The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (film)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film made by Disney and Walden Media, based on the original C.S. Lewis novel. It opened in theaters on May 16, in the United States and on June 26 in the United Kingdom. It was released on DVD, on November 17 in the UK, and December 2 in the US. Its sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, now distributed by 20th Century Fox was released in theaters on December 10, 2010.

Plot
One year has passed in Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie's world, but unknown to them about 1,300 years has passed in Narnia, where they had their last adventure in its hills. The land is now ruled by the Telmarines, a brutish human race who drove the old Narnians into hiding.

On the night a baby is born, Doctor Cornelius tells his student, Prince Caspian, to flee to the woods. Because his uncle Miraz now has an heir, he can get rid of his nephew. Caspian flees into the woods, followed by a number of guards led by Glozelle sent to kill him. But he soon falls off his horse and encounters two old-narnians, dwarves, Trumpkin and Nikabrik who find him just when the assassins arrive. Reminded by Cornelius that he should blow the horn in his most dire need, he does so.

Back on Earth, the Pevensies are still trying to adapt to their life in England. Peter is having the hardest time, getting caught in a fight at the station. Then suddenly, as the train comes by, the tunnel turns into one of Narnia. The Pevensies soon recognize the location as Cair Paravel, their old castle, but it was forgotten and slowly began to rot away. Luckily, they locate the Treasure Room (with the aid of Edmund's flashlight), which contained their possessions from Father Christmas and their Narnian clothes that fit them during their beginning, except Susan's horn, which she left while hunting for the White Stag.

Meanwhile, in a scene not included in the book, Miraz exhibits a captured Trumpkin as proof that that the Narnians weren't extinct, and have kidnapped Caspian. This gives the council enough issue to raise an army to exterminate the Narnians once and for all. He has two men go to drown the dwarf but he is rescued by the Pevensies. To prove that they are the Kings and Queens of Narnia, Trumpkin fights against Edmund, who beats him. They soon learn that the trees are sleeping and few animals can talk anymore.

Caspian wakes up in a hollow tree, overhearing a talking badger, Trufflehunter, as well as Nikabrik talking about what to do with him. Trufflehunter doesn't want to kill him, but Nikabrik does. As they take him to the Dancing Lawn, they are chased by Telmarine soldiers, who are quickly taken out by Reepicheep. At the Dancing Lawn, most of the gathered Narnians don't trust Caspian. But Caspian promises to bring peace between their people if they will help him claim the Telmarine throne from his uncle, and the Narnians accept him as their king.

On route to Aslan's How, Lucy sees Aslan, though the others did not. After reaching Beruna river, they find they can't cross it because of a large Telmarine force building a bridge. Finally, the others follows Lucy's lead and safely cross the river. That night as they rest, Susan and Lucy discuss why nobody but Lucy could see Aslan. Later, Lucy goes looking for Aslan but instead of finding Aslan in the woods like she did in the book, she almost encountered a Minotaur named Asterius. Peter goes to strike an old enemy, only to be stopped by Caspian. They make up, join forces and come to Aslan's How, which is built over the Stone Table. After Narnians raid a large number of supplies from Glozzele, Miraz edits his story to show Caspian as the instigator of the revolt. To win the war, Peter proposes (with the support of Trumpkin, Edmund and Reepicheep but against Caspian, Susan, and Lucy's advice) they strike at the Telmarine castle. But Caspian spoils the plan by freeing his teacher, learning that Miraz killed his father and tries to get the truth from his uncle, alerting the palace to their presence; nevertheless, to Susan's shock, Peter still orders the attack. The castle is breached, but crossbowmen kill over half their number, and the rest retreat. As a result, Miraz is crowned king, and a huge army marches on Aslan's How.

Returning to the Stone Table, Caspian and Peter argue about where to place the blame, and almost come to blows. Nikabrik offers Caspian the means to retake his throne, and with the help of a hag and werewolf, they use black magic to summon the White Witch from within a wall of ice. To free her, they require a drop of Adam's blood. Luckily, Edmund shatters the spell before the ritual could take place, and the hag is killed by Peter, the werewolf by Edmund, and Nikabrik by Trumpkin.

