kids, and all ages were captivated by the stories. Excellent actors and dramatic effects (i.e., hearing a thundering herd of horses), and even more outstanding stories by CS Lewis. Literally, none of us wanted to make a pit stop, as we were all enthralled - "Keep driving, dad! Just go one more exit, please!" Best $30 you will ever spend on entertainment. Read more