[.ca] Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

From Amazon.com:
Prince Caspian, the second fantasy adventure after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in British author C.S. Lewis's beloved, Bible-based Narnia series, was first published in 1951, with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) just on its heels. In 1989, these two novels were merged and adapted into a BBC TV series, and then edited into a riveting, but rather homespun feature-length production in two parts. In the first 59-minute episode, Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are mysteriously whisked back to Narnia at the call of Prince Caspian, nephew of the cruel King Miraz, ruler of all Narnia. Miraz, who silenced Old Narnia, wants to kill his nephew, the rightful heir to the throne, so his own new baby son can be king. The four siblings help the fauns, dwarves, and talking animals of Old Narnia in Aslan's fierce battle to drive Miraz out of Narnia. In the second, 109-minute episode, Lucy, Edmund, and their obnoxious cousin Eustace Scrubb have just been sucked into a maritime painting of the Dawn Treader... and into another dangerous adventure in which the children assist Caspian on a voyage to rescue seven lords of Narnia, banished under Miraz's reign, encountering invisible armies, dragons, and their own nightmares--and sailing to the edge of the world. Lewis's hearty, old-fashioned battle of good vs. evil, brought to life with clashing swords, gorgeous costumes, and some pretty darn good (if sometimes hokey) special effects, makes for an exciting, blustery journey to the world of Narnia. --Karin Snelson

An Improvement over the Last:
These two books come to life are better than the first attempt, with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Perhaps because special effects are less called for in these two books, the poor quality of the movie effects is less visible than it was in the first movie. But there are definite improvements too. The costumes look much more real- I don't think that's a person in a badger costume, I think that's a rather large badger, albeit still primitively done. It helped that in some cases they used shorter people in this movie. The centaur is superbly done, as a computer is actually used, planting a human body over a horse. There is thankfully very little of the rather silly drawings on the film that were so common-place in the first movie. And it is always a challenge to do a movie on water. With such a low budget, I was thinking they would not be able to do a convincing Dawn Treader. But it is very convincing, and very like the book's description of a small boat that can service 40 men. The children's acting, while good in the first movie, has also improved. And the new actor, playing Eustace, greatly adds, as you feel he is a total prig, but then also feel his deep emotions as he becomes a dragon and changes through his whole being. While most of the sets look like they are some place in England, frankly, in Lewis' mind, they probably were someplace in England. That's how he writes most of his books, from his imagination growing up, and what he had seen. The main draw back to the movie is less authenticity and faithfulness to the texts. It happens when you put two books into one 2 hour movie. There are major sections of Prince Caspian missing, and parts that feel rushed and unexplained, leaving the first half somewhat more boring. The climatic scenes in which Aslan makes everything in Narnia set right again are missing- but again, this would have required a bigger budget to create, with trees winding over bridges and tearing them down. There is no explanation of how the humans came to dominate Narnia, or where they go afterward (as there was in the book). Some of the best theological bits from Dawn Treader are missing- as when Lucy eavesdrops on her sister, and learns from Aslan that no man is given to know what might have been. Or when Aslan has to dig his claws into Eustace the Dragon to remove the skin that Eustace can't remove himself. Two longer movies could have made these adaptations even better.

success, but one failure:
I think the narnia chronicles are great,thelion,thewitch etc was a great PartI of the narnia series. my whole family loves the narnia movies ,although when we watched PartII, princecaspian & the voyage of the dawn treader,i didnt exactly see eye to eye with the special effects. PrinceCaspian was'nt exactly, what i thought it should be. the voyage of the dawn treader is simply superior to prince caspian & wonderful special effects. If anything, prince caspian should be remade, while the dawn treader should stay. then my second favorite,the Silver Chair, is PartIII and was one of the two best movies , in the chronicles of narnia.the time people get to this narnian ending, they will usually be curious to see if it makes up the holes in the series.So i highly recommend that you see firstly the wardrobe one, then skip prince caspian and go on to the voyage of the dawn treader so you'll be able to understand PartIII, the silver chair.