With theTelmarine army arriving at the How, Caspian suggests that Peter fight Miraz in a duel to the death, the prize surrender, in order to buy time for Susan and Lucy to find Aslan. Miraz, who can't afford to look cowardly in the face of his army, accepts the challenge. As the two combatants fight, Susan is forced to let Lucy go on alone as they were being followed by Telmarine horsemen. She kills all but one of the enemy cavalry; this one knocks her down and almost kills her before Caspian arrives. The two return together to the battle sight.

Soon, Peter wounds Miraz, but leaves his fate to Caspian. At first, it look like Caspian is about to take his uncle's life, but stabs his sword into the ground, saying that Miraz can keep his life, but he is giving Narnia back to the Narnians. But one of Miraz's generals, Sopespian (Glozelle in the book), stabs him with a Narnian arrow and blames it on the Narnians. The Telmarine forces bombard the How, then charge with horsemen. But Caspian and his troops cause the earth beneath the enemy to collapse, Susan rallies archers to shoot them down, and Peter leads a massive charge.

Lucy is still being chased - until Aslan arrives and drives the Telmarines away. After they finish reuniting with each other, Aslan gently rebukes Lucy for not seeking him sooner. She asks why he didn't come to save them like he did on their last visit to Narnia; Aslan simply replies "things never happen the same way twice." He then awakens the trees to aid in the Narnians' fight, destroying the trebuchets and driving the Telmarines to Beruna river. He then summons the river god, who destroys the majority of the army, as well as swallows Sopespian. As the survivors surrender, Aslan heals Reepicheep (who lost his tail in the battle), and proclaims that Caspian is ready to be king.

At the Telmarine Castle, Aslan revealed that the Telmarines originally came from Earth, who were once pirates who found a portal to Narnia. He offered them a chance to return to their homeland or stay in Narnia. Using his breath, he turns a tree into a portal. Prunaprismia and Glozelle are the first to go and as soon as they step through, they vanish. Some are doubtful and fear that they may be sent off to their doom. The Pevensies offer to go through, and Peter gives Caspian his sword to symbolize his right to the throne. Caspian says he will wait for their next return, but Susan reveals a shocking secret: she and Peter can't come back, as they had learned all they needed to know; Edmund and Lucy, however, will return someday. Knowing that Narnia is in good hands, they make their goodbyes; Susan and Caspian, who had saved each other several times during the war and had grown to love, exchange a farewell kiss. The Pevensies walk through the portal, back to Earth; and Edmund learns, to his dismay, that he left his new flashlight in Narnia.

Differences between the Book and Film Adaptation

 * The film opens with the Pevensie children in the book, but with a different scene in the movie.
 * Caspian's nurse is not seen in the film or in the deleted scenes
 * In the book, Miraz was the king from the beginning. In the movie he isn't crowned until after the night-raid.
 * In the film Peter gets into a fight while waiting for the train.
 * In the book Peter and Edmund were supposed to go to a different school while Susan and Lucy were to to another school on different trains.In the film they board in a single train and apparently study in one single school.
 * Susan meets a boy in the beginning of the film who has a crush on her.
 * In the book the Pevensies see a glimpse of the pirate island while going though the portal.
 * The Pevensies discover they are in Cair Paravel more quickly than in the book, but not too quickly.
 * The apples at the Cair Paravel ruins are red in the film.
 * In the book, Glozelle is nobility just like Sopespian and the Seven Lords. In the film, he is called a general in Miraz's army, being of lower station than Sopespian.
 * All the Pevensies meet Aslan much sooner in the book.
 * In the film, Peter and Caspian have a running animosity towards each other that erupts into a drawing of swords.
 * In the book, the Narnians do not raid the Telmarine castle.
 * In the book Susan doesn't fight. But in the movie she is a big part of the battles.
 * In the book, Caspian finds out Miraz killed his father much sooner, when Dr. Cornelius tells him that Miraz wants to kill him.
 * In the film, both Caspian and Peter are tempted by dark magic, and the White Witch is very nearly summoned, instead of them almost preparing for the ritual, as in the book. In the book, neither one of them was.
 * In the book, Trufflehunter is not wounded by the Telmarines while they are on their way to the Dancing Lawn.
 * Also in the film, Caspian, Nikabrik, and Trufflehunter are chased while going to Dancing Lawn.
 * In the film, Reepicheep is introduced while fighting off the telmarine army. In the book, he met Caspian under "normal" circumstances.
 * In the book no mention is made of Minotaurs fighting for Caspian, and several other species who fought for the White Witch in the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe, are expressly mentioned as inviable allies
 * During Miraz's coronation, the city of Tashbaan, the island of Galma, and the realm of Ettinsmoor pledge troops to Miraz. This didn't happen in the book.
 * In the film, the Telmarine army arrives far later than in the book
 * Glozelle kills Miraz in the book, not Sopespian.
 * The bridge across the Fords of Beruna is built during the film.
 * There is no town where the Battle of Beruna was fought in the film.
 * In the book Susan and Lucy go with Aslan to get the river spirit.
 * Sopespian is not eaten by a river god in the book; he is decapitated by Peter.
 * Lord Glozelle is the first person to go through the door in the film adaptation. In the book it was a younger, unnamed Telmarine.
 * Susan and Caspian kiss near the end of the film.
 * Bacchus and the Maenads do not make an appearance in the film.

