seawasp | Prince Caspian!

This past weekend we went to see Prince Caspian (we being me, Christopher, and Gabriel). The previews had had me VERY worried about potential changes, ones which might indeed damage the very essence of the story.

I needn't have worried.

Prince Caspian is, if anything, an even better adaptation than the prior The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The parts which could be boring and tedious to do on-screen are compressed -- in my opinion, masterfully so -- to a few evocative scenes and dialogue which get across their essence. For example, the book contains a wonderfully written sequence of events where we first meet Caspian, follow his childhood, see how Master Cornelius comes to him and teaches him, and then eventually leads up to the birth of Miraz' son and Caspian's flight.

This sequence, fun though it is to read, is mostly talking, almost no visual action, and would be death to film. Instead, we START with the birth of Miraz' son and Caspian's flight from the castle, all done in such a way that we get the essential facts about what is going on RIGHT THERE, and other essential details are brought out painlessly later. This is, in my opinion, nothing short of brilliant. Similarly, the chapters involving the Pevensies' entry into and rediscovery of Narnia, and long way to meet up with Caspian, are compressed almost painlessly.

The battle scene which was partially visible in the trailers, involving Griffons, which didn't look anything like what I remembered from the book (having just recently read it)? Turned out to be a brilliant demonstration of show, don't tell. It's clear that it would take Miraz TIME to mobilize his forces and ready for war, so it makes sense that a good commander would try for a pre-emptive strike, especially with special forces advantages (i.e., air elements, special infiltration troops, etc.).

The only real negative of the entire movie was that they introduced far too much tension between Caspian and Peter. Yes, I could see some of it, but Peter had gotten over most of his "issues" in the first book. I think he should've gotten over it and apologized to Caspian earlier.

The scenes we got momentary clips of, showing the White Witch (which I REALLY worried about)? Just a slight extension and more dramatic version of the sequence in which Caspian is offered the chance to summon back the "White Lady", as the nastier Narnians call her. Well-done -- not identical to the book, but for a movie I think even more effective. It also allows Tilda Swenson a chance to reprise her magnificent performance as Jadis.

The Chronicles of Narnia naturally get away with something that I wouldn't put up with in just any story: a true Deus Ex Machina. Narnia, being Christian allegory and directly focused on the aspect of "succeed, but with faith in God", requires that our heroes BOTH expend personal effort to succeed, AND also place their fate in the hands of God -- Aslan -- through faith. So the clever plans of our heroes cannot -- by themselves -- succeed. There must be both human effort and divine intervention. This movie captures that balance very well. The Narnian strategies work well, and are clearly executed carefully -- and are necessary to buy the time for Aslan to act. At the same time, it's clear that without Aslan, the Narnians aren't going to win this one.

(In this sense, Narnia and Lord of the Rings are extremely thematically similar. Sauron isn't defeated by the plans and schemes of Men or even Maia, but by pure providence: the fact that Gollum was spared earlier allows him to be the instrument of the Ring's destruction.)

Rumors I'd heard of a Caspian-Susan romance were greatly exaggerated, and the small amount of that shown was actually extremely appropriate (and symbolic of the fact that at the end, Aslan says both she and Peter are too old to return to Narnia, as Narnia is not their world and they cannot remain there). And I doubt many people could fault Susan, because Prince Caspian's a very VERY fine figure of a young prince, resolute, handsome, heroic, and romantic. And he's a nice guy, too.

I'm now cautiously optimistic that they'll make The Voyage of the Dawn Treader well, too.

So in short, a wonderful family movie well worth seeing.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

shana.livejournal.com

Well, it looks like I'll be spending some of my vacation time at the movies...

From:

fireheart1974.livejournal.com

Thanks for this. I am really hoping to be able to sneak away and see it this weekend.

~T

From:

arcadiagt5.livejournal.com

I don't think it has opened in Oz yet but this is very good news. Looking forward to it.

Anything after the end credits, or didn't you stay to find out?

From:

seawasp

... after the credits. Once they start to roll, you can roll too.

From:

arcadiagt5.livejournal.com

I might watch them anyway. There have been some very amusing things in credits recently.

The last Harry Potter had two "wand combat choreographers". I really can't see that as a long term career option.

And the product placement guy beat out the military advisor in Transformers by a line.

:)

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

Articles I've read suggest that the studio is pushing ahead with Voyage of the Dawn Treader, scheduled for a 2010 release. Apparently the Prince Caspian opening weekend box office was decent but not as good as expected; hopefully that won't make them change their minds. I'd really like to see this franchise go all the way.

From:

technocracygirl.livejournal.com

From what I remember reading, there was no question that VotDT would be made; they pledged to the first three after LWW did well. THe question has been if they'll do any of the others. If Caspian doesn't do well at the box office, VotDT is the last.

