Prince Caspian
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Disney, 2008
By Madeleine Sims-Fewer
In his father’s usurped Telmarinian castle, young Caspian is woken in the dead of night by his tutor. This is not an unusual occurrence, since Caspian is used to studying the stars with suspiciously dwarf-like Cornelius, however tonight is a different story; Caspian’s aunt has given birth to a son, and he is in danger of being executed by his own people. Thus begins the C.S. Lewis’ book, Prince Caspian, and the film version faithfully follows suit.
Back in London, we get re-acquainted with the Pevensie children, who are unsatisfied with the plebeian life they now lead; Susan has become solitary, and without swords in their hands, Peter and Edmund are often getting into fistfights —and losing. But of course, they are called back into Narnia. As soon as they arrive, they slay a soldier, bringing back the old excitement of Narnia, where they can simply kill their enemies!
Despite remaining relatively faithful to the book, Prince Caspian loses some of the magical flair seen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, possibly because of the non-magical human enemies — cleverly shown as being Spanish, compared to their resemblance to Villainous Shakespearian Moors in the novel.
Here’s another difference between the written and filmic versions of this story: in the book, Prince Caspian is young, wide-eyed, and a bit of a dreamer, but none of this comes across in Ben Barnes’ interpretation of the character. Instead, Barnes’ prince is a suave, muscular teenager, foolhardy, and not the least bit interested in the Narnians before he stumbles across them. This was my main problem with the film. Caspian, with whom the audience should grow and learn, doesn’t do much growing. He seemed to stand merely as a heartthrob, placed there for the viewing pleasure of the few fifteen-year-old girls who take their younger siblings to the film. However, the fabulous acting from the four Pevensie children makes up for it, as we are again drawn into their fantasy with every lingering close-up.
Narnia is perfectly imagined, with lush foliage and idyllic beaches. If you imagined something different when reading the book, you will gladly let the director’s vision take its place. The cinematography can be a little on the distracting side, with it’s grandiose swooping and dollying without remorse, and a few shots are suspiciously soft. It seemed like the director did everything he could to pull us out of the story. Luckily, the tale is so captivating that we cannot help but be invested, especially when the battle scenes begin. Expertly choreographed, and tight with suspense, we are right there with Edmond as he soars in on a hippogriff, slays an unsuspecting soldier, and sends a Morse-coded message to the Narnian army with his flashlight.
The minotaur, centaurs, and talking animals are all expertly animated into being, and it’s a welcome relief if you ever happened to see the old television show of the same title. Instead of being suspiciously weightless, which so many computerized characters can appear, they have a solid presence, which adds to the magic.
Of course, the old Christian philosophy holds strong even in this Disney-styled version, and each child learns the lesson that the nonbelievers suffer punishment, while those who always had faith in Jesus — sorry, I mean Aslan — will reign triumphant. This does nothing to dampen the film’s spirit, and I’m sure children will fail to notice, as indeed I did when first reading the saga.
I found Prince Caspian to be a delightful adaptation, thoroughly entertaining, and though I felt a little old sitting in a cinema packed with six to eleven year-olds, it could no doubt become the Princess Bride for a new generation.
