Prince Caspian
 

The story of Narnia continues with Prince Caspian.

Reviews seem to be starting off strong.

Anyone going to go see it?

I wasn't thrilled by the first one. Prince Caspian is handsome, though.
:)

I saw it last night. But I'm not allowed to say what I thought of it until Friday.

But I will say that if you find him cute just looking at him, you'll really like him when the accent is attached.

Hmmm...

I didn't read any of the books past the first one. So, I don't know where the story goes from there...

I have seen the trailer that runs with it...

Yes, I will go see it. Prince Caspian is a hunk and I have a free pass for the AMC on Van Ness. No excuse not to!

Since it has been a Hollywood tradition from 1896 to mess with the plot of every book every written, I do not worry that they've played fast & loose with the books. Although this never seems to stop me from kvetching about it.

This weekend, I dunno. Depends on how badly I want to get away from the expected hot weather.

Now, if Disney could make a decent live action version of the Prydain Chronicles ("The Book of Three", "Black Cauldron" etc...), I would be a happy guy.
:)

It looks like Caspian is at 69% on rt.
For some reason, I don't feel moved to go see it in the theater.
:shrug:

---------------------------------------------

Alex's review.

While I overall liked it, I can understand why those who don't feel that way.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle is one of those and he essentially fails the movie on the basis of the what I listed as the biggest flaw in the movie. For me, it still succeeds as candy but I agree that any deep narrative heft has been stripped out.

ah- but did you read Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe or the Magician's Nephew (which is actually the first book in the series) :)

Didn't know that. Oops. Uh, I guess I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe first then. I think my fascination about it was due to seeing the animated film of TLTWATW. (I was obsessed with witches and wizards when I was a kid.)

Neph- did you read them all? I guess Caspian is one of the darker books?

Not that this is a new argument but I don't buy The Magician's Nephew as the "first" book in the series. Yes, in terms of the chronology described the events take place before The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe but the book was written five years later, with full knowledge of what had been written as happening after the events of that book.

So, in that debate I'm firmly on the side that they should be read in published order (or at least with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first) as opposed to chronological order.

I'd also say that is true of almost anything where a prequel was later created.

I read them in that order--as an adult-- and I think they're about as subtle and magical as a prep school paddling. However, my daughter has read and reread them all, so we'll be going.

What happened to the indepth Alex review, did I miss it somewhere?

You are usually the first one I turn to now for new movie reviews. I know, sad isn't it ;-)

So is it worth it, especially for an 11 year old boy who loved Lion, witch and the wardrobe?

He stuck in over here.

I just want to know if Aslan (or any animal that we get attached to) dies.

All animals die.

Eventually

GC has linked to my review at MousePlanet so I didn't.

If you can call any of them "dark"- it's a series worth reading. Is the Christian theme obvous- yes, to some more extent in some books than others- but overall it's a good series.

FWIW- most of us read Lion/Witch/Wardrobe first.

Maybe so- however in boxed sets Magician's Nephew is the first book in the series. Hence my friendly jab at GC - :)

Heh-

While I thought the first movie was the best adaptation of LW&W I'd seen, it still was only mildly above "meh." I've no problem waiting for Netflix on this new one. I've never read any of the books or seen any film or TV adaptation past LW&W because I didn't particularly like either the book or the films.


I don't have time to go to the movies just for eye candy. So hunky Caspian and trippy-looking SpeedRacer world will have to wait. Oooh, the DVD window is all of four months nowadays. Pffft, I will hardly have taken a deep breath.

Depends on the publisher. Mine has LW&W first. But it is a debate that's been going on for 40+ years.

Thanks!

Really? I had no idea :p

If memory serves, it seems to me that The Magician's Nephew, while technically taking place chronologically earlier than TLTWATW, makes more sense if read in its publication order. (As a first installment, I think it lacks the breadth and scope of Lion, and I recall wondering if it would even hold up as worthy of an entire feature adaptation. For that matter, not every book in the series has the epic battles and big quest elements.)

Like Nephythys, I'm most curious to see how the harsh elements of The Last Battle are handled, if in fact they are. I remember being appalled and distressed as a youngster about that particular finale.

It seems unlikely that they will get to it. The Voyage of the Dawn Trader is next if they keep going (since they still need Edward and Lucy while they're still young) but that's not 100%. I doubt they'll get farther than that.

Though I'd love to see The Horse and His Boy done well.

I've never seen Braveheart, but I'd say that was Braveheart without the explicit gore. Not sure how it rated PG.

Unfortunately, the violence and intrige was the best part of the movie. Query, in the book does

I was surprised by Caspian's numbers this weekend. It's first weekend grossed less than the first part's opening weekend. Usually the numbers go a little higher for a sequel. Hmmm.

Speaking for a typical family of four, we were hip to see TLTWATW when it first came out but since it was pretty much a "meh" experience we are in no hurry to see PC. Also since have seen Iron Man and have tickets for Indy it does not leave much time for another movie.

Interesting feedback from someone in my office. She agreed with SL. She thought it was surprisingly violent. The kids slitting throats, etc.
That's interesting...

They mask the worst of it. A lot of the violence is just off camera.

I enjoyed it.

I always thought "The horse and his boy" was meant to be next.

No, if they continue with current plans, the next movie will be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the simple reason that they need to film in an order than makes sense with the aging of the kids. Not to mention the chronology of The Horse and His Boy would be difficult to explain (taking place as it does after The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) and then jumping ahead in time again with the next movie to events after Prince Caspian.

Dawn Treader is the last of the books to have huge roles for any of the Pevensie children at their current ages (they're quite a bit older for their brief appearances in The Horse and His Boy).

Quite so - I'm so book-centric on these stories, I forgot about the filming logistics.

That said, I'll be interested to see how this next one turns out. I hope they don't install another pseudo-attraction at WDW.

For Prince Caspian? It's already on the books. There is a meet and greet Prince Caspian character though.

Dawn Treader is next. Coming out summer 2010.

Meet & Greet is good, but is the attraction going to be just another "Movie Trailer In A Cavernous Set" ?

Sorry for the cynicism, but we were underwhelmed by TLTW&TW's "attraction" - Maybe if they'd have called it a "Preview" instead....

Not that it makes it a good use of time, but I'm just curious if you know that the space has been used to promote a big Disney movie is since the park opened.

It has always been a "movie trailer in a cavernous set." Before Narnia it was Haunted Mansion and before that it was the live action 101 Dalmatians. I'm sure that it will be Dawn Treader next and then Rapunzel or something after that.

AH ! That makes sense now. I would have liked to see the Haunted Mansion version.

It was slightly better than the Narnia version, but only because it had better set pieces on display. All of these presentations have been uninspiring. (and yes, there is a Prince Caspian version on the way, and no, it won't be anything worth your time.) But, please come to Florida again soon anyway!

I've bumped this thread to announce that the new Making Of Prince Caspian exhibit is now open at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and it is an absolute must! Not for the display itself, mind you. (Though, it's maybe slightly better than the last one - still just an extended and spoiler-filled preview and some nice props and set pieces.) No, the real reason to go is the pre-recorded announcer who invites guests into the gallery and warns about the doors opening toward you. That announcer is



Actually, I haven't made it over yet, but I can hardly wait.