The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 3-Disc Special Edition DVD Review
Posted by Michael Weyer on 12.05.2008
The return to C.S. Lewis' fantasy world is darker and more action packed than its predecessor with lots of bonuses to enhance the experience.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 3 Disc Special Edition Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media 142 minutes
While it’s never had the same ultra-passionate fan base as The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia has enthralled millions of readers since their publication fifty years ago. That they're much alike is little surprise given how Lewis and Tolkien were good friends and helped inspire each other's work. It’s surprising it took so long for a major film studio to tackle it but then, like LOTR, the saga pretty much required the special effects to catch up to matching Lewis’ vision.
When it finally happened in 2005, the results were tremendous. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a massive hit that was faithful to the book while enhancing the action and drama. The story followed the Pevensies, four children forced out of London by the Blitz and living at a country estate. There, they found a wardrobe that brought them to Narnia, a mystical land of talking animals which was ruled by a wicked White Witch (a pre-Oscar Tilda Swinton). They defeated the Witch with the aid of the noble lion, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) and ruled as kings and queens for fifteen years only to return through the wardrobe to find no time had passed.
With that first film a hit, it was no surprise Disney and Walden Media were quick to green-light the sequel. Prince Caspian had a lot going for it with director Andrew Adamson and all the actors returning, enhanced action and bigger budget. However, it failed to fully live up to expectations at the box office. True, it was by no means a flop (a $420 million worldwide gross is nothing to sneeze at) but was still less than expected. The timing might have been an issue as it was released in mid-May, right between Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones film and so lost some audience.
Another issue might have been the darker tone of the picture although that was part of the overall intent. In many ways, the film is the classic example of “you can’t go home again” and while that may have cost them at the box office, it does lend a new layer to an already great story. Now that the DVD is here, perhaps some can better appreciate the film for a great achievement if not as good as the first.
The Movie
I might as well begin by saying I am a long-time fan of the books from when I was a child so I’ll be brining up comparisons between the book and film. I know some might not have read it so I’ll try not to make it a huge comparison but still want to mention it now.
The story begins with the four Pevensies-----Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anne Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Kenyes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)----preparing to go to boarding school a year after returning from Narnia, which is still affecting them. This is actually a nice touch for the film, something Lewis didn’t dwell on but makes sense. These kids spent years as kings and queens of a magical land only to come back and be expected to go back to being kids again with all those memories. It’s no wonder Peter is so upset and picking fights and grousing over being treated this way.
While at the train station, the kids find themselves magically summoned back to Narnia. Their joy is short lived as they soon discover the palace they resided in is now a pile of ruins with signs of an old attack. It seems that while it’s been only a year for the children, it’s been 1300 years in Narnia and the golden age they ruled over is long gone. Narnia is now under the control of the Telmarines, a bunch of lords who are constantly scheming against each other (think a fantasy version of The Tudors) and who have driven the magical creatures so far underground that they’re considered myth with many becoming wilder.
The children’s return was caused by a horn blown by Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the throne. His uncle, Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), whose wife had just given birth to a son and thus a new heir, has attempted to kill Caspian, driving the young man into the woods where he finds the remaining Narnians and decides to fight for them. He soon meets the Pevensies where they have to try and work together to defeat the oncoming armies of Miraz.
As I noted, the story is darker than the first film, both in its tone and design. That’s a deliberate move, however, as the story focuses a lot on change and how it can be unattractive. The children have longed so much to be back in Narnia only to realize it’s no longer the same world, literally. The tone is also interesting in that the first film focused on winter turning to spring while this one has more of an autumn feel, that time when dark and light mix up a bit. It also suffers a bit without the presence of as powerful a villain as the White Witch although it’s intriguing to think that humans can be more scheming than any creature can be.
The action has been heightened up which I believe was a studio decision to give it more a “summer blockbuster” feel. That has led to more changes from the source than the first film had. The biggest is the addition of a raid on Miraz’s castle that goes badly which enhances the tension between Peter and Caspian. The ending is a bit different from the book too which had a long sequence of Aslan spreading his return in magic around the land but we get a pretty cool battle sequence. Despite all that, the film doesn’t quite have the same magical touch that LTWW did although what is there is better than a lot of other recent fantasy pictures. Arthur Adamson returns as director and does have a nice eye for beautiful shots from caverns to a boat in water that makes them more unique, truly showing how this is a different world than the one we know. Even when the story seems to sag, Adamson is able to give the look of the film a flair that makes it flow well.