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

I heard a rumor that the studio was considering Caspian/Dawn Treader/Silver Chair to be a trilogy, which sort of makes sense.

From:

seawasp

... but to my mind if you're only making three, LWW, PC, and DT are the right choice. This follows (pretty much) the entire involvement of the Pevensies in Narnia (as Lucy and Edmund are barred from Narnia after the end of DT).

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

Huh -- I must've read the books. Didn't Lucy go back with a boy she goes to school with? I feel fairly certain about that... I could just need more caffiene though ...

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

You're probably thinking of Jill, who joins Eustace in Silver Chair.

And of course all of them (except Susan, who fell victim to Lewis' prejudices against young women acting like young women) show up again in The Last Battle.

From:

seawasp

It wasn't a prejudice against acting like young women. It was against acting bubbleheaded and stupid to be PERCEIVED as a "normal" young woman. I doubt he would have approved of the equivalent behavior in young men. I suppose you could say that he COULD have chosen one of the boys instead to alienate, but then it would appear to be prejudice in THAT direction. I think it was rather a miracle that ONLY ONE of the Friends of Narnia ended up going in a direction that shut them out from Narnia (and it's not clear that Susan won't "get better" eventually).

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

Lewis had a somewhat jaundiced view of adult women; you'll notice that there are few sympathetic ones in the Narnia books. It comes out more clearly in some of his other writings.

In any event, I like movie-Susan a lot more than book-Susan, so if the franchise goes the distance I personally would not object if they chose to write her back in to The Last Battle.

From:

seawasp

In the Narnia books, there's relatively few sympathetic adult humans at all, unless they're "in the party" so to speak. I.e., since Caspian is a King he can end up with a bunch of nice adults around him for the most part, but if you're encountering adults in the adventures most of them aren't very nice. Many of the nice people turn out not to be necessarily human (Coriakin, Doctor Cornelius, Mr. Tumnus, etc.).

There's a preponderance of males on both sides. Admittedly, the only truly GREAT villains of the series are female. (both, however, not really human either)

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

I haven't read the book (or if I did -- I no longer remember it) but I did like the movie. :)

As to the romance -- as my Sister said "I would've stayed". :D But it was very sweet -- I'm pretty sure Caspian will be on every 13-15 year old girl's wall immediately.

IIRC weren't Tolkien & ... um ... (can't believe I've forgotten the name) the Naria author contemporaries/writing group buddies that had a falling out?

SPOILER-ISH ....

I found it a little funny that they both have magic causing a river to taking out the bad guys & that the trees save the day. Hmmm ... seems vaguely familiar to another Fantasy movie/book. Elrond & Helm's Deep anyone?

Was it just something that would be a common plot device at the time? The same as ray guns in the 50's & suuper advanced CSI machines now-a-days? ;p

From:

kjn

Yes, Tolkien and CS Lewis were good friends and participated in the same writing/social group, known as the Inklings (I'm not sure it can be called a true writing group, since they mainly read aloud to each other, and IIRC not everyone did read).

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

I'm not aware of any "falling out" between Lewis and Tolkien, although I think I read somewhere that Tolkien didn't care for the Narnia books.

As for the river and the trees... although the movie took those incidents from the book, they became bigger and more dramatic in the movie in a way that makes them more similar to the LotR bits than they were in the original. If you read the book, you probably wouldn't find those scenes nearly as vaguely familiar.

From:

seawasp

... what Lewis AND Tolkien were both taking from in those scenes was Greek Mythology. While both were writing Christian-themed fantasy, neither had any trouble stealing legend-themes from other mythologies.

Greek (and quite a few other) mythologies have tree and water spirits which have considerable dominion over their respective elements, and thus it's not at all hard to imagine the power of a walking tree or awakened river.

From:

nuranar.livejournal.com

Even more particularly, Tolkien wrote the rising of the trees/Huorns as a fulfillment of the scene in Macbeth. Macbeth would never be vanquished until "Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane Hill shall come against him"; but it wasn't really the wood, it was just men holding tree branches. To Tolkien, that was the easy way out. He wrote about the wood really coming to do battle.

From:

midnightlurker.livejournal.com

Tolkien didn't care for the way Lewis dumped elements of many different mythologies into Narnia at random, with no real attempt to synthesize them or even file off the serial numbers; it was a hodgepodge of Biblical, Greco-Roman, and medieval fantasy...

From:

seawasp

... Susan wasn't given the CHOICE to stay. When Aslan says "you're going", does ANYONE really think they can argue the point? The Witch tried, and that didn't work out very well for her.

But even speaking as a man, I could see the attraction in THAT young man. If he DOESN'T end up on a lot of girl's walls (or, these days, wallpaper) I'll be very surprised.

