Last in this series of posts, some VHS and DVD covers of the animated special. These have not been consistent at all over the years.
This VHS release was the first, released October 13th, 1993 in the U.S. No idea why it took that long. Copyrights maybe. Though not great design, the cardboard slipcover combines actual images from the film.
Another VHS released showing the colored artwork from the original 1979 poster, which makes the images less accurate as the poster was created before the special, not after. Now, it looks very dated. The same design was reworked several times and is still being used on some DVDs today.
The one above is a poor adaptation of the original artwork showing the witch as a benign, even helpful, fairy godmother drawing wisps in the sky, and Aslan as the suspicious one. That’s not right! Plus Edmund is riding him. In the story that place is Susan’s.
But… I have to say it’s more aesthetically appealing compared to some of the others.
Another re-do that’s all wrong, with the witch acting like a den mother to the kids. Lucy’s outfit is wrongly colored and Mr. Tumnus is floating in mid-air as he holds that banner. Though Peter’s (disembodied) hand may be supporting him. Why couldn’t the artist have bothered to watch it, even just for a minute or two?
This DVD cover, though (somewhat) accurate to the screen images, is a little too garish.
Oh heavens help me. This DVD cover is awful, especially with the nightmarish kid’s faces. It must have come out after the Walden movies because Susan has her bow and arrows on her to show she’s not entirely useless in a fight.
The DVDÂ cover of the widest and most popular release. It’s not a film image, but the artist took care with the reproduction of it.
Another recent DVD cover. The best one in my book. It uses close reproductions of the actual artwork and is colorful, clean and well designed. My only criticism is that the girls’ hair and clothing is not accurately colored and Mr. Tumnus appears to be skiing down that icy slope, which didn’t happen in the film AFAIK.
A special edition DVD showing the witch in a more quiet, sinister moment. Also very nice!
