Second adventure to Narnia will satisfy faithful's cravings
Prince Caspian, 4 Pevensie children seek to overcome evil in the realm
Second adventure to Narnia will satisfy faithful's cravings

Published: May 16, 2008

The four Pevensie children are sucked back into the mystic once again in Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” this time by way of a tube station near London's Trafalgar Square instead of a wardrobe in this intermittently entertaining but overlong fantasy epic that seems far too violent for its PG rating.

On their last visit, the World War II-era siblings — with a lot of help from a Christ-like lion named Aslan — managed to defeat the evil White Witch who ruled the land (an icily brilliant Tilda Swinton), making the Narnian wilderness safe once again for its population of fauns, centaurs and talking animals to roam in peace. For their efforts, they were all crowned kings and queens.

In this second installment based on the classic children's book series by C.S. Lewis, big brother Peter (William Moseley), level-headed Susan (Anna Popplewell), rebellious Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and sweet-natured little sis Lucy (Georgie Henley) are summoned back to this realm of mythical creatures and chatty beasts by Caspian (an appropriately princely Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the Narnian throne who has been ousted by his evil Uncle Miraz (a perfectly dastardly Sergio Castellitto).

Although the Pevensies have been gone only a year in real-world time, 1,300 years have flown by in Narnia and many bad things have befallen the natives. The mighty Aslan has not been seen for a thousand years, all the magical talking animals and mythical creatures have made themselves scarce, and the land now is dominated by the Telmarines, a race of humans led by the ruthless Lord Miraz.

Caspian enlists the aid of the formerly royal Pevensie family, along with the help of the crusty but courageous dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dink-lage), the faithful badger Trufflehunter and a fearless, swashbuckling mouse named Reepicheep (voice of Eddie Izzard) in the fight against the ruthless Miraz and his evil forces.

Director/co-writer Andrew Adamson ("Shrek,” "Shrek 2”) returns for his second and last time at the helm, once again creating a wondrously colorful and detailed otherworld, with assistance from some highly imaginative computer-generated animation and the magnificent natural backdrops provided by the Czech Republic and north and south islands of New Zealand.

But winning back a mystical kingdom is slow-going in his hands, clocking in at 144 minutes that most younger viewers won't sit still for, and the lengthy climactic battle and scenes of sword-wielding mayhem — although for the most part bloodless — may be too intense by some parents' standards.

Fans of the books also may take exception to Adamson's storyline alterations, although these were necessary given the nonlinear structure of the source material.

But in all, this vivid and gorgeously mounted screen adaptation of Caspian's tale should satisfy the cravings of most adventure-fantasy aficionados as well as the Narnia faithful.

— Gene Triplett

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