The serene picture of a family sitting near a fireplace and drinking hot chocolate and reading a book out loud is long gone. It is the warm glow of a television set that keeps the chills away on a cold night. Picture it: Dad is drinking a beer, mom is pouring herself a second glass of wine and the kids are either talking on their cell phone or smoking grandmother’s glaucoma medication.
Good story telling is now found on a screen rather than on a page. Blame the money-grubbing desperados of corporate America. Blame the architects that sought fit to construct a plastic pop star like Hannah Montana. Blame every American citizen who voted for President Bush. Blame the wrongdoer that invented the e-book and the adrenaline junkie who tasted the first cup of Starbucks Coffee, but do not blame Walt Disney Pictures. For once the dark forces behind the malevolent rodent have done something right for humanity—they created a film worthy of some attention.
Directed by Andrew Adamson, the same mastermind behind the first Narnia film, Prince Caspian is a picture that comes flawlessly together as if by magic.
The second installment of the Narnia films is one hour and 37 minutes of a great adventure. It has it all: blade-strutting mice, a dreamy prince, an evil king, four royal heroes and a divine lion. With over 1,500 special effects, the land of Narnia is extraordinarily more realistic. Author C.S. Lewis would be amazed. Better than the first, Prince Caspian is a film that is sure to become a classic for Walt Disney Pictures.
May 2010: The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the next film from the book series to reach theaters. It is just enough time for the whole family to gather together to read the book—just make sure that the television is set on mute.
Rick Villalobos is a writer and film critic in Chicago.
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