Trailer Tuesday: The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian

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Family fantasy, for better or worse, is big right now.

I adored The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe 3 years back, and coming in May 2008 is Prince Caspian, the second big screen adaptation of CS Lewis's Narnia Chronicles.

In a nod to the legend of King Arthur, this time Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are called back to the fantasy kingdom when their help is most needed. You see, despite only a year passing in our world, over a thousand years have passed in Narnia - and in that time humans have colonised the country, Aslan has been forgotten and all the magical creatures have retreated into hiding to become the subject of myth.

When the young rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, starts following the ways of Aslan it pits him (and his ragtag army of dwarves, fauns, talking mice and other fantasy beasties) against his evil uncle, King Miraz and his superior Telmarine forces.


Of course, Prince Caspian the book isn't quite at the level of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - the best of CS Lewis's books, thanks largely to the commanding presence of the White Witch, one of fantasy literature's greatest villains.

Jadis (Tilda Swinton) seems to make a cameo in Prince Caspian as a summoned spirit, but otherwise the villains of the film are decidedly human, and less impressive. This said, each of the Narnia Chronicles is slightly different in its focus and Prince Caspian is one of the strongest in terms of combat and battle sequences. Only time will tell if this will result in unfair comparisons to The Lord of the Rings.

I'm holding thumbs for the film Prince Caspian doing well. I'm really hoping that the franchise won't die before the filmmakers get around to making The Magician's Nephew, the prequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - and one of my personal favourites in the series.

Sure, The Magician's Nephew doesn't have any epic battle sequences but it chronicles the creation of Narnia, explains where the White Witch comes from (she even gets unleashed in Victorian England), features a Lemony Snicket-type evil uncle, and includes a hefty dose of offbeat humour. It would really be a lot of fun...

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