Cast

 * William Moseley - Peter Pevensie
 * Anna Popplewell - Susan Pevensie
 * Skandar Keynes - Edmund Pevensie
 * Georgie Henley - Lucy Pevensie
 * Liam Neeson - the voice of Aslan
 * Ben Barnes - Prince Caspian
 * Peter Dinklage - Trumpkin The Dwarf
 * Sergio Castellitto - Miraz
 * Alicia Borrachero - Queen Prunaprismia
 * Vincent Grass - Doctor Cornelius
 * Warwick Davis - Nikabrik The Dwarf
 * Shane Rangi - Asterius the Minotaur
 * Ken Stott - the voice of Trufflehunter
 * Eddie Izzard - the voice of Reepicheep
 * Cornell John - Glenstorm
 * Lejla Abbasová - Glenstorm's wife (Windmane)
 * Pierfrancesco Favino - Glozelle
 * Damián Alcázar - Sopespian
 * David Bowles - Lord Gergiore
 * Simón Andreu - Lord Scythley
 * Stewart Kenneth Moore - Lord Stewert
 * Predrag Bjelac - Lord Donnon
 * Juan Diego Montoya Garcia - Lord Montoya
 * Yemi Akinyemi - Ironhoof
 * Carlos Da Silva - Suncloud
 * Ephraim Goldin - Rainstone
 * David Walliams - one of the three Bulgy Bears
 * Tilda Swinton - White Witch
 * Klára Issová - The Hag
 * Jirí Krytinár - An Old Narnian Dwarf
 * Gomez Sandoval - Lightning Bolt the Child Centaur
 * Jan Pavel Filipensky - Wimbleweather
 * Harry Gregson-Williams - The voice of Pattertwig
 * Sim Evan-Jones - The voice of Peepiceek
 * Joseph Moore - Train Station Bully
 * Ash Jones - Geeky Boy
 * Douglas Gresham - Telmarine Crier
 * Mana Hira Davis - Telmarine Soldier in Boat
 * Winham Hammond - Telmarine Soldier in Boat

Filming
Filming took place in Auckland starting February 12, 2007. Other filming locations were Cathedral Cove, Barrandov Studios in Prague, and the Soča region In Slovenia. Filming ended September 8, 2007.

Music
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams returned to score this film as he did The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Regina Spektor wrote a song called "The Call" which comes at the very end of the film, when the Pevensie kids were leaving Narnia and also in the soundtrack. Switchfoot, a famous band, did a song called "This is Home" which was in the soundtrack.

Rating
Prince Caspian is rated PG for epic battle sequences and violence. It was expecting a PG-13 rating, and many are still expecting an Extended release to recieve a PG-13 rating.

Marketing and Release
The film was originally was supposed to be released December 14, 2007, but was pushed back to May 16, 2008. The first official trailer was released December 4, 2007 on Narnia fan sites, such as NarniaWeb, to potentially 400 million people on the fan site NarniaWeb, alone. A spot for the movie was shown at Super Bowl XLII. It aired at about 7:38pm EST. The ad can be seen at NarniaWeb here: http://narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=1416&dl=15129960 in qualities from QT Low, QT 1080p, WMV High, and on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjw_x-6owM.