Home

[Maarten]

The French premiere of Prince Caspian will be at Gaumont Disney Village on June 20th!

Very clever to use the Resort for the premiere. They should do these kind of things more often. =D>

[Captain Pan]

The French premiere of Prince Caspian will be at Gaumont Disney Village on June 20th!

Very clever to use the Resort for the premiere. They should do these kind of things more often. =D>

I think that all Disney Premiere's need to be shown at the Parks. For thier Premiere's wither it  be a World Premiere or just the European Premiere

[Anthony]

Here's a good review of the film from Empire. It's had a better time than I expected with the critics overall, but the final scores are still generally low:

Plot
1,300 years have passed in Narnia and a race of men called the Telmarines now rule. Heir to their throne is Caspian (Barnes), who is battling usurper uncle, Miraz (Castellitto), and must enlist the aid of the Pevensie children to bring peace to the land.

Review

If we had a million pounds, we'd offer it to the first children's fantasy sequel to promise not to describe itself as "darker" than its predecessor. That's not to say that this is necessarily an unwelcome characteristic, just that it traditionally means, "Our lead hit puberty and no longer sings soprano," or, "We got bad reviews last time." But sometimes, just sometimes, it's justified - and this sequel to The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe is quite a bit darker. The good news is that it's also better.

It follows a film that boasted strong special effects, decent child performances and faithfulness to its source material, but somehow seemed a little empty, lacking the heart and soul that make the source novels such perennial favourites and that made, say, The Lord Of The Rings movies into such great examples of filmmaking. This one's a little closer to what we wanted first time around, at least giving texture to Narnia and some indications that this is a land that can, and does, support an actual population - and, if it's still more conjuring trick than deep magic, it's a step in the right direction.

The opening of the last film - an air raid over World War II London - was one of the highpoints, and this one also throws us straight into the action. More than a thousand years after we last saw Narnia, a baby is born in a dark, heavily fortified castle - prompting its father, Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), to order the murder of his nephew, the rightful ruler, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). Escaping through a wardrobe (a different one), Caspian rides into the "haunted" woods, where he finds the supposedly extinct Narnian natives in all their shapes and sizes. Pursued by his fellow Telmarines, Caspian blows a mysterious horn - and summons the four Pevensies back to Narnia.

The quartet - Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) - are only a year older, and they're all dealing with the fall-out from their adventures in different ways: in Peter's case, by starting fights; in Susan's, by avoiding the attentions of nerds (not sure we got the connection there); in Edmund's, by feeling unappreciated; and in Lucy's, by blithely remaining faithful to the idea that she will one day return to Narnia. And so the stage is set. Caspian and the Pevensies have to find each other, forge an alliance with the magical creatures of Narnia, take down the bad guys and persuade the long vanished Aslan to make a return appearance in time for prize-giving medals and afternoon tea.

The difference this time is that the enemies aren't just make-believe creatures but flesh-and-blood humans, and as such, they're wilier and sneakier than any witch that ever lived. The book's rather simple plot is fleshed out with the addition of much political skullduggery among the Telmarines - both from the sinister Miraz himself and from his councillors and general - which adds something for those over the age of 11. The infighting does detract a little from Miraz's personal menace, but that's compensated for by introducing dissent among the Narnians themselves. Dwarf Nikabrik (Warwick Davis) hints at a dark side missing from the happy-clappy first film, especially in one stand-out scene just after the mid-point which we won't spoil.

Against these foes and their vast, masked armies, the new good guys are perfectly cast. Ben Barnes' Caspian is appropriately heroic, but with edges of insecurity and occasionally bullishness - he butts heads with High King Peter, still trying to take charge - that make him more than a cookie-cutter swashbuckler. There's a romantic subplot with Susan that's a little ill-judged, but otherwise it's a confident, charismatic debut that makes the prospect of Barnes taking an even bigger role in the next film, Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, quite welcome. The comedy weight, however - and this is a significantly funnier film than its predecessor – is carried by the grumpy, strangely adorable Trumpkin, beautifully played by the dependable Peter Dinklage, and Reepicheep the fighting mouse, voiced with pizzazz by Eddie Izzard. Still, it's not all so well-judged. The principal flaw here is the urge to explain everything, to emphasise moments instead of letting them flow. At times, the camera lingers in a way that is clearly meant to Signify Something Important; at others, it just hangs around to admire the beauty of the New Zealand scenery and the excellent special effects. But this look-how-pretty showboating verges on effects porn, and it slows down both drama and tension inexcusably. There's also a frequent sense that we're being force-fed emotion: the chief centaur, for example (who is described in the production notes, in a surfeit of political correctness, as "African-Narnian"), has little to do but nod approvingly or gaze reproachfully, just to make sure we get it.

