The spirit of C.S. Lewis lives on in the newest installment of the Narnia series. Although the movie Prince Caspian does not adhere strictly to the story line of the C.S. Lewis novel by the same name, the storyline still leaves the viewer with the same values and ideals that Lewis crafted in the print version. The places that the movie got away from the story line in the print version only seemed to help push the movie the story along.

As a die-hard fan of the print series (I’ve read all seven of the Narnia books several times and own two copies of the print series and also one of the audio sets. I’ve seen all the versions of the books – play, cartoon, and even the BBC television series) and I was still enthralled for the full 210 minutes of the movie (and even sat through the credits hoping for a peek at the next film).

The movie shows more violence than the book shows, but even that violence is not graphic. If anything, it was inspiring. The story grabs hold of you from the beginning and doesn’t let go even after the credits roll.

There are some marked differences between the book and the movie.

1. The horn wasn’t blown until battle began in the book.
2. The children and the dwarf they are traveling with all see Aslan before they do battle in the book (and before they meet Caspian).
3. There is no raid on the castle in the book – the children don’t even meet up with Caspian until the end of the story.
4. There was no rivalry between Peter and Caspian in the book.
5. The movie skips “the Romp.”
6. Susan and Caspian do not ever come in contact except during the farewell – and then only briefly – so there was no love interest in the book.

And that is just the beginning of the differences. Even with the changes, the heart of the story still shines through. It is definitely one to see on the big screen, and I would even take older children (7 and up) to see this film.

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