[paudio]

I just returned from the movie. It's really a beatiful, powerful spiritual (and like the review says) war movie. Many of us probably has read the book, so I won't discuss the story anymore. I dont recall that Caspian has such powerful message. The first movie, LWW, is about laying the foundation: about Aslan and the 'Great Magic'. This movie is about how you live the great magic, ie, rely on Him no matter how grim the situation might seem.

Don't be fooled with the genre. Yes, it is a fantasy movie, but it's also a Christian, war, and dramatic movie!

[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks for the post. My son and I saw it yesterday afternoon, and loved it. You describe it well, and the contrast with LWW. So glad we saw it, & highly recommend it!

[Reaganesque]

I’m looking forward to it! Love C.S. Lewis!

[ovrtaxt]

I saw it yesterday with my kids. You’re correct, a very powerful message about faith in the face of hopeless odds- specifically, faith in a seemingly absent Savior, even when things fall apart.

I read the series several times as a kid, but it’s been so long that I don’t remember them very clearly. It was great to be reminded of Lewis’s genius.

[livius]

I saw it last night and liked it. I didn’t like the song at the end, but otherwise, it was really well done and the kids all clapped at the end of it.

[Spktyr]

The liberal press was all over this, saying it sucked, that nobody should go watch it.

My guess: The first Narnia movie took them by complete surprise, that awful Golden Compass (that nobody saw) was their riposte, and now they want the second flick to fail so they can claim GC’s failure was due to anything BUT the original material it’s based off of.

From what I hear, it is an excellent film, and I plan to go see it soon.

[napscoordinator]

Yahoo news put out an article stating that kids should not attend due to extreme violence...True???

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Thanks for the recommendation of Prince Caspian.

What age child would be appropriate to take to this movie?

And I do need to know if there is much “bloodshed” or not....I won’t take a child to see that kind of stuff.

The rest of what you describe sounds tremendous.

How Disney managed to do this movie without messing it up - well that’s a miracle right there.

Cannot wait to see it.

[wny]

Just to clarify....anti-American war movies don’t sell.

[MaestroLC]

I saw it yesterday and loved it. The little warrior mice stole the show. And I like the character development of the children, and that there are consequences to their decisions. The cast was great! The evil King was a terrific actor. I liked that they kept Aslan as a Christ figure.

I thought the song at the end was terrible. Didn't fit in with any of the musical score. Hope they change it for the DVD release.

Next week, Indiana Jones 4.......

[aruanan]

Lewis wrote the Narnia Chronicles so that they would express the qualities of the seven heavens of the medieval cosmos, which he deemed "spiritual symbols of permanent value." "Caspian" was his Mars book.

But he was seeking to acquaint his readers with the true, higher nature of Mars - Mars "baptized" and brought within the Christian tradition of gallantry: strength put in the service of life and growth. (Thus, "Caspian" also celebrates the pleasures of peace, represented by the green, living, Narnian woodland. Trees are key to this story and are another aspect of Mars - "Mars Silvanus," the god of woods and forests.)

In all my years of reading C.S. Lewis, this is the first time I've ever heard this. It's probably another delusion dreamed up by Walter Hooper and finally "discovered" amongst the mythical pile of Lewisiana rescued by the noble Hooper from Warnie's bonfire.

[sneakers]

bttt

[nonliberal]

You mean the prince did not try to "understand" the enemy? How did that get green-lighted in Hollywierd?

You sure there is no subplot where Aslan and Prince Caspian run off and become gay cowboys?

[clio morrel]

now that prince caspian is off and running, i hope they start work on my absolute favorite, “voyage of the dawn treader.”

step it up, disney!

[chesley]

Gonna see it tomorrow. Date with the wife and daughter.

[SuziQ]

Lewis wrote the Narnia Chronicles so that they would express the qualities of the seven heavens of the medieval cosmos, which he deemed "spiritual symbols of permanent value." "Caspian" was his Mars book.