The actors help out with that a lot. The four children bring a new gravitas to their acting this time out, each older (although they don't seem to have aged much between films) and they use that to show the experience they’ve gained from their time in Narnia. Moseley gives Peter a deeper anger which makes sense as he was the high king now back to treated as a pre-teenager. Keynes’ role is much cut down in this film although he gets a good bit that gives full circle to one of the plots of that first adventure. Poppellwell has a nice charm mixed with an edge as Susan, holding up in action scenes while also flirting with Barnes. For his part, Barnes seems ill-suited at times as Caspian, not quite the confident leader he should be. I know that’s supposed to be the point, him growing into the role, but it’s hard to root for him when he comes off nervous and backing off too much to Peter (his Spanish accent doesn‘t help either). As in the first film, Henley is the core character to root for with her lovely charm and an experience that belies her age. She never gives up believing in Aslan and you can’t help but get pulled in which helps the story. While Miraz seems over the top sometimes, for the most part Castellitto gives him a dark edge, more menacing when he’s speaking softer and his sheer presence makes him believable as a wicked lord and plotter who knows he has the upper hand a lot of the time, such as when he manipulates an underling into killing three of his own men to sell the Narnians as a threat.
The best performances are of the non-human variety. Peter Dinklage is terrific as Trumpkin, a snarly dwarf who the children rescue and becomes a sardonic guide. He’s matched by veteran Warrick Davis as Nikabrik, a slightly darker dwarf whose methods lead to one of the most powerful scenes of the film. There’s also Trufflehunter, a wise badger voiced by Ken Stott and Vincent Grass as Caspian’s wise mentor Cornelius. But the scene-stealer is easily the warrior mouse Reepicheep who hurls himself into battle heedless of his size and gets some great lines. Eddie Izzard voices him in a great maniac tone that shows the mouse truly doesn’t get how crazy he is and sells the whole thing perfectly. There’s also Pierfrancesco Favino and Damian Alcazar as a pair of Telmarines who have their own agenda behind Mizar’s back. However, Neeson seems to be just phoning it in as Aslan and thus his return doesn’t have the same powerful impact it should.
The film does still carry the spirit of the book and its overall feel of a magical realm. There are many notable scenes like the middle and final battles and a scene of Caspian tempted to make a devilish deal that leads to the all too brief return of Tilda Swinton’s delicious White Witch. The FX team do their job very well with forces like battling trees and an angry river being. Harry Gregson-Wagner returns with a fine musical score, mixing themes from the first film with some new powerful tunes like Caspian and a great dark chorus for Miraz. The dialogue moves well, giving Lewis’ sometimes stiff text some new life and even seems funnier than the first film. But it still seems lacking in the magic that made that first movie so good. I understand it was meant to show how Narnia had turned darker, just as our idealistic youth gives way to adulthood but all the action can’t make up for the lack of heart. Still, overall, Prince Caspian does stand as a worthy follow-up in the Chronicles and pretty good compared to many fantasy films of late. While not quite the equal of its predecessor, there’s still a nice mix of action and magic to make this a worthwhile trip.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Video: Presented in wide-screen 2.40.1 format, the video is quite crisp when it’s doing outdoor and daylight scenes. That really showcases the fantastic world of Narnia and makes it come to life. It does get more muddy with interiors like caverns and castles but still remains a great transfer to showcase the fantastic shots.
Ratings: 8 out of 10
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound allows for some excellent audio especially for the battle scenes but also captures the softer sounds of water and forests that help you become immersed in the film. It does sometimes shift when scenes become more dialogue-laden so you may have to adjust things a bit. There are audio tracks in Spanish and French with subtitles for both those and English.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
Bonus Features: Whatever else about Disney, they always do a great job with their DVDs and this is no exception. While it’s not as comprehensive as the LWTW DVD, this set has some nice content that sheds light on the film.
First of all, the “3-disc set” is a bit of a misnomer as the third disc is simply a digital copy of the film. Both it and the first disc have the film with Audio Commentary by Adamson and the five child actors. It’s a pretty good track as they discuss the scenes in a well-mannered way. Adamson explains a lot of his choices with the story and shows his respect for the source material. For example, the reason the Telmarines are a mix of Spanish and Italian is because in the original book, Lewis said they were the descendants of pirates who found their way to Narnia so Adamson thought it logical they’d keep those Mediterrenan characteristics (not to mention the cutthroat mentality). He also talks of how some things of the book wouldn’t work on screen for audiences and how they changed things (like the final battle being too similar to the first film so they added the nice bit of the Narnians knocking out tunnels underneath the enemy troops). The actors are good sharing memories and showing the bond they have as true family while also pointing out details of the film you might have missed (from the different designs of the Telmarine thrones to a funny bit involving some mice and Aslan). There’s some good-natured ribbing on Popplewell and Barnes at their romantic scenes and how it felt acting opposite effects and such. There’s also a nice highlight of shooting the final scene with Popplewell, Moseley and Adamson talking about how it felt leaving the franchise for real. Overall, a great track that livens up watching despite the constant “oh, this is such a good shot” stuff.
The second disc has the major bonus content. We start with Inside Narnia: the Adventure Returns, the major making-of doc. It’s fun seeing Adamson and the actors getting back to work together and how they missed it all while we see the casting process and design work. Adamson brings up the good point of how it’s hard to go back home after so long away and he wanted to capture that on the film. The amazing part of the doc is how so many scenes you assumed were CGI were actually shot on real locations around the world. That includes problems ranging from weather to sand ticks (yes, ticks). The sheer logistics of the film make it impressive with some funny bits like how Adamson went to meet the actors who played the various Telmarine lords and literally went down the line speaking to each in a different language. You also get to see how this is one film that really went all-out putting its budget on screen as Adamson insisted on doing as much real as possible so there’s not as much CGI as you might think. Adamson always holds to the idea of making effects as “real” as possible, not simply to wow people. There’s other good touches like how for a scene between Lucy and Aslan, Adamson himself played the lion for the actress to work with and did well with it too. I do admit it might have been nice to see a focus on Lewis and what went into creating the book as well as Swinton doing her cameo but overall, this documentary shows everyone really went all out making this movie the best they could and enjoyed it immensely.
The Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life is hosted by Doug Gresham, the stepson of C.S. Lewis and thus well-educated to discussing the book coming to life. He illustrates the key challenge of the filmmakers which was that despite his talents as a writer, Lewis was pretty sparing when it came to detailed descriptions so they had to put in a lot of planning. The nice format has Gresham reading passages from the book and then showing how the production crew brought them to life. It’s fun seeing it go from paintings to full-scale models and then sets with Adamson insisting they have a basis in reality. The biggest is the palace, which was so huge actors actually got lost in it and were intimated shooting the big battle scene there. The sheer detail is terrific and makes a repeat viewing of the film a must to appreciate it all.
Big Movie Comes to a Small Town is a great feature focusing on Bovec, Slovenia, the small town used for key scenes in the film. At first, the filmmakers faced challenges as the river they wanted to use was a protected area but got to do it by agreeing to repair damage done to the area by a landslide. It’s funny seeing the fleet of production trucks pull into town with “Ride of the Valkyries” playing as the tiny town was utterly unprepared for 1200 people at once. They discuss how restaurants and bars closed at 9 pm and literally ran out of food while production people had to live in the houses of residents. There’s also the fun bit of how they had to set up an editing room in the pool room of the local fire department with a fireman checking in to see if the table was free. Various townspeople talk about the sudden shift which they take in good stride. Also good is showing how heavy rains nearly washed away the bridge and the efforts to push it back. The town itself gets some good insight, especially how it survived brutal battles in World War I and it’s nice to see how well the locals and the Hollywood folks interact and help each other out as in Narnia itself.
Previsualizing Narnia is a short featurette showing how they used the pre-viz to set up scenes. Whereas most filmmakers use it just to block out shots, Adamson really embraces it as a storytelling tool (which makes sense given his background in animation). It’s interesting to see how closely things came to the final film and how they differed in the end as well.
Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia focuses on the special effects work to bring things to life. It’s mostly what you expect of the CGI for animals and making actors centaurs and such. They do bring up how Lewis had done the “walking trees” before LOTR did but knew they had to make theirs look different than Ents. It does become a bit preachy with them saying the Telmarines show the history of man messing with nature and nature fighting back and a bit much to turn it into an environmental message but then that was a key theme for Lewis so it fits.
There are ten Deleted Scenes which can be viewed separately or together, each with an audio intro by Adamson and what they were meant for and why they were cut. Many have incomplete special effects (centaurs without legs, etc) and while most are obvious for their cut, some are good such as the children seeing a dryad dying as its tree is cut down; a humorous scene from the book involving a bear; Caspian and Susan bantering over archery; and a scene that gives more dimension to Miraz as he holds his infant son and shows he’s doing all this for him. The Bloopers of Narnia is a short blooper reel with some laughs of the cast breaking up over scenes.
Secrets of the Duel focuses on the climactic duel between Peter and Miraz and how they created it. They show how the book had a drawing of them going at it in what was basically a boxing ring and had to make it more dramatic It’s good seeing the actors with their stunt doubles and the care taken to make this a hard-hitting fight that could thrill and be believable as well, with a focus on the creation of the weapons.
Becoming Trumpkin and Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik focus on the two dwarf actors and their work on the film. Dinklage had been told that the pre-viz used his likeness which he felt was a way to push him and how it felt acting under all the heavy makeup and hair. Davis is featured in a “24-hour” shooting style with makeup and acting, showing his great professionalism that gets everyone’s respect.
There are also two Easter Eggs, one a “Blonde Cam,” the other discussing the meaning behind the movie’s code-name “Toastie.” And the usual previews of other Disney films and DVDs. While you might wish a bit more on the source material, the extra stuff shows that this is a movie that went all-out making their budget work and look as real as possible for a fantasy world.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
The 411: While not as magical as the first film, Prince Caspian still delievers a great fantasy action film that families can enjoy. The extra content shows the care the filmmakers made creating a realistic world and the behind the scenes footage enhances the experience watching. It may be darker but the film still has a touch above others of its genere and the DVD brings it to vivid life.
