C.S. Lewis' imaginative 'Chronicle' continues

By: Brianne Tedders

Posted: 5/23/08

It has been one year since Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy have left Narnia. One day, they are suddenly called back to the land they once ruled and find that everything has changed. One year for the children in the real world is 1,300 years in Narnia.

Their palace is in ruins, everyone they know is long gone and it seems like all the magic of Narnia has been drained. The country is now occupied by a race of humans called the Telmarines ruled by the evil Lord Miraz and the magical creatures and talking animals are now merely legend. Prince Caspian, Miraz's nephew and true heir to the throne of Narnia, must now join with the Pevensie children to fight to return peace to Narnia.

There are some familiar faces from the first movie that return to Prince Caspian. The actors who played the Pevensie children are all the same, just a little older. There are some new faces and voices as well. Prince Caspian is played by British stage actor Ben Barnes - who is gorgeous. A dwarf named Trumpkin is played by Peter Dinklage (Elf, Death at a Funeral) and Eddie Izzard (Ocean's 13, Across the Universe) lends his voice to Reepicheep, the noble and witty talking mouse. Andrew Adamson (Shrek) returns as the director. The crew included award winning makeup and costume designers, an Academy Award nominated visual effects team, and a musical score written by Harry Gregson-Williams (who also did the score for the first movie). Together, they were able to re-create C.S. Lewis' magical world and translate it onto the big screen.

The transition from book to film was easy for the imaginations of the filmmakers. Georgie Henley, the actress who played Lucy Pevensie, said of Lewis' books, "They're just brilliant because of the way C.S. Lewis wrote them. He didn't put too much description in, so Narnia is almost our complete imagination. We can interpret it however we like. I think that most people have their own interpretation of these books and these characters."

Adamson, his crew and the actors were able to put as much of their own creativity into the movie as Lewis did in his books. Adamson decided to make Prince Caspian a little older than his character in the book and added an interesting encounter with the White Witch from the first movie. He also added a dramatic night raid of Miraz's castle.

Though Prince Caspian was visually stunning, there were a few details that left me a little confused. Apparently Narnia has been occupied by 15th century Italy since the Pevensies left. Lord Miraz was played by prominent Italian actor Sergio Castellitto and many of his men were also of Italian or Spanish descent. This wasn't my problem though. My problem was with Caspian's accent - where was he supposed to be from? It was kind of all over the place and he couldn't cover it up with his looks alone.

Another problem with the movie was the storytelling. It was covered up by A LOT of battle scenes, some of them were impossible to see because they took place at night. I also found it disturbing how much destruction (including a fight to the death) they were able to fit into a family movie.

Other than that, the movie was excellent. It had a much darker, serious feel to it, but the same humor and heart of the first one is still present. Here is my conclusion - I enjoyed it. Prince Caspian was hot. You will be entertained.

The Chronicles of Narnia:
Prince Caspian

Walt Disney Pictures
Rating: B
Run Time: 147 minutes
Synopsis:
We find the Pevensie siblings pulled back into the land of Narnia, where a thousand years have passed since they left.

Brianne Tedders

diversions@dailybarometer.com