Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ One of Most Extensive Releases of Season

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CHICAGO – “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” may have fallen flat at the box office this summer but it is sure to be a gigantic hit on Blu-Ray this holiday season. Not only are the words “family Disney movie” practically a license to print money around this time of year, but this studio has been one of the frontrunners in the race for the best at making Blu-Ray.

With “Prince Caspian”, they may not have made one of the greatest films or even Blu-Ray releases of the season but the mantra of “bigger is better” that clearly followed the production of the film has made it intact to the extensive BD release.

Personally, I found the critical and commercial shrug that greeted “Prince Caspian” somewhat surprising. Releasing what should have been a holiday film in between Iron Man and Indiana Jones IV was clearly a misstep, but I think history will be kinder to “Prince Caspian” than audiences were in May of 2008. It’s funny that people honestly called “Prince Caspian” a box office disappointment when it made $420 million worldwide, but when you’re the sequel to a film that made $745 million worldwide then that’s bound to happen.

William Moseley. Ben Barnes. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is available on DVD/Blu-ray December 2, 2008.Photo Credit: © Disney. All Rights Reserved

Box office and poorly chosen release dates aside, the visually sumptuous but somewhat hollow feeling that I felt watching “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” has been replaced by a more action-driven tale with better performances and some of the most seamlessly integrated special effects of the year. The technical accomplishments of “Prince Caspian”, including 1500 visual effects shots, are made clearer by the collection of special features in the two-disc set from Walt Disney Home Video.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is available on DVD/Blu-ray December 2, 2008. Photo Credit: © Disney. All Rights Reserved

“Prince Caspian” takes its title from its lead character (Ben Barnes), who escapes the citadel of the Telmarines in the opening scene. The Telmarines are mortals who have taken over the land of Narnia, where it has been 1,300 years since the action of the first film. Of course, time doesn’t move the same in our world as it does in Narnia and the four heroes from the first film - Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley) - must return to save the day and restore the Prince to power.

Aslan the lion (still voiced by Liam Neeson and still a little too blatant of a Christ figure) and even the witch (Tilda Swinton) from the first film make an appearance but the weight of the story has shifted to the children, who feel much more confident as actors. In particular, the two older Pevensies, played by William Moseley and Anna Popplewell, finally feel have the depth as actors to ground the work in reality. CGI fantasy films often make the actors feel like nothing more than WETA creations themselves but “Prince Caspian” keeps its focus for most of its admittedly over-long running time and should be a satisfying rental or purchase for Blu-Ray buyers.

Those buyers will find that “Prince Caspian” has received the Disney treatment, which means one of the best video transfers on the market. The 1080p High Definition/2.40:1 transfer is wonderfully mixed with the colors of Narnia popping off the screen. The audio mix in English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is the kind that stereo stores use to sell high-priced equipment. It will wake the neighbors.

As with most things Disney and most things Narnia, there is no moderation when it comes to special features on the Blu-Ray release of “Prince Caspian”. Honestly, it’s too much. Half of the features on the second disc of “Prince Caspian” could have been merged into one, behind-the-scenes documentary. Overall, they’re too repetitive.

Georgie Henley. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is available on DVD/Blu-ray December 2, 2008. Photo Credit: © Disney. All Rights Reserved

Audiences will learn almost all they need to know from the commentary with director Andrew Adamson and most of the stars along with the 35-minute “Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns”, the best featurette on the second disc and one that’s truly comprehensive enough that it makes the other ones feel like overkill. And the hyperbole about the production - someone actually says “Enriches the vocabulary of cinema” - gets a little overwhelming.

The first disc of “Prince Caspian” also includes an interactive feature that allows deep access into the making of the castle raid and Disney’s excellent BD-Live capabilities. There’s no better studio to truly take the lead with a feature that allows for game-playing and scene-sharing than Disney.

The second disc of “Prince Caspian” includes the aforementioned featurette along with 11 minutes of wisely deleted scenes, bloopers, “Sets of Narnia: A Classic Comes to Life” (23:35), “Big Movie Comes to a Small Town” (23:13), “Previsualizing Narnia” (10:03), “Talking Animals and Walking Trees: The Magical World of Narnia” (4:43), “Secrets of the Duel” (6:41), “Becoming Trumpkin” (4:46), and “Warwick Davis: The Man Behind Nikabrik” (11:11).

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com