More epic battles in Prince Caspian

Children called back to Narnia by Prince Caspian - 3 Stars ***

By Gabrielle Pantera

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 12/5/2008 – “I was a massive Narnia fan as a kid,” says Prince Caspian star Ben Barnes. “I definitely remember the books being a big part of my childhood. When I found out I got the part, I looked through my bookshelves and found this copy of Prince Caspian with a 1989 copyright…when I was eight.”

“Even though the story takes place in a fantasy world, you have to play every moment as truth,” says Barnes. “I hope those moments translate into something that the audience can really become involved with. If so, they will get behind Caspian and see him through from the beginning to the end of his journey.”

One human year after the end of The Chronicles of Narnia the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the second movie begins. In The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the four children are called back to Narnia by Queen Susan’s horn. The person who used it is Prince Caspian. He’s in trouble and needs their help.

“Once the senior sibling returns to Narnia, Peter becomes slightly arrogant,” says Narnia star William Moseley. “There’s fighting within the group. Peter cannot accept Caspian. His plans are not set from his heart, but from his ego. Even when he doubts himself, he still is too stubborn to back down and accept that he might be wrong. And ultimately, he pays the highest price.”

“When Peter gets back to Narnia, it’s 1,300 years later and people don’t know he’s a high king,” says Moseley. “They just see a boy. Peter has to prove who he is to the Narnians. Peter and Susan had challenges in the first film, but nothing on this level. I think audiences will be surprised and engaged by both the physical battles and the emotional battles endured by our characters.”

“Susan gets to be involved in a bit more action this time,” says Narnia star Anna Popplewell. “I loved doing the fighting scenes. I loved being in the raid and the battle and getting my teeth into some of the stunts. I didn’t get to do much of that in the first movie.”

“Edmund is always looking out for Peter,” says Narnia star Skandar Keynes. “Edmond always helps Peter, but never gets the credit he deserves. That gets to him a bit. It’s one of the recurring themes, how Edmund’s always helping Peter out.”

“You know, there was even a day on the call sheet where the scene description was ‘Edmund saves the day’,” says Keynes. “I didn’t let anyone forget it. I walked around with a call sheet in my hands all day saying, Edmund saves the day! That was really cool.”

“In the last film, I was sweet little Lucy, and now I’m a bit more actiony, which was quite fun,” says Narnia star Georgie Henley. “Lucy stands up for what she believes in more than in the last film-her faith in Aslan. She’s braver and she has her own view about what she thinks is right. She sees Aslan before her siblings do, which I think shows Lucy’s trust in Aslan more than the others.”

“The adult characters are much more scary in this film,” says Moseley. “The White Witch was scary, but you’ve seen nothing until you’ve seen Miraz. I fought both of them one-on-one. Miraz took my breath away. It was really interesting watching Sergio change into Miraz. He takes on a whole new persona!”

“I have a lot of admiration for Andrew Adamson because he pays attention to the psychological aspect of the performance and character,” says Sergio Castellitto. “We spoke about the character as a human being. We spoke about the battle between youth and age. The good and evil is evident in that dichotomy between Miraz and Caspian.”

Castellitto’s is best known for roles in Luc Besson’s The Big Blue, and Best Foreign Film Oscar nominees from Italy such as La Familia, and L’Uomo delle stele.

“Caspian is a coming of age and, to some degree, a loss of innocence story, with Caspian starting out quite naïve, then craving revenge and finally letting go of the vengeance,” says Director Andrew Adamson.

“A large reason for me to do this again was working with the same children,” says Adamson. “There is this wonderful relationship between the kids, how they became a family and how they let us become a part of that family. There’s change in very positive ways in growing up, but I’d like to say the movie didn’t change who they are, which I’m really happy about.”

The special effects are a big part of this movie. Prince Caspian has over 1,500 special effects shots. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe had 800 effects shots. Andrew Adamson based production in the UK, to take advantage of new tax credits as a British film. This also made it easier for the director, who only had to walk about five minutes from the editing room to supervise the effects. Two British visual effects companies, the Moving Picture Company and Framestore CFC, were hired to create the visual effects alongside Weta Digital located in New Zeeland.

Andrew Adamson does a great job directing this installment of the franchise. You’ll like this one better because the characters are more developed and stronger in personality.

On arrival, the children have no idea why they’re there. They’re horrified to find out what has happened in their 1,300-year absence. Peter, as the high King, isn’t so imposing as he was. He’s a young boy again. There are clashes between Prince Caspian and Peter.

Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy are one year older and have some problems dealing with the world outside of Narnia. When they’re unexpectedly called back to Narnia they’re not sure what to expect. They soon realize how much time has passed, that Aslan is missing and has been for almost a thousand years. They see the destruction the Telmarines have inflicted on their realm. They know they must bring Narnia back to it’s former glory.

By the end, the royal’s have learned something and grown. They’re joined by Reepicheep a talking mouse, Trufflehunter, a badger, and Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, as well as other who join the fray when they realize the Kings and Queens of Narnia are back to win back their land.

If you’ve read C.S. Lewis novels years ago you will want to go back and read them again. The movie is darker then the books, but does not detract from the movie that they are different in that respect.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
Director: Andrew Adamson
Screenplay by: Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Steve McFeeley
Stars: Ben Barnes, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley,Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Liam Neeson and Sergio Castellitto.
MPAA Rating: PG for for epic battle action and violence.

The 3 disc BlueRay DVD will be release December 2nd The first two discs will contain an audio commentary by Adamson, blooper reel, deleted scenes and documentaries, while the third disc contains a digital version of the film. On the Blu-ray disc, Circle-Vision 360° is being used to allow viewers to watch certain scenes from different angles.

Studio: Disney Pictures, Walden Media