And the performances of the older kids remain ropey. Moseley's Peter still gives little sense that he's a natural leader of men, with a subplot detailing his insecurities and rivalry with Caspian detracting further from any impression that he's worthy to be High King. Popplewell, meanwhile, pouts her way through scenes which require little from her but archery, and can't seem to get any traction on a character that was always the least well thought-out of the lot. The younger pair are better: Keynes, who has the most interesting Pevensie to play - one always gets the sense that Edmund is easily the smartest of the quartet - gets to do nothing but make (admittedly funny) sarky remarks. Only Henley, happily, is every bit as charming as she was in the first film.
Around these central characters hang a host of brilliantly realised animals, monsters and magical creatures of all stripes (and spots), and this time the FX work is damn near flawless. The griffins are much better than Harry Potter's, the minotaurs are wonderful, and the sight of fauns in combat take wire-fu to a new level. The lengthy but well-staged battle scenes are genuinely thrilling, both in a night-time assault and a sunlit mêlée. With their faster pace, bigger numbers and higher stakes they recall a multi-species Braveheart rather than the slightly disappointing effort at the end of the last film, and there's a sense of real lives at stake. Of course, there's nary a drop of blood spilled by anyone, despite the wholesale slaughter on both sides and the disturbing sight of these kids merrily swinging daggers and swords - an increasingly dishonest practice to get this level of violence into kiddie films. In the end, perhaps, the fights are a bit like the film itself: effectively realised, full of characters you love, but a little bloodless.

Verdict
Significantly better than the first film or, say, the first two Harry Potters, but we still can't love it as much as we do the books. That said, if they keep improving at this pace, Dawn Treader should be a fantastic experience.

(The first film also scored 3 stars here, so apparently it's better, but still not a 4-star)

Also I just read that Prince Caspian's castle is actually modelled very closely on the Chateau de Pierrefonds in Picardy, France. Not too far from DLRP for a day trip, failing a real Narnia attraction...

[peep]

My tickets for the UK premiere came through the post today, wooptang! They should be great seats.

I noticed the other day that the advertising for the film has stepped up now, saw loads of TV spots before the weekend, hopefully it will do well and it will all pay off.

[peep]

I'm going to double post, sorry, but there be good reason too...

I've just got back from the biggest UK premiere ever held at London's 02 arena where Prince Caspian was seen in the UK for the first time. The arena held 10,000 people and a screen was specially made for tonights screening of the film.

I arrived with my sister about 5:15, we had to wait 15 mins before being aloud to walk down the red carpet. As we walked up the red carpet we noticed this...

It was a gateway to 'Narnia'. Disney have gone to a lot of effort for this premiere, plants of all sorts were added to the area, the red carpet turned to green carpet and plinths with actors on were dotted up to the entrance of the 02.




Along side the green carpet were the reporters but in between some mean characters had decided to battle, how awesome!






We decided to continue inside as the carpet was getting rammed full of people. Once inside documentaries of how the film was made were playing on the screen, which was absolutely huge!


After a long and very delayed wait the lights dimmed and a presenter came out on stage.

She then introduced the director, the producer, David Walliams (has a line in the film), the four kids and Ben Barnes on to the stage. She then talked to each of them for a little bit.







After that the film began. It was absolutely stunning, everything about it was great. It had a great story too. The audience were very clappy and at happy moments the audience went wild, this amused me. Overall it was a very enjoyable film and I can't wait to see it again.


That was my ticket for this awesome event.

[Anthony]

Wow. :shock:  Thanks for all the pictures. I love how the ticket says "The UK's Biggest Ever Film Premiere".

It got really great coverage in the papers today. Prince Caspian is going be a HUGE hit here.

[Riebi]

Looks great! Also the DLRP event looks really great. The DisneycentralPlaza members shares many pics like these from Ophidia

















or from djbass

















 :arrow: http://www.disneycentralplaza.com/

Looks like a lot of fun! =D>

[Captain Pan]

Now the O2 Arena looked like an event worth paying for. Disney's premiere looked AWESOME... only wish I had been there!

Only 2 niggling things...

1. Cast and Company could have dressed up that extra bit more... Peter's wearing a polo shirt with a blazer and the girls look top notch... he lets the side down a bit!

2. Narnia: CHAPTER 2 Le Prince Caspian... Now does Disney Realise that Caspian is the ... book in the series not the second. We are aware it is the second in the movies you are willing to release... but they could have done a Lucas produced them and given the their booked numbers and produced them at a later date when the technology is available or the director gets bored! or Are we going to get them in Publication order!

for those who unaware Publication order is: Lion, Witch, Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Next Movie I believe); Silver Chair; Horse and His Boy; Magician's Nephew then the Final Battle

Chronological Order sees... Magician's Nephew; Lion, Witch Wardrobe; Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Silver Chair and the Final Battle.

Proof

Although The Magician's Nephew was written several years after C.S. Lewis first began The Chronicles of Narnia, he wanted it to be read as the first book in the series. HarperCollins is happy to present these books in the order which Professor Lewis preferred.

OK rant over... I'm sorry

[peep]

^The 02 event was defiantly worth paying for, a lot of money but seeing as most of it went to charity I don't give a damn, it was also one of the best events of the year. I think the DLRP premiere looked ok but I still think the 02 one was better, more unique. Disney also paid out for a full page ad on the back of all the free London newspapers on that day advertising the event and the film, everyone in London sees those newspapers, there wouldn't have been a single person that day that wouldn't have known about the film by that night.


You would be right in thinking that Voyage of the dawn treader will be the next installment, they will begin filming in January next year. They mentioned last year in an interview why they are doing it in this order, can't remember the exact reason, think it was because they wanted to start with the more 'action packed' stories first to grab everyones attention, I don't know if you've read or know anything about the magician's nephew but its not exactly movie blockbuster material, it made more sense to Disney and everyone who worked on the films to start with Lion, witch and wardrobe seeing as its also the most popular and well known.

[Anthony]

DLRP Today has now completed its series following The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian launch events at Disneyland Resort Paris, including all the official Disney event photos. Here's the full listing of articles:

Medieval ceremony: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/2008/06/ ... land-park/
Disney Village premiere: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/2008/06/ ... y-village/
Nighttime after-party: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/2008/06/ ... ntasyland/
New Prince Caspian meet 'n' greet: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/2008/06/ ... h-returns/
Official launch video: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/2008/06/ ... nch-video/

And the index is here: http://www.dlrpmagic.com/today/t/news/d ... e-caspian/

The film is now in cinemas in France and the UK! If you've seen it, post your thoughts and reviews here!

[Clarebelle]

Riebi those photos are fanomanal!! I wish I could have gone :-(
I watched the highlights on the official Disney Blog though, the girls looked gorgeous in their dresses, as equally did the boys  :wink: however not in dresses lol

your so lucky!!!

[Javey74]

Just seen the film tonight at the Vue Cinema in Hartlepool....All I have to say it this it's utterly awesome.  Great effects and storyline, even if you didn't see the first one you can still get really into the film.  

Great soundtrack and theming, a must see for anyone.... /  /

[Snow_White_Girl]

I haven't seen the first one yet (oh the shame!!), will I be totally lost if I see the second one without having seen the previous one first?? I have read "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", so maybe wouldn't be totally lost if I hadn't seen the first film!... I saw the trailer for Prince Caspian today and I've been filled with a sudden urge to see it... Of course it was nothing to do with Ben Barnes and his completely yummy (even if fake!) Spanish accent! :wink: Of course not! :lol:

[Snow_White_Girl]

For all you Narnia fans in the UK who are silly enough *like me!* to be up this late, there's a "premiere special" from Prince Caspian on ITV1 tonight at 1.35 (so in about 50 minutes!!)!

Just thought I'd let you all know!!

[Soap]

Ah men, we still have to wait!!!  :x
Very nice review of the opening Baloo, really looked like a huge success!!