The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 high fantasy film, directed by Andrew Adamson, and written by Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It is based on the 1951 novel Prince Caspian, the second in the children's book series by C. S. Lewis, and the second installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series. Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell reprise their roles from the previous film. The plot involves the four Pevensie siblings returning to Narnia to aid Prince Caspian in his struggle for the throne against his corrupt uncle, King Miraz.
Work on the script began before the first film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was released, so that filming could begin before the actors grew too old for their parts. Director Andrew Adamson wanted to make the film more spectacular than the first. The Narnians were designed to look wilder as they have been hiding from persecution, stressing the darker tone of the sequel. The filmmakers also took a Spanish influence for the antagonistic race of the Telmarines. Filming began in February 2007 in New Zealand, but unlike the previous film, the majority of shooting took place in Central Europe, because of the larger sets available in those countries. To keep costs down, Adamson chose to base post-production in the United Kingdom, because of recent tax credits there. It was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian premiered on May 7, 2008, at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, and was released on May 16 in the United States and on June 26 in the United Kingdom, by Walt Disney Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the special effects, storytelling and faithfulness to the source material, though some criticized its runtime and underlying messages. It grossed $419.6 million on a budget of $225 million, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2008.
Plot
In Narnia, almost 1,300 years after the Pevensie siblings (King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy) left Narnia and returned to their world, Caspian, a Telmarine prince, is awakened by his mentor, Doctor Cornelius. Doctor Cornelius informs Caspian that his aunt has just given birth to a son and that his life is now in grave danger. Cornelius gives him Queen Susan's ancient magical horn and instructs him to use it if he is in dire need. Knowing that his Uncle Miraz would kill him to be king, Caspian flees. Chased by several Telmarine soldiers, Caspian falls from his horse and encounters two Narnian dwarfs and a talking badger in the woods. One of the dwarfs, Trumpkin, is captured by the soldiers after sacrificing himself to save Caspian. The other dwarf, Nikabrik, and the badger, Trufflehunter, save Caspian. Not knowing they are trying to save him, Caspian blows the magical horn, trying to summon help.
In England, after one year has passed in their world since they left Narnia, the four Pevensie children wait at the Strand tube station for their train, which will take them to boarding school. Just as the train pulls into the station, the station tears apart, and they are transported back to Narnia. There, they discover their castle, Cair Paravel, was attacked and ruined in their absence. The Pevensies save a bound and gagged Trumpkin, who is about to be drowned, and they set out together. Lucy sees Aslan trying to show them a safe path but finds her siblings unable to see him. She later manages to contact Aslan in a dream, but only Edmund believes her.
Meanwhile, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter lead Caspian to the Dancing Lawn, where all the old Narnians have assembled. Caspian convinces them to help him win his throne. Caspian and his troops encounter the Pevensies and Trumpkin, and they journey together to Aslan's How, a huge underground hall built over the Stone Table. Lucy wants to wait for Aslan, but Peter decides they have waited long enough and suggests attacking Miraz's castle. Caspian and the Pevensies infiltrate the castle at night with the intent of opening the gates for the Narnian army, but Caspian, learning that Miraz is responsible for his father's death, confronts his uncle and compromises the attack. The attack fails because of Caspian's actions and many Narnians are killed due to Peter's recklessness.
Nikabrik and a werewolf tell Caspian that there is a way he can claim revenge. When Caspian agrees, a hag uses black sorcery to summon the White Witch. From inside a wall of ice, the spirit of the Witch tries to convince Caspian to give her a drop of his blood to resurrect her. The spirit of the Witch attempts to convince Peter to do the same. Edmund, Trumpkin, and Lucy arrive and kill the rogues. Edmund shatters the wall of ice before the Witch can be resurrected.
Seeking redemption for his failure at Miraz's castle, Peter challenges Miraz to a one-on-one duel to buy Lucy time to find Aslan. Peter wounds Miraz and gives his sword to Caspian to finish him off. Caspian spares Miraz's life but says he intends to return Narnia to its people. Lord Sopespian, one of Miraz's generals, kills Miraz with an arrow and blames the Narnians, igniting a massive battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines. Lucy, meanwhile, has found Aslan in the woods; he awakens the trees, and the whole forest suddenly attacks the Telmarines. Lord Sopespian orders the retreat, only to be confronted by Lucy and Aslan. Aslan summons a river god, who wipes out most of the Telmarine army, including Sopespian; the surviving Telmarine soldiers surrender to the Narnians.
Caspian becomes the King of Narnia and, with Aslan's help, brings peace between the Narnian and Telmarine kingdoms. Before the Pevensies depart, Peter and Susan reveal that Aslan has told them they will never re-enter Narnia again since they have learned all they can from Narnia, but Edmund and Lucy might still come back. The Pevensies return to England, leaving Caspian as King of Narnia.