I'd never heard that before! I know C. S. Lewis wrote a Space Trilogy, the first two books of which concentrating on Mars and Venus, I haven't read the third one, so I'm not sure about it.

[tang-soo]

War was terrible, he believed - but not so terrible as letting tyrants run rampant. Conflict could be a necessary way of preserving or regaining peace.

The timing of this comment is ironic, if not Provident, given the way the dims have gotten their shorts in a bunch the last few days over President Bush's comments about appeasement (directed at Carter by the way.) My wife and I saw the film yesterday on a 70 ft screen. Highly recommended.

[skipper18]

This film is already in trouble.

19.3 million opening Friday.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/

To put this in perspective, this is how it stacks up against the opening days of its genre competition:

Harry Potter/Order of the Phoenix: 44 million

HP/Goblet Of Fire: 40 million

HP/Prisoner of Azkaban: 38 million

People, you need to start seeing this film pronto. If it earns in the 120-140 million range for final gross, like its pacing to do, it’ll be a franchise killer.

[tang-soo]

The Chronicles of Narnia:The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Release date May 7, 2010

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Rest is here.

[HokieMom]

I saw Prince Caspian last night with two young adult males. We loved the message and the cinematography. One of the young men thought the role of Peter is miscast but overall, it’s very well done and I’d highly recommend it if you like the fantasy genre. I think it’s too intense for children under nine, especially if they don’t usually see violent movies. Kudos to Disney for continuing to take on these especially challenging projects of good vs. evil with demanding special effects requirements.

[HokieMom]

From Ted Baehr’s Movieguide site:

http://www.movieguide.org/index.php?s=reviews&id=7764

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
Fantastic Epic Adventure THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

Quality: Four Stars —Wholesome
Released: May 16th, 2008
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Kernes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, Pioerfrancesco Favino, Sergio Castellito, Warwick Davis, and the voices of Liam Neeson and Eddie Izzard
Genre: Adventure Fantasy
Audience: All ages
Rating: PG
Runtime: 140 minutes

Content:
(CCC, BBB, VV, N, M) Very strong Christian worldview stresses the appearance and faith in the Christ figure of Aslan with very strong moral elements of sacrifice, loyalty, honesty, truth, and justice extolled; no foul language; strong action violence but no blood includes archers shoot pointblank, many battle sequences, people dying in battle sequences, hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting, catapults, and a full range of military and martial arts displayed, man slaps dwarf, witch cuts man’s hand, drownings, assassination, people hit and beaten, creatures and animals attack people, and people attack and kill creatures and animals; no sex; upper male nudity for male centaurs, minotaurs and mythical creatures; no apparent alcohol; no smoking; and, evil king kills brother, conspiracy against evil king.

Summary:
PRINCE CASPIAN is the second book in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by C. S. Lewis, which tells how Aslan comes to the aid of the Pevensie children, who are helping a prince lead Narnia in a fight against his evil uncle who is trying to kill all the Narnians. PRINCE CASPIAN is a very exciting, redemptive epic in the tradition of LORD OF THE RINGS.

Review:
PRINCE CASPIAN is a very exciting, fantastic epic in the tradition of LORD OF THE RINGS. Right up front it needs to be noted that the book has been re-imagined to make the movie. In most cases, this re-imagining has helped the drama considerably. Better yet, the filmmakers have kept the integrity of and even highlighted the theological points C. S. Lewis was trying to make. One would hope that C.S. Lewis would be happy with the cinematic changes, although he was very critical of movies in general.

There are, however, a few minor divergences where media wisdom is required. So, don’t expect to see the book when you come to the movie. Expect to see a wonderful movie that retains the faith of the book.

The movie opens with Prince Caspian learning that his evil Uncle, Miraz, who killed his father to get power, has just had a son. Now that he has an heir, Uncle Miraz can kill Caspian. Caspian’s tutor, Dr. Cornelius, hastens Caspian out of the castle and tells him to ride for the woods because the human Telmarine soldiers are afraid of the Narnian creatures in the woods. This time, however, they pursue Caspian into the woods.

