terb’s world: my thoughts on NARNIA

Here are some of my favorite lines from the movie Prince Caspian. I got this from IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and NarniaWeb (where you can get a complete transcript) with some minor modifications.

Edmund: (sitting on a bench beside Peter after helping him out of a fight without receiving a thank you) You’re welcome.
Peter: (stands up) I had it sorted.

Lucy: I wonder who lived here.
Susan: (picks up a small chess piece) I think we did.
Edmund: Hey, that’s mine! From my chess set!
Peter: Which chess set?
Edmund: I didn’t have a solid gold chess set in Finchley, did I?

Lucy: (holding up one of her old dresses in the treasure chamber) I was so tall.
Susan: Well, you were older then.
Edmund: As opposed to hundreds of years later, when you’re younger.

Trufflehunter: (after fighting with Nikabrik in Trufflehunter’s house and knocking down a bowl of soup) Look what you made me do! (muttering) Spent half the morning on that soup…

Caspian: What are you?
Trufflehunter: You know, it’s funny that you should ask that. You’d think more people would know a badger when they see one.
Caspian: No, I mean you’re Narnians. You’re supposed to be extinct.
Nikabrik: (sarcastically) Sorry to disappoint you.

Trufflehunter: (to Nikabrik, who wanted to kill Caspian) Enough, Nikabrik! Or do I have to sit on your head again?

Trumpkin: (after Miraz strikes him across the face) And you wonder why we don’t like you.

Susan: (aiming her bow and arrow at the Telmarines, who were holding the tied-up Trumpkin over the river) Drop him! (the Telmarines toss Trumpkin in the water and run away)
Trumpkin: (to Susan, after being rescued) “Drop him?” Was that the best you could think of?

Lucy: (looking sadly at the woods) They’re so still…
Trumpkin: The trees? What did you expect?
Lucy: They used to dance.

Peter: (looking down a cliff over the water) Is there a way down?
Trumpkin: Yes. Falling.

Lucy: (to Peter and Susan, who didn’t believe that she saw Aslan) I wish you would all stop trying to sound like grown-ups! I didn’t think I saw him, I did see him.
Trumpkin: (pause) I AM a grown-up.

Caspian: (to Trufflehunter and Nikabrik, who were following him surreptitiously) I can hear you.

Trufflehunter: (coming out of hiding) I just think we should wait for the kings and queens. (Caspian keeps walking) Fine, go then! See if the others will be as understanding.

Nikabrik: Or maybe I’ll come with you. I want to see you explain things to minotaurs.

Caspian: (stops) Minotaurs? They’re real?
Trufflehunter: And very bad-tempered.
Nikabrik: Not to mention big.
Trufflehunter: Huge.

Reepicheep: (brandishing his sword against a fallen Caspian) Choose your last words carefully, Telmarine.
Caspian: (incredulously) You are a mouse.
Reepicheep: (sighs) I was hoping for something a little more original.

Peter: (stopping during their swordfight) Prince Caspian?
Caspian: And who are you?
Susan: (running) Peter!
Caspian: High King Peter?
Peter: I believe you called.
Caspian: I thought you’d be… older.
Peter: Well if you like, we can come back in a few years.
Caspian: No! No, it’s alright! You’re not exactly what I expected.
Edmund: Neither are you.

Lucy: (upon seeing Reepicheep for the first time) Oh my gosh, he’s so cute.
Reepicheep: (drawing his sword and looking around) Who said that?!?
Lucy: Um, sorry.

Reepicheep: Oh, uh… Your Majesty. With the greatest respect… I do believe courageous, courteous or chivalrous might more befit a knight of Narnia.

Reepicheep: (to Trumpkin the dwarf, who aided him in his attack) We were expecting someone taller!
Trumpkin: You’re one to talk.
Reepicheep: Is that supposed to be irony?

Pattertwig the Squirrel: (in response to the fear of being trapped and starved to death in Aslan’s How) We could gather nuts!
Reepicheep: (sarcastically) Yes! And then throw them at the Telmarines!

Queen Prunaprismia: (to Miraz, after he admitted that he killed Caspian’s father) I thought you said he died in his sleep!
Miraz: That was more or less true.

Miraz: Tell me, Prince Edmund…
Edmund: King.
Miraz: I beg your pardon?
Edmund: It’s King Edmund, actually. Just king though. Peter’s the High King. (after an awkward pause) I know, it’s confusing.

Edmund: (to Peter, after destroying the ice wall, where the ghost of the White Witch was tempting both Caspian and Peter) I know, you had it sorted.

Caspian: (to Susan, after she announced that she will never be able to go back to Narnia according to Aslan) I wish we could have had more time together.
Susan: We never would have worked, anyway.
Caspian: Why not?
Susan: Well, I AM 1300 years older than you.

Edmund: (upon their return to England) Do you think there’s any way we can go back? (the Pevensies stare at him in surprise) I left my new torch in Narnia.

 

I’m a really huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia series by my favorite author, C S Lewis, so I was very excited to see the movie. It was a good thing that I decided early on that I would enjoy it as a movie on its own, and not as the movie version of my favorite book. I’m glad I did, because otherwise I’d be appalled at the number of liberties they took with the plot (warning: spoiler alert!).

