Narnia is in danger and the Pevensie children are called back to the mythical land to save the day. What they find is a land much different than when they left and what we find is a delightful film jam packed with special features.
In Narnia, the Telmarine Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is awoken in the middle of the night to be told that his aunt has given birth to a son. This should normally be happy news, but Caspian’s Uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) will use the event to kill Caspian so that he will gain the throne of Narnia.
Caspian is given the ancient magical horn of Queen Susan and told to only use it if in dire need of help. He then flees into the night, but later encounters dwarves Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and Nikabrik (Warwick Davis), and the talking badger Trufflehunter (Ken Stott). Caspian doesn’t know that they are friends and blows the horn to summon help.
In 1940s England, The Pevensie children, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley), are awaiting the train when they’re magically pulled back into Narnia. They’ve only been gone a year in our time, but they find that they’ve been gone over 1000 years in Narnian time.
The castle Cair Paravel is in ruins, the throne is in danger of being usurped, Narnians are the stuff of fairytale, and lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) is nowhere to be found. Now the Pevensie’s have to help Caspian secure the throne, with a cast of helpful Narnians – including the swashbuckling Reepicheep (Eddie Izzard), and return Narnia to its former glory.
Prince Caspian is the sequel to the popular Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, both of which are based on the novels by C.S. Lewis. It’s easy to see why director Andrew Adamson might’ve wanted to get this film into production as his young cast certainly has had a growth spurt, especially the lads. Edmund seems a good head or two taller than he did in the first film.
The film seems to take a time to get going though as the first portion is concerned with the political goings on of the Telmarines. It’s when the battles begin with the creatures of Narnia and the human Telmarines that the film seems to find its footing.
Peter is certainly is blinded in his leadership by his pride and he and Caspian have a rivalry throughout the film. It’s the interplay between the leads and the nobility of the creatures that make up for the slow spots.
Reepicheep is a fine addition as the swashbuckling mouse with the voice of Eddie Izzard. Both Warwick Davis and Peter Dinklage also add great characters as well. The film is a worthy continuation of the series, but I thought the first film worked a little better.
Miraz really didn’t seem much the villain as the White Witch (who cameos in this film). I still thought it a great film it just took a time to get going. The Blu-ray does look fantastic and features a fine selection of special features.
Prince Caspian is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1). The film is available in a two disc and a three-disc set. The three-disc set adds a digital copy of the film for downloading to your PC or portable device.
Disc one contains a commentary from director Andrew Adamson, Barnes, Moseley, Popplewell, Keynes, and Henley. All of the other special features are in high definition. Next is the Blu-ray exclusive “Circle-Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid” that allows you to navigate around the set of the crucial sequence and find all sorts of information.
This disc also connects you to the Disney BD-Live site (providing you have a Profile 2.0 player) to unlock online goodies. There are also some trailers for other Disney films and promotions.
Disc two contains the 3-minute blooper reel and 11 minutes of deleted scenes. The 34 minute “Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns” is a behind-the-scenes look at the return to the mythical land for the second screen outing.
The 23-minute “Sets of Narnia” looks at the movie magic that brought the locations of the film to life. The 23-minute “Big Movie comes to a Small Town” details the change in the lives of the residents of Bovec, Slovenia dealing with the film coming to their small town.
The 10-minute “Previsualizing Narnia” shows how they visualized the film in the computer before shooting. The 5-minute “Talking Animals and Walking Trees” details the creations of some of the fantastic creatures of Narnia. The 6-minute “Secrets of the Duel” looks at a pivotal sequence in the film.
The 5 minute “Becoming Trumpkin” shows how Peter Dinklage became the character and the 11 minute “Warwick Davis: The Man behind Nikabrik” has the actor recounting his role. The third disc is the digital copy, but I would’ve rather have had a DVD copy of the film as they did with the Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray.
Prince Caspian may have some political intrigue but it picks up a good head of steam when the battles begin. Disney has produced an excellent Blu-ray presentation that well deserves a place next to the first film in your collection.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Three-Disc Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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