Legendary Voyage:
Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy return to the magical land of Narnia to help Prince Caspian to defeat the wicked King Miraz (who is also Caspian's uncle). The BBC did a good job of making this second adventure in Narina. Although, you may frown at the low-grade special effects. Edmund, Lucy and Eustace are sent to Narnia to help Caspian (now king of Narnia) to find the seven missing Lords of Narnia in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace is Lucy and Edmund's horrible cousin who doesn't like being in Narnia until he sees Aslan.

Horrible special effects:
I watched the Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe & I was able to overlook the bad special effects (lion) because the actors were good and the story was good. However, the Prince Caspian video was truely horrible. The story was boring and the special effects were really bad. I couldn't finish watching it & stopped before it was half-way done. I loved reading all the books in the series. I am hoping that someone will make a wonderful movie series out of the Chronicles of Narnia. I am hoping someone that has as much passion as the man who is now putting out the Lord of the Rings movie series, will take an interest in CS Lewis. That will be truely marvelous.

Back into Narnia:
Last December, C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" thundered in the footsteps of Lewis' pal Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings Trilogy," with a gleaming new big-screen adaptation, full of top-notch CGI, costumes and settings. In the months before it's released on DVD, however, it might be time to dust off the 1990 BBC adaptations of "Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader," crammed into one long movie. The first half suffers from the hokey production of the first film, but the second half blossoms into a fantastical sea voyage. It's been months since the Pevensies went to Narnia through the wardrobe, and now they waiting for a grim summer vacation. But they don't know what changes have gone on in Narnia. Young Prince Caspian has been raised by his cold uncle King Miraz (Robert Lang) ever since his father's death, with only an old nurse and an aged part-dwarf professor as his friends. But when Miraz's queen has a baby son, Caspian finds himself on the run, and is taken in by the "Creatures in Hiding," talking beasts and magical people. But that isn't enough to ensure victory. Caspian blows the Horn of Queen Susan, and the Pevensies are whisked back into Narnia to assist the young Prince and his ragtag army in reclaiming his throne. No sooner have Lucy and Edmund gone to their "awful cousin Eustace"'s house, than a painting on the wall draws them in -- and deposits all three kids beside a giant Narnian ship. Caspian, now a young man, takes them on board and explains that he's on a mission to find some loyal lords who Miraz exiled from Narnia. But the voyage only gets more dangerous, with the group being captured by slavers, consumed with greed over "gold water," taken captive by invisible creatures, attacked by sea serpents, and Eustace is even turned into a dragon when he greedily claims a treasure trove. But the greatest threat is ahead: the very edge of the world. It's a tricky thing to take two books and mash them together into one big movie, and it's a credit to the BBC that these stories aren't completely unwatchable. In fact, they unfold at a quick but steady pace, paying plenty of attention to the individual characters. The first half has several flaws, but the second half makes up for that in drama and severity. This is less fantastical and more battle-oriented than the first movie of this series, especially given Peter's rather flat duel with Miraz right before war breaks out. But the filmmakers take time out to dwell on the minor characters like the sailors, Reepicheep the warrior mouse, and the lovably skeptical dwarf Trumpkin. You gotta love someone called "Big Mick." Unfortunately, the movies do suffer from some decidedly hokey special effects; dragon-Eustace shifts size and looks absurd, and Miraz's army is clad in Ye Olde Dungeone and Dragone Armoure, complete with black bat motif. Very "Batman goes to the Renaissance Faire." The special effects are redeemed somewhat with a dazzling Dawn Treader, creepy Sea Serpent, and a centaur that still looks better than "Harry Potter's." Barbara Kellerman still cackles and squeals, and Sophie Wilcox still whines all the time. But the two Caspian actors do an excellent job with their roles, both as a young naive boy and as an experienced king. David Thwaites is the breakout role here, taking Eustace from a whiny brat who gets under everyone's skin to a mature young man who thinks of others first. Two stories in one -- the first rather flat, the second graced with some genuine chills and heartwarming moments. "Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader" has some serious flaws, but it's definitely worth watching.