'Prince Caspian' DVD hits stores tomorrow

December 1, 1:07 PMFaith & Culture ExaminerDr. Bob Beltz

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            Concept art from Dawn Treader

Just in time for Christmas, the DVD of the second installment of The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian -  arrives in stores tomorrow, December 2.  The movie picks up where The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe left off , that is,  if a gap of 1,300 years is not problematic for a sequel.

The film adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ beloved classic stars newcomer Ben Barnes as the title character.  All four of the actors who portrayed the Pevensie children (Peter, Edmund, Lucy, and Susan) in Lion and Witch return for the sequel. 

In the story, the four Pevensies find themselves drawn back into Narnia from their home in England.  Only a year has passed in England from the time they tumbled back out of the wardrobe at the Professor’s country estate after their first Narnian adventure.  But in Narnia, an entire millennium – plus has gone by.  And things have changed.

Of the seven books in the series, perhaps none is quite as relevant to our current world situation as Prince Caspian.  Something has gone horribly wrong in Narnia.  The castle at Cair Paravel where the Pevensies reigned as kings and queens lies in ruin.  The native Narnians have been conquered by a race of humans known as the Telmarines.  Talking beasts, and dwarves, and minotaurs have been driven into exile in the forests.  And belief in Aslan is viewed as a myth or fairy-tale.

I imagine Lewis was taking a long, hard look at the world in which he lived when he wrote the sequel to The Lion and the Witch.  England was in the early stages of recovering from the destruction of a World War (Lion and Witch was published in 1950, Prince Caspian the following year.)  Post-war Europe had already become Post-Christian Europe.  For many, belief in Jesus had become as absurd as faith in Aslan was for the Telmarines.  The story of Prince Caspian is in Lewis’ own words, one of “return to the true faith.”

The makers of the film, Walden Media and Disney, have worked hard to preserve the integrity of the book, while making an action-packed film that captures Lewis’ love of medieval warfare and chivalry.  For fans of the books, like me, it was exciting to see how director Andrew Adamson worked the faith themes of the book into the film.  My previous Examiner article on the film points these out and offers suggestions for discussion and small group study.

I found the film for sale at Amazon.com for half-price.  There is also a special 3-DVD set that I am told even includes some concept art from the hoped for third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  The DVD would not only be a great gift for the film lover, or Lewis fan on your gift list, but I bet your church library would love to have a copy!