Tolkien and Lewis both were part of a writer's group, and were good friends overall. Tolkien DIDN'T care for Narnia, mainly because of Lewis' "Disneyfication" (to use an anachronistic word) of legendary components. I believe one quote was something like, "A faun meeting a little girl alone in a forest would do something very different to her than invite her in for tea." In Prince Caspian, Lewis had Bacchus show up as a clownish person rather like the version of Dionysus in "Fantasia"; OTOH, he did have Pan and his wild girls act in such a manner as to make Lucy and Susan both feel that it was a good thing that they were with Aslan, or they wouldn't have felt at all safe.

I can't recall for sure, but I believe that one of the two was instrumental in converting the other to Christianity, or something along those lines.

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

I can't recall for sure, but I believe that one of the two was instrumental in converting the other to Christianity, or something along those lines.

Yes; when they first met, Tolkien was a devout Catholic and Lewis was an atheist (or at least agnostic.) In his autobiography, Lewis says that one of the factors that converted him was the realization that pretty much all of the people he admired and trusted most deeply -- including Tolkien -- were devout Christians, and he couldn't separate their Christianity from the things that made them admirable.

He also noted that he had been warned implicitly since his youth never to trust a Catholic, and explicitly since entering the university never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both. They managed to get along anyway.

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

I know she didn't have a choice -- but *sigh* :) I have to admit that the actor & actress that played Caspian & Susan did a very good job -- althought the "it never would've worked" part was a tad stilted on her part.

Narnia is fairly Fantasia-esque wasn't it. :) I don't know why I remember this (I could have several sources mixed up) -- but wasn't Aslan equivalent to Jesus (the dying & coming back) & wasn't Narnia itself supposed to represent heaven or something? Although how the pirate broke in to pillage heaven doesn't exactly make sense. Is it Limbo or something? My knowledge of the Bible mainly comes from after school specials so I am probably missing something quite obvious to others.

IIRC Lewis did convert -- but did that happen before/after/during his writing of the 7 (?) books?

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

Lewis wrote the Narnia books as a deliberate attempt to convey the Christian story to children. In his stories, Narnia is not heaven, it's a parallel world to ours, and in that world the second person of the Trinity appears as a lion rather than as a Jewish carpenter.

From:

seawasp

... and also kicks a lot more ass directly. He's Action Jesus!

From:

chuk-g.livejournal.com

Narnia, being Christian allegory and directly focused on the aspect of "succeed, but with faith in God", requires that our heroes BOTH expend personal effort to succeed, AND also place their fate in the hands of God -- Aslan -- through faith.

Huh, I never really thought of it like that. Good description of the themes.

And your review makes me think I should watch the first one and then this one.

From:

seawasp

The second one is, in my opinion, better than the first, but the first was still an excellent adaptation.

My only complaint about the casting is that Liam Neeson -- despite being a good voice actor -- is the wrong choice for Aslan. I wanted James Earl Jones, or another person with a powerful bass voice.

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

Well Disney possibly didn't do that due to the Mufasa factor ....

It was so sad -- I was working movie-theatre matinees when Lion King came out (so at least three features a day for the weekend) -- and for the longest time "Impressive -- very impressive" was floating around in the back of my brain. Couldn't figure out why for the life of me -- a year later I figured out it was Darth Vader talking -- then I understood why. *sigh*

From:

seawasp

Well, I didn't mean they HAD to use James Earl Jones, but SOMEONE with a DEEP, POWERFUL voice. The actor who did Ben Cisko on Deep Space 9, for instance.

The Lyin' King had a bunch of problems. The whole concept (which I think was present in the original, too, though I never saw Jungle Emperor Taito so I can't be sure) was creepy: here's all the herbivores cheering as a new top predator is born. Circle of Life indeed.

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

Well that could be how the corporate/industrial lions view themselves? (That probably made more sense in my head.)

I agree that the herbivores cheering is strange -- but then again they talk as well! (Which is my Sister's usual answer when I start poking at plot holes in fantasy movies.) But then again maybe they see the long view?

If there wasn't a curb on their population -- they'd consume all the grazing & then they'd start dying anyway. Plus the lions provide handy-dandy euthanasia for the old & infirm! ;)

But still -- cheering & reverence is a tad strong. Then again I have the same feeling toward Kings & serfs -- I'm not sure cheering is applicable -- would probably depend on how sharp the pike the armored guard had pointed in my direction.

Prefer the Monty Python Holy Grail view -- 'Did you see him oppressing me?'

From:

seawasp

That would be amusing. You see Kimba...er, SIMBA running down a herbivore, who suddenly starts shouting "Help! Come see the violence inherent in the system! Monkeys waving gourds around are no basis for a system of government!"