Caspian gets knocked off his horse into the hands of two dwarves, Trumpkin and Nikabrik. Through the dwarves, Prince Caspian meets the creatures of Narnia. In the process of his escape, he blows Susan’s horn, which calls the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, back to Narnia from World War II London, and even calls Aslan.

The children find their Narnia castle in ruins. 1,300 years have past in Narnia time since they ruled in Narnia, although only one year has past in earth time. The evil Telmarines are destroying Narnia. It is up to Prince Caspian and the four kings and queens to take the small ragtag army of Narnian creatures and fight against the fascist armies of the Telmarines. They are hoping and praying for Aslan to come to their aid. Aslan, for those who don’t know, is the Christ figure, the son of the Emperor Beyond the Sea.

The message of the book is the message of the Book of Acts: How does one have faith in God, in the person of Jesus Christ, after His ascension. The book’s strong faith message remains in the movie, but it has been re-organized so that Lucy is the only one who sees Aslan until a critical point in the story, unlike the book where each one meets Aslan in his own faith walk. Some of this reorganization makes it appear as if the battles are within the province and capability of the Pevensies, Caspian and other Narnians, but ultimately, it is God who determines the course of the Narnian civilization.

C. S. Lewis believed as the Bible says that through Jesus Christ God is redeeming all Creation. He sees the creatures as being redeemed along with the people. The creatures have their faith battles too. The movie clearly rejects evil, in the person of the bad Miraz and in the appearance of the White Witch, who was defeated in the first movie. The movie contains a lot of sword fighting and action, which are reminiscent of the swashbuckling epics of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The most problematic point is the fact that Susan and Lucy fight in the movie. C. S. Lewis believed that women should not fight, but the good news is that the filmmakers have chosen to be discreet about the women’s battle sequences. Even better news is that I had a long conversation with writer/director Andrew Adamson, and he decided not to use the wild party that Bacchus throws in the book. Andrew rightly believed that it was not appropriate to show children drinking wine at a raucous feast.

Despite some minor loose ends in the movie, the plot points are clear, the emotion is intense, the audience cheered and laughed at the right points, and even hard-hearted critics loved the movie. PRINCE CASPIAN should be a tremendous hit since 100 million copies of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA have been printed.

MOVIEGUIDE® commends the filmmakers for being faithful to the book’s themes. They turned a difficult plot into a terrific, exciting epic adventure.

In Brief:
PRINCE CASPIAN is loosely based on the second book in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, the great fantasy series by C. S. Lewis. Told in chronological order, the movie shows Prince Caspian escaping his evil Uncle Miraz, who killed Caspian’s father. Through two dwarves, Trumpkin and Nikabrik, Caspian meets the creatures of Narnia. In the process of his escape, he blows Susan’s horn, which calls the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, back to Narnia from World War II London. The children find that Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines, led by Miraz. While praying for Aslan, the Christ figure, to come to their aid, Prince Caspian and the children lead a ragtag army against the Telmarines.

PRINCE CASPIAN is an exciting, fantastic epic in the tradition of LORD OF THE RINGS. Despite some loose ends, it re-imagines the book’s story, which is about having faith in God through the Christ figure of Aslan. Ultimately it is God who determines the future of Narnia. MOVIEGUIDE® commends the filmmakers for being faithful to the book’s spiritually uplifting, redemptive themes. They turned a complex plot into an exciting adventure.

Address Comments To:
Robert Iger, President/CEO
The Walt Disney Company
(Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films)
Dick Cook, Chairman
The Walt Disney Studios
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
Phone: (818) 560-1000
Website: www.disney.com

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Andrew Adamson
Executive Producer: Perry Moore
Producer: Andrew Adamson, Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer
Writer: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely