The Return To Narnia: The Story Of Prince Caspian

The enchanting characters of C.S. Lewis' timeless fantasy come to dazzling life again in THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN. This time out, the Pevensie siblings-Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy-are magically transported from World War II-era England to Narnia through a tube station near London's Trafalgar Square, embarking on a perilous new adventure and an even greater test of their faith and courage.

One year after the incredible events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the former kings and queens of Narnia find themselves back in that faraway realm, only to discover that more than 1,300 years have passed in Narnian time. During their absence, the Golden Age of Narnia has faded into legend. The land's magical talking animals and mythical creatures exist as little more than folktales to the Telmarines, a race of humans led by the merciless Lord Miraz. The mighty lion Aslan has not been seen in 1,000 years.

The four children have been summoned back to Narnia by Caspian, the young heir to the Telmarine throne, to combat his evil uncle, Miraz. With the help of a crusty, valiant dwarf (Trumpkin), a courageous talking mouse named Reepicheep and a mistrustful Black Dwarf (Nikabrik), they lead the Narnians on a remarkable journey to restore magic and glory to the land.

Prince Caspian is the second of Lewis' seven-book Chronicles of Narnia series, which includes The Voyage of the Dawn

Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle and the story that launched the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Published between 1950 and 1956 and long regarded as one of literature's most enduring and imaginative classics, Lewis' books have sold over 100,000,000 copies in more than 35 languages, making it one of the biggest book series the world over.

As the creative and artistic director of Lewis' estate and the C.S. Lewis Company, Douglas Gresham (the son of Lewis' wife, Joy

Davidman Gresham, and her first

husband, novelist William Lindsay

Gresham) worked for over 20 years to

bring Lewis' books to the big screen.

Following the resounding success of "The

Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,"

Gresham is embarking on what he calls

"the second chapter in a lifelong dream."

"I watched that dream come true when

'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' exploded onto movie screens around the world in 2005," Gresham exclaims. "I always expected the movie to be a delight and a joy to world audiences, but I have been somewhat humbled by its level of success."

Producer Mark Johnson believes the second film has surpassed the original in many respects. "This movie is bigger than 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,'" he says. "It's bigger in terms of the number of people behind the camera. It's bigger in terms of the number of people in front of the camera and, most importantly, it's bigger dramatically. The themes that we're playing out here, and the relationships, are much bigger and a bit darker than they were in the first film."

Director Adamson explains: "PRINCE CASPIAN tells the story of Narnia 1,300 years after the Pevensies left. The Telmarines have taken over Narnia and driven all the creatures into the forest. Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the throne, has been ousted by his uncle, Miraz. Caspian blows Susan's horn to bring the Pevensie children back to Narnia to save the land from Miraz, this unrightful king."

The story reminds Johnson of the films he loved as a kid. "It harkens back to some of those movies that were full of adventure and swashbuckling and brave characters. We even have a castle and a moat! On top of that, it takes place in Narnia, so it involves C.S. Lewis' imagination."

Unlike the first movie, which deliberately started small and built to the epic battle scene, PRINCE CASPIAN starts big and gets even bigger. "We've seen that epic world now," notes Adamson. "So, at the beginning of this movie, we had to start epic and then get more epic. We had a lot more exterior locations. We had castles and kingdoms created by a new race of men, the Telmarines. So there was this whole new world to design. Also, this film is probably a little darker and grittier than the last one, partly because the children are older, making the story more adult in nature.

"In the last film, I think we went to some pretty dark places," he adds. "Aslan's death, certainly, is one of the darkest moments in the film. I think this movie has the potential to be even more sinister. Miraz is potentially someone that we might actually see in real life, which makes him and the story that much darker.

"'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' is a very emotional story about sacrifice and forgiveness," Adamson says. "In some ways, this is a more personal story, a story of these kids returning to a place that they love but that no longer exists. This is more about coming to adulthood, about growth and adventure."

That idea resonated with the director on a personal level. Although born in New Zealand, Adamson spent his formative

teen years in Papua New Guinea, "which no longer exists as I remember it growing up. For me, it's a similar experience for these four children as they venture back to Narnia, a world that is not the same as when they first went there."

"When I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child, I remember getting to the end of it and thinking, 'Well, hang on a sec,'" Adamson recalls. "These guys were kings and queens. They ruled Narnia for 15 years. They fought battles. They won wars against giants and now they have to go back to school? I wanted to see what happened next."

"PRINCE CASPIAN is a completely different story from 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,'" producer Johnson explains. "The children have adjusted to a varying degree to being British school kids again. All of a sudden, they're brought back to Narnia because they are needed to help save the land once again."

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