Cast
Pevensies: Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie. Henley acknowledged Lucy represents faith in the story, being the youngest and therefore most open-minded of the Pevensies. During filming, Henley's baby teeth were falling out, so she wore fake teeth to fill in the gaps. Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie, the third oldest Pevensie. Edmund matured during the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so the writers saw him "as our Han Solo", "[doing] the right thing" and "probably going to be a little low-key about it", highlighting the immaturity of his older brother. Keynes bruised his heel when performing a stunt where he jumped onto a horse. He narrowly missed landing on it and hit his foot against a column when holding on. Excepting that, he enjoyed performing the action. William Moseley as Peter Pevensie. In a departure from the novel, Peter has a rivalry with Caspian. Moseley explained, "Peter's got his own issues to deal with, and Caspian's got his own issues to deal with, and when neither is willing to compromise, there's bound to be friction. Peter came back to Narnia expecting to be king again and that everyone would do as he said, and Caspian is unwilling to let him take over, so that causes some of it. That's really what happens. And it's a lot about humility. I think they both have to learn a certain humility [...] and that's really what a great king needs is to be humble, to listen to his people, to be willing to compromise, and they start off as these sort of angry teenagers, and become kings at the end." In real life, the two actors got on well together. Moseley also stated that he identified with Peter, having gone back to school between shooting both films. He trained for three months in New York City to improve his performance and his physicality. Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie, the second oldest Pevensie. Popplewell had been disappointed she barely used her bow and arrows in the first film. Adamson convinced Douglas Gresham to have her present during the battles by suggesting her passive role in the novel indicated Lewis' view of women before he met Joy Gresham. "I think [Lewis] cast women down in the earlier books, but when you look at The Horse and His Boy, it has a strong female character. Doug's mother was a strong woman." Adamson also chose to have her fall for Caspian, because "The kids are growing up. If you look at Ben and you look at Anna, it seems really implausible that they wouldn't have some feelings for each other." He knew it had to be "sensitively handled" though, and ultimately it is not about romance, but "[accepting] the fact that you can have a wondrous experience, enjoy it and move on". Popplewell added that it would not make sense for the Narnians not to use Susan, a talented archer, in battle, and that the romance contributed to her character's reconciliation with losing Narnia in the first place. Telmarines: Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian X. Adamson said "Caspian is a coming-of-age and, to some degree, a loss of innocence story, with Caspian starting out quite naïve, then craving revenge and finally letting go of the vengeance." Andrew Garfield auditioned for the role, but was passed up for not being "handsome enough" according to his agent. Nicholas Hoult also auditioned. While in the novel Caspian is a 13-year-old child, in the film he is a 15-year-old adult young man. Barnes had read the novel as a child, and was cast in two and a half weeks after meeting with the filmmakers. He spent two months in New Zealand horse riding and stunt training to prepare for shooting. Barnes modelled his Spanish accent on Mandy Patinkin's performance as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, though he also had a dialect coach aiding him. Adamson did not expect to cast a British actor as Caspian, and said Barnes fitted well into the surrogate family of Adamson and the four actors playing the Pevensies. When cast, Barnes was set to tour with the Royal National Theatre's production of The History Boys: producer Mark Johnson joked Barnes "probably isn't the Nation's favourite actor right now". Barnes left England without telling the Theatre. They were furious when they found out that he had left them without permission, so they considered suing him for breach of contract, but decided against it. Sergio Castellitto as King Miraz. Castellitto was not familiar with the novel, but his four children had enjoyed the first film. Miraz marks the first time the Italian actor has portrayed a villain, and he found it interesting to "act out a stereotype." Nonetheless, he also felt that he and Adamson brought depth to the role, explaining Miraz is a soldier, not a coward, and that he takes the throne for his son. He compared the character to King Claudius in Hamlet. Pierfrancesco Favino as General Glozelle, Miraz's military commander, who plots with Sopespian to have his king killed in combat with Caspian and Peter in order to lead his own attack on the Narnians. However, in the end, Glozelle repents and is the first to volunteer to go into the Pevensies' world, and in return, is granted a good future by Aslan. This was Favino's idea, because originally Glozelle would have died in battle. Adamson dubbed the character "a real Benedict Arnold". Favino is able to speak several languages and generally acted as a translator to Adamson on set while working with actors and crew members of multiple nationalities. Damián Alcázar as Lord Sopespian. "In some ways Sopespian turns out to be the real bad guy of the film", Adamson said. "Where it seems that Miraz has the upper hand at the beginning, we see that Sopespian, like Shakespeare's Iago, is trying to manipulate the situation". Alcázar was originally offered the role of Miraz, but once the filmmakers were informed that his little height would prevent him from intimidating Barnes' taller Caspian, Adamson decided to cast him as Sopespian, promising him to still give him a larger role.