That’s not saying I didn’t enjoy the movie though, because I really did. Ben Barnes was amazing as Prince Caspian the Tenth, as were William Moseley as Peter, Anna Popplewell as Susan, Skandar Keynes as Edmund and Georgie Henley as Lucy. I am now officially a fan of director Andrew Adamson, who directed the first Narnia movie as well as Shrek 1 and 2.

I kind of wish he incorporated some flashback scenes though, such as when the Pevensies first realized they were in Cair Paravel (Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund were standing in the exact same place as they were during their coronation) and when they first saw the stone table split into two in Aslan’s How.

COMMENTS ON THE PLOT

I thought the back-story was a bit underdeveloped, especially with regards to the identity of the Telmarines and Prince Caspian. I’m not sure if a person who watches this without having read the book first can completely understand the complexity of the story. As previously mentioned, there were a lot of changes in the story, such as the timing when Prince Caspian blew the horn. In the movie, he blew it when he was caught by Trumpkin, Nikabrik and Trufflehunter; in the book, he blew it when the old Narnia were already assembled and have begun fighting against the Telmarines. Another change was how Trumpkin was captured by the Telmarines. In the book, he was captured on his way to the Lantern Waste (or the lamp post where Lucy first entered Narnia) to meet the ancient kings and queens whom they were expecting. In the movie, he was captured when he tried to stop the Telmarines from getting at Caspian at the woods.

COMMENTS ON THE CHARACTERS

Most of the characters were a bit different from the books, although the changes did add more drama to the movie. Trumpkin was a little too surly and morose – I don’t remember seeing him smile even once in the entire movie. Peter seemed to be going through an angry adolescent stage where he wants to call all the shots and yet does not want to take the blame when things go wrong. Prince Caspian was not as deferential towards the four ancient kings and queens as I would expect him to be (saying to Peter, “You’re not exactly what I expected,” to which Edmund retorted, “Neither are you.”) And Aslan was a near non-entity in this movie, only appearing towards the end. There was also the power struggle between Caspian and Peter, which was an interesting angle; although in the book Peter was quick to assure the other that he wasn’t there to steal the throne, but to help him claim it.

I think they did a fantastic job with the dashing Reepicheep the mouse, which is why I really hope they do The Silver Chair too, so that I can see what Andrew Adamson (or Michael Apted perhaps?) can do with my all-time favorite character, Puddleglum the marshwiggle. They were also able to give more depth to the character of Caspian’s Uncle Miraz, who “looks as if he’d be equally at home starring in ‘300′” as it says in one review. In the movie, Susan is a warrior (unlike in the book, where Aslan did not want the girls to participate in the battle) and Lucy remains childlike and pure of heart, that for a time she is the only one to see Aslan. Edmund’s character was the most interesting for me though – there’s an emotional maturity about him now compared to the previous movie, plus he shows some dry British humor as well.

There was very little screen time for Trufflehunter though, who is the embodiment of steadfast, unwavering faith in Aslan, and of Dr. Cornelius, who played a bigger part in the book. And there was only a brief appearance by the funny, lovable bulgy bear! In the book, I love the part when he was allowed to be one of the marshals for the duel with Miraz, and Peter told him, “But you must not suck your paws.” He looked shocked and replied, “Of course not!” until Trumpkin pointed out that he was actually sucking his paws at that very moment.

COMMENTS ON THE CHRISTIAN THEME

Prince Caspian is not as overtly Christian as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the pivotal scene of which was the death and resurrection of Aslan, which mirrors Jesus. I think the main Christian theme in this movie would be faith in God even when he seems so far away. I particularly love the part when Peter and Caspian were arguing about war strategy, and Lucy said, “Have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch, Peter?” I also like the part when the spirit of the White Witch reemerges and tempts both Caspian and Peter into calling her back to life. Edmund, perhaps in an attempt to make up for his betrayal in the first movie, destroyed the ice wall of the White Witch (this part wasn’t in the book though) because he knew that only Aslan could help them.

OTHER COMMENTS

Curiously, there were portions reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings. One was when Dr. Cornelius woke up Caspian to warn him of the attempt on his life that night. There’s a shot of Caspian peeking through the door of an adjacent room while the Telmarines shot arrows presumably at the sleeping form of Caspian, and feathers got strewn about the room. This reminded me of the scene where Aragorn (who was still called Strider at that time) moved the hobbits to a different room of the inn they were staying at to warn them of the danger. Later that night, they watched the Black Riders attacking what they thought were the sleeping forms of the Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, and feathers got strewn about the room as well. Another was the rising of the river god towards the end of the last battle, which reminded me of the time Arwen used elvish magic on the river to destroy the Black Riders following her and the injured Frodo. There was also the scene where Edmund seemed to fall off the balcony to be borne by a griffin, which reminded me of Gandalf jumping off the rooftop of Saruman’s tower, only to be carried away by another huge bird. And of course, there were the dryads (trees) at the end, which reminded me of the Ents.

It seems that this movie is pretty much getting mixed reviews from what I can see from the internet, but I found a review from Plugged In which I particularly liked. I for one loved this movie as much as I loved “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and I can’t wait for the next Narnia movie, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” to start filming.