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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian an Epic 3-Disc Adventure
by Larson Hill
 After all of the hype for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, its sequel Prince Caspian didn't generate nearly the same amount of buzz. Even Disney CEO Robert Iger blamed the poor box-office performance out of the gate on the heavy competition. But while Prince Caspian is a definite improvement over the first film, I didn't see the same level of marketing or fan excitement as the big screen launch of the franchise. Now that The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian hits DVD shelves on December 2, those who didn't return to theaters for a second adventure can now catch up in the comfort of their own home entertainment system.
Synopsis:
"One year after the incredible events of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,' the Kings and Queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway wondrous realm, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has become extinct, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy.
The four children will soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. With the help of the kindly dwarf, a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep, a badger named Trufflehunter and a Black Dwarf, Nikabrik, the Narnians, led by the mighty knights Peter and Caspian, embark on a remarkable journey to find Aslan, rescue Narnia from Miraz's tyrannical hold, and restore magic and glory to the land."
The Chronicles:
When thinking about a franchise like The Chronicles of Narnia, it's a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean. It's an epic adventure filled with a ton of dazzling visuals and quirky characters. Despite its problems with Christian symbolism and insufficient blend of mythology and magic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe wasn't a bad adventure, but it could have been better. You already know that the first film set the bar in terms of quality, so any subsequent sequels will be judged in the grey area that exists between good and great. It's a completely different realm of "sucking", so to speak.
 As for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, director Andrew Adamson builds from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in a way that allows the adventure to unfold in a more organic manner than the first film. It's like shaking off your first year of high school as you become a sophomore. What we see from Prince Caspian is a more mature and confident production that hits its stride. Given the darker complexities within Prince Caspian, namely the constant threat and going to battle with the Telmarines, both Adamson and the cast, including newcomer Ben Barnes, approach the story more on an adult level with less of a focus on the fantastical innocence of the first film in favor of the immediacy of the threat of a world conquered. That's not to say innocence and a fantastical sense of wonder is lost, it's simply front-loaded in the set up before a full scale battle ensues on the scale of what you find in the Lord of the Rings franchise.
The Narnia franchise feels different in tone than other fantasy adventures, in many ways due to the Christian themes underneath the story. When you have a Lion in your story that's a symbolic representation of Christ, there's no way to gloss it over. However, Prince Caspian takes much more of a subtle approach with source material in favor of giving fans a bigger dose of action, fantasy and other themes like courage, love, and participating in a quest for peace.
In every capacity, Prince Caspian is an improvement on the first film filled with epic sword fights, giants, griffins, minotaurs, medieval weaponry, and castles open for battle.
The 3-Disc DVD:
Let's get this out of the way first to clear the path for the extras: The third disc is a digital copy for anyone into handhelds, laptops and other on the fly devices.
Much like the DVD release of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Disney rolls out a heavy dose of quality extras that won't disappoint anyone who loves the Narnia franchise. If you're a fan of commentaries, Prince Caspian features a great track on the first disc from director Andrew Adamson and the cast of the movie. Although the appeal might depend on your favorite actor from the film, what I love about the track is the fun and sincerity that you feel from a group that is now like a family, with Adamson as their father figure. It's exactly the type of track that your want from a movie like this.
 The second disc contains the bulk of the extras that cover Prince Caspian from front to back in a series of featurettes that span bringing the adventure back for a second film, the various locations used in the film, previsualization of the movie with CG and artwork, an exploration of the Narnia universe in a fantastical segment called "Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magic of the World of Narnia", a breakdown of the secrets behind The Duel, and two character segments on "Becoming Trumpkin" and "The Man Behind Nikabrik," which is the amazing Warwick Davis from some of the most famous fantasy adventures of all-time. On the fun side, Prince Caspian boast a decent blooper reel while also serving up several deleted scenes that are simply filler as compared to the meatier extras. The best bangs for your Narnia bucks on the 3-Disc Collector's Edition come in the form of an inside look at the larger than life set pieces, including the castle and battle landscape, from the state-of-the-art Barranndov studios in Prague plus how the huge production moved to such a small town that shows an obvious contrast of extremes that helped locals.
Overall
Although the Narnia franchise has made a ton of money, even Prince Caspian grossing over $400 million worldwide, it still feels like both films haven't lived up to their true potential. I don't know why, it just feels that way. On DVD, however, Prince Caspian is better in all areas and the quality of the 3-Disc Collector's Edition lives up to standard set by its predecessor. Those who love the Narnia franchise will love what The Mouse House has cookin' for a second helping of Narnia on DVD.
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