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

LOL -- Loved that image. Could've even been that annoying bird. :p

I had forgotten the exact wording -- god -- that bit was funny. :)

You think you're king 'cause you got a sword from some tart in a lake?

I didn't vote for you....

I really should buy that DVD someday. ;p

From:

phanatic.livejournal.com

It's not providence that spares Gollum, it's Bilbo.

From:

seawasp

It was Providence that aligned all the events so that Bilbo (and later Frodo) sparing Gollum's life would lead to the destruction of the Ring. Frodo FAILED at the end of the quest.

And Gandalf was lucky that Frodo didn't kill him shortly after that. "So you remembered you had super-fast, super-strong Eagles only AFTER Sam and I just about KILLED ourselves hiking for MONTHS through HELL??? I'll have your HEART, Wizard!"

From:

ross-teneyck.livejournal.com

Frodo failed, but if he hadn't done everything that a mortal could do up to that point the quest would not have succeeded. Divine grace doesn't give you a free ride; you have to do your utmost as well.

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

*snork*

Well Frodo would have to rest up a bit before the confrontation I think. I can definately see Frodo serving Gandalf cold tea & over-salted soup for the near future. :)

From:

denelian.livejournal.com

i am 31 years old

i am totally tempted to go by a TeenBeat, just to get another dreamy picture of Prince Caspian. i am beyond in love with this guy...

and, seriously, hes only 3 1/2 years younger than i am. its not cradle robbing until the difference is more than 5 years.

(right? please)

sigh..............................so....... hot!
o and yeah. the movie was teh total rocks. it was beautiful AND *gasp* SUSAN FOUGHT!!! SUSAN KICKED MAJOR ASS!!!!!!!!

it was beauty

From:

arcadiagt5.livejournal.com

AND *gasp* SUSAN FOUGHT!!! SUSAN KICKED MAJOR ASS!!!!!!!!

Actually, if the movie was true to the book then this shouldn't be a surprise.

Granted the Susan of Horse and His Boy is a bit wimpy, but I recall the Susan of Prince Caspian being kinda cool.

From:

denelian.livejournal.com

in the book, she was sent off with lucu, and unlike the moviee she stayed with her til Aslan was found...

From:

rasmusb.livejournal.com

He's in his late twenties? My sister & I thought maybe 22. Hmm ... now I don't feel like a diry older lady (Or Demi Moore).

From:

denelian.livejournal.com

hes 26, be 27 in august :)

From:

nuranar.livejournal.com

Ryk, I had to hold off reading this until now; I finally saw Prince Caspian this morning.

Prince Caspian is just about my favorite of the seven, but apparently it's not the same for most people. They changed times and telescoped places a whole lot; but the chronology and geography of the book itself I've always found confusing, and what they did makes sense.

The pre-emptive strike is, at first glance, entirely invented. It would be a smart thing, but, in addition to needing collapsed distances, relies heavily on close timing of a lot of chancy details. It's something that a king with Peter's experience would come up with, but he didn't realize the capabilities of his force. I would be more down on it, except that it replaces the disastrous dawn attack that Caspian's forces made right before the Pevensies reached the How. The loss of life, the injuries, the discouragement, and gloom - and the impetus to summon the White Witch - all fit perfectly. What I'm trying to say is that they spent a lot of time in truly honing and adapting the story to fit both the events and the feel.

I knew about the Caspian-Peter conflict, so I just rode with it. It wasn't earth-shattering, but I was primarily disappointed because of what I wanted to see. I wanted to see Peter, after a year back to schoolboy things, immediately stepping back up as a true High King: thinking not at all of himself but of the reason he was called, to help the true king to his throne. The lack of kingliness just saddened me, as it did in the Aragorn of the LoTR movies. Strider was spot-on, but the king just wasn't there.

Caspian himself erred, of course; he was one of the few who paid genuine deference to the kings and queens who turned out to be yet children. He very properly respected Peter, not merely because of position, nor because of swordsmanship, but because of his experience as both a king and a general.

The Caspian-Susan thing just didn't affect me. I knew there wasn't any possible way things could happen. Even if *gasp* Aslan gave her a special dispensation for her to stay; because it's not just that, there's the star's daughter in the future.

Susan herself isn't much like she is in the book, even apart from the romance. In the book she is a royal PILL in every way, until Aslan straightens her out. That didn't come through at all. Peter replaced her as the one with the real attitude problem, and that's a shame. It really makes me wonder how exactly they're going to explain her later absence. Maybe they'll just leave it alone, since it's not a factor until The Last Battle.

And I am now very excited about the Dawn Treader. It'll be a treat just to see all those fantastic things; and they sure won't need to invent any conflict!

P.S. I am 25, and I must say that Caspian is, um, very easy on the eyes indeed. :D