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. 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, Miraz exhibits a captured Trumpkin as proof that that the Narnians weren't extinct, and have kidnapped Caspian. This gives the council enough evidence to raise an army to exterminate the Narnians once and for all. He has two men go to drown Trumpkin 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 and only Edmund believes what she saw. After reaching Beruna river, they find they can't cross it because of a large Telmarine force building a bridge. Finally, the others follow 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 to Aslan's How.

From inside a wall of ice, the White Witch tries to convince Caspian to free her with a drop of blood. Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Trumpkin arrive. Edmund kills the werewolf and Trumpkin stabs Nikabrik just as he is about to kill Lucy. Peter kills the hag and then, seeing Caspian being manipulated by the White Witch, knocks him down and faces the White Witch. She quickly begins convincing Peter to release her. Before he can do anything, Edmund shatters the ice, destroying the White Witch.

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 and kills the soldier. The two return together to the battle site.

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. Even though the cavalry was easily being killed, the Telmarines called in another garrison which Peter hesitated to retreat from the massive force. The trebuchets were ordered to prevent the escape and they did eliminating the choice of retreat. With no where to run and no surrender possible, the Narnians are forced into an inescapable battle in which the odds are against them.

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 even kisses Caspian goodbye, knowing they will never meet again. The Pevensies walk through the portal, back to Earth; and Edmund learns, to his dismay, that he left his flashlight in Narnia.

Differences between the Book and Film Adaptation

 * The film opens with Caspian's flight. In the story, Trumpkin told the Pevensies of Caspian and his story after they had been in Cair Paravel for two days but they did the same as in the film just as in the book.
 * While reading, Susan meets a boy who has an unrequited crush on her, and Peter gets himself and Edmund into a fight.
 * In the book, Miraz was the king after being crowned after the death of his brother. In the movie, he isn't crowned until after the night-raid.
 * The apples at the Cair Paravel ruins are red in the film. In the book, they are golden.
 * A chase scene is added on the way to Dancing Lawn.
 * In the book, there no mention is made of Minotaurs and centaurs fighting for Caspian and two other species (wolves and Black Dwarfs) who fought for the White Witch are expressly mentioned as unviable allies.
 * Trumpkin tells Lucy that the Trees "retreated so far into themselves they haven't been heard from since". In the book, he doesn't believe in dryads.
 * Trumpkin is more skeptical of authority than portrayed in the book.
 * In the book, the Pevensies turned back after they found a town at Beruna and a bridge built over the ford. In the film they find the bridge still under construction by Telmarine soldiers.
 * In the book, the Pevensies met Aslan before Caspian.
 * In the film, the Narnians launch an attack on Miraz's castle.
 * In the film, Dr. Cornelius tells Caspian that Miraz killed his father after he rescues him from prison.
 * In the film, Queen Prunaprismia is unaware of her husband's schemes to get the throne.
 * In the book the Hag and the Werewolf were preparing for the ritual to summon the White Witch, in direct treason to Caspian, who was unaware of what they are going to do, when Peter and Edmund arrived with Trumpkin to stop them. In the film, Caspian at first goes along with the ritual and the White Witch's appirition is summoned, tempting Caspian and Peter before being destroyed by Edmund.
 * Susan never fought in the book.
 * In the book, Glozelle kills Miraz and is decapitated by Peter. In the film, Sopespian kills Miraz and is finished off by the river god while another Lord is decapitated by Peter; Glozelle survives and is the first Telmarine to go through the Door in the Air.
 * In the book, the river god was released after the bridge was destroyed. In the film the river god destroys the bridge after Aslan wakes him up.
 * Caspian's nurse is not seen in the film, nor is she mentioned.
 * Susan kisses Caspian near the end of the film. In the book, this never happens as they only meet briefly.
 * In the book, the Pevensies changed back into their school clothes before they went back. In the film, their clothes appear to change by magic, leaving it unclear how Edmund managed to leave his torch in Narnia.
 * The number of soldiers in the Telmarine army are five thousand strong, while the Narnians slightly over a thousand.

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 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.