Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Return to Narnia

The magical world of C.S. Lewis' beloved fantasy comes to life once again in Prince Caspian, the second installment of The Chronicles Of Narnia series. Join Peter, Susan, Edmund Lucy, the mighty and majestic Aslan, new Narnian creatures and Prince Caspian as they lead the Narnians on a remarkable journey to restore peace and glory to their enchanted land.
Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Release: May 16, 2008
Genre: Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG
Based On: Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Writer: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Director: Andrew Adamson
Music By: Harry Gregson-Williams
Produced By: Andrew Adamson, Cary Granat, Mark Johnson, Perry Moore, Douglas Gresham, Philip Steuer
Distributed By: Walt Disney Pictures & Buena Vista Pictures
Run Time: 140 minutes
Official Website

The adaptations of C. S. Lewis’ world famous Chronicles of Narnia series continue with Prince Caspian, the second published story (but considered the fourth in chronological order). Released nearly three years after the first Narnia movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, this follow-up has everything the first film had multiplied. There is a darker tone, more character depth, bigger and more elaborate battle sequences, a wonderful music score, absolutely amazing special effects, and many more gorgeous film locations.

Fantastical movies set in imaginary worlds that first captured imaginations in books have recently become some of the most anxiously awaited films of that year. Once J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series were adapted to the screen by New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers, it was only natural that the Walt Disney Company would want to produce a movie series just as iconic and what better material than C. S. Lewis’ beloved Narnian novels? That’s not to say that this is the first time anyone has tried to adapt this series, the BBC made an attempt with a TV serial in 1989-1990 but it can’t compete with Disney and the thousands of people who helped make this film.

Somehow, I had never read any of the Narnia books growing up and it wasn’t until the first movie came out that I had any interest in doing so. I actually watched The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe before reading the book but I enjoyed both formats so much that I decided to read the rest of the series. Unfortunately although I enjoyed Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, I thought the previous novel was much better and put off reading the rest of the books for a while. Then I saw the movie and was blown away! Although some scenes were added and a few weren’t used, I thought the final film was based as faithfully as possible to Mr. Lewis’ original story.

One of the reasons I didn’t enjoy the novel version of Prince Caspian as much as the previous book was because my favorite Narnian Mr. Tumnus wasn’t in the story. There were plenty of new and interesting Narnians though like Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, and of course the ever adorable Reepicheep! It is partly because of these characters that I’ve come to love Walt Disney’s Prince Caspian as much (if not more) than their first journey into the world of Narnia. Now I can hardly wait to read (and see!) the rest of this amazing series. The third film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is scheduled for release in 2010.

Related Narnia Reviews By Me:
Books-
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe & Prince Caspian: Return to Narnia
Movie- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Links: Imdb.com, Wikipedia, Reelz Channel (tons of video interviews, etc.), Fan Site (Fanpop), Narnia Web
Interviews: Hollywood.com (text and video interviews)

Trailer:


New York Premiere:

10 comments:

  1. This one is definitely on my must see list, I've missed a lot of big ones that I wanted to see in the theatre this year. :( Oh well, that's what Netflix is for!

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  2. you know, I've never read these or seen the films...shame on me!
    great review :)
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  3. I've never read any of the Narnia books either. Fantasy wasn't my thing when I was younger. I didn't start reading it until I was older.

    I did take my kids to see the movie though. I liked it. But I think the first movie was far better.

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  4. I totally agree. The first movie was better than the first, but I liked the characters in the second one better. They were funnier. :)

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  5. I'm eagerly waiting for the third... Voyage of the Dawn Treader was (is) one of my favorite books ever, and I absolutely had a crush on Caspian as a kid. I only hope they keep being faithful to the books, and that they let Ben Barnes drop that terrible pseudo-Spanish accent.

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  6. Shaunesay: I really need Netflix lol.

    Naida: You won't regret reading or seeing them I promise!

    Stephanie: Although I spent a lot of time in libraries growing up, I mainly discovered books on my own since I was the only reader in my house (but I eventually converted my mom). I hit the "classics" really early on but somehow I never came across these!

    J. Kaye: They were funnier, especially the "DLF" and Reepicheep.

    Fyrefly: I hate waiting! Barnes has a wonderful British accent but they aren't going to let him drop the Spanish ones because in an interview they said that they decided they were going to go with the Terlmarines being Spanish because their ancestors were supposed to be pirates (I can't figure out this logic but they were going to make them French so I'm not going to argue too much).

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  7. Not that I have anything against the French (I actually love their accents and culture) but someone trying to fake their accent sounds painful!

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  8. I liked this one better than the first film too. I thought the computer graphics were so much better and I liked the pacing of the movie. That isn't to say I didn't like the first movie--because I did! I am glad you enjoyed this one too, Jen.

    It's been so long since I read the books. My grandmother encouraged me to read them when I was a child and I enjoyed them immensely then. I should take a chance and read them again sometime.

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  9. Sadly I haven't seen these movies yet but I do plan to, I enjoyed your review!

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  10. Literary Feline: I wish I would have discovered these books earlier because my grandmother would have really liked them too.

    Tracy: Oh you have to see these incredibly well-made movies! C. S. Lewis' grandson is one of the producer's. Thank you!!!

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