Directors: Andrew Adamson
Actors: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Peter Dinklage, Liam Neeson
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Release Date: December 2, 2008
I do not go to the movies anymore, the reasoning based on a multitude of thoughts including advances in home theaters among other things. What that means though is that when there is a movie that I really want to see, Blu Ray on my best television at home with the surround sound is going to be the pinnacle of my viewing pleasure. I have been following the Prince Caspian movie for quite some time now, as I was first introduced to it when I went to last year’s New York Comic Con. This was one of the panels that I had the opportunity to sit on, the actors gave us a nice taste of what was to come in the movie and my interest skyrocketed. Just recently I was able to get a review copy of the Blu Ray and I was extremely excited to make some time to really delve into this story.
A great story needs believable actors, it is as simple as that. C.S. Lewis brings the story so let us take a look at how the actors did. William Moseley who plays Peter holds his own with Ben Barnes playing Prince Caspian. I felt that they played off of each other as actors as well as the characters. Barnes modeled his accent on Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride and this actually did not work that well for me. It kept making me think of The Princess Bride which took me out of the state of Narnia per say. Anna Popple as Susan and Skandar Keynes as Edmund play their parts well, but Georgie Henly as Lucy really worked hard and played Lucy perfect. I think the two standouts are Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin and Sergio Castellitto as King Miraz. Trumpkin is character that both children and adults can enjoy and Peter was made for the roll. His portrayal of the dwarf lets you understand the gray area even when you are fighting on the side of good. I felt Sergio did Miraz justice as the villain (or is it really Sopespian), but also gives us the depth to understand the “why” behind some of his decisions. Even though I comment later that one of the deleted scenes of Miraz should be kept in to give a little more character depth, that is no fault of Sergio.
The story adapted for the big screen takes some short cuts here and there (and moves around some of the timeframes), but captures the overall feel of the book. Andrew Adamson also said he wanted to make the film a bit larger in scale then the book and that does become a feather in his cap for this film. There is a lot of underlying themes presented with this story which the adaptation has the rely on the viewer really paying attention or having read the book already.
The battle scenes in Prince Caspian were nothing short of amazing. The larger battles including the Narnians raiding Miraz’s castle and the final battle between the Narians and Telmarine calvalry. All of this done to look incredible with the special effects needed to bring the Narnians to life. Wonderful. The Miraz and Peter duel that would benefit the winner the surrender of the other was choreographed extremely well, giving the viewer a thrill at the same time keeping the fight realistic enough to see feasible. Even though we are looking at all sorts of mythical and magical creatures in the Narnians they are so seamlessly integrated into the battle scenes that it immerses you in the story. The movie gives a great sense of scope and the world of Narnia seems touchable.
Besides the keeping the storyline in a way that translates well to the screen, the other pass or fail item for a movie like Prince Caspian are the animals and Narnians as they play such an integral part of the movie. These Narnians have to have human mannerisms and characteristics as well as walk upright, but still look like animals. The way they have used the animals and given them life through the special effects passed with flying colors. This completes the overall immersion factor and kept me right in the story from start to finish.
Now on to a more personal note with this film. I was a bit taken back by the way that Prince Caspian movie touched me spiritually, even more so then the first movie. C.S. Lewis veiled a lot of Christian parallels and concepts into the The Chronicles of Narnia, which Lewis himself says he did not set out to do so on purpose. Being Christian myself, I enjoyed putting these parallels together in my head and felt that is had a nice satifying effect in my viewing of the movie. I want to note, that while if you look for them they are there, they also do not force themselves on you. If you are not looking for them, no worries, you movie experience will still be terrific.
Now on to the Extras:
- BD Live
The standard BD Live affair with questions about the movie, I always have a fun time with this testing my memory.
- Audio Commentary
The commentary is put right over the film scene for scene. While not as interesting as some of the other Disney cartoon commentaries it does answer some interesting questions. For someone really looking to get into any part of the film industry it seems that these commentaries are invaluable.
- Circle-Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid
Castle Raid Fight where we hear from different departments on their take on the Castle Raid and how their groups did the work required to make the magic happen. Audio commentary which was a bit more focused and interesting then following along with the overall movie commentary. Allowed you to hear from each group on how they put together the Castle Raid. The other part the actual Circle-Vision Interactive is a 360 degree view of the set in static pictures that have hot buttons that allow you to find out more of what was going on in that area. A well thought out design to feed the viewer information.
- The Bloopers of Narnia
Looks like the cast had a pretty fun time on set, it is a wonder no one got hurt with all the falling down that they did.
- Deleted Scenes
I think this is the first time where I disagree with the director on the deleted scenes, even after listening to his commentary. Out of the 10 deleted scenes there are at least 5 that I feel better explain the relationships and story that C.S. Lewis put from pen to paper. I would have liked to see an option with these scenes actually inserted into the movie and see if the pacing does suffer as the director says. A nice bonus and one that I am glad I got the opportunity to watch.
- Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns
A commentary where we hear about the director and his personal insight on the story of Prince Caspian. We are also shown how the cast and crew comes together as a family.
- Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life
Some of the staff talk about how they interpreted C.S. Lewis’ work. It was interesting that each one of them spoke about how Lewis left thing vague so that the reader could use their imagination. An interesting piece for fans of the movie and book alike.
- Big Movie Comes to A Small Town
It shows us all about the town where the river scene was filmed, nice pick on the locale.
- Previsualizing Narnia
This was very intersting, this is what you can do after storyboards. It is video game quality computer generated scenes so that everything can visualize it and get the timing of a scene correct. They used it for a lot of the action sequences.
- Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia
Just a high level overview of the inhabitants of Narnia.
- Secrets of the Duel
The intricate detail of not only the scene but of each piece of armor and each weapon is mind blowing.
- Becoming Trumpkin
Peter Dinklage talks about the role and is quite funny. When I went to the panel at Comic Con last year he had everyone in stitches. They also show the process of putting on all the makeup and really turning Peter into Trumpkin. Great choice for this role.
- Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik
Warwick Davis gives us some background on the roll, and we once again see how the makeup transforms Warwick into Nikabrik.
-Digital Copy
The 3 disc set also comes with a digital copy that you can view on your computer for travel.
This is one movie that I enjoyed watching more then once within a very short period of time and that says a lot to me. This is one film in my blu ray library that I am glad to have to watch again whenever the mood strikes me. Prince Caspian is one of my favorite movies of the year satisfying both the fantasy side and movie side of personality. I think C.S. Lewis would be happy to have his name associated with this piece of cinema.
