Name: Aulia Fransischa
NIM: 1200968
Class: K1/2012
Review Novel
Title: Narnia (Princess Caspian)
Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson (screenplay), Christopher Markus (screenplay)
Stars: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley
Pages:
195
Language:
English
NARNIA (PRINCESS CASPIAN)
The four Pevensie children return to Narnia, only to discover
that hundreds of years have passed since they ruled there, and the evil King
Miraz has taken charge. With the help of a heroic mouse called Reepicheep, and
the exiled heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, they set out to overthrow the
King, once again with Aslan's help.
Caspian is the second in C.S Lewis’ Narnia saga. It returns
to the story of Peter, Susan, Lucy and Edmund: four children who found their
way into the magical land of Narnia through a secret passage way through a
wardrobe.This time the book is set a year later, the children are all about to
return to their places at boarding school when suddenly they find themselves
magically dragged back to Narnia, leaving the train station and their entire
luggage behind.
They soon come across a kidnapped dwarf named Trumkin; who
they learn is working on behalf of the true king of Narnia, Caspian. The boy
prince has been usurped by his uncle, who has turned away his father’s loyal
lords and ladies and now battles against Caspian and all those who stand with
him. They also learn that much of the magic has gone from Narnia, the animals,
all once blessed with the gift of speech and intelligence, have regressed back
into their most vicious animal states and are working on behalf of Caspian’s
usurping uncle; tracking his enemies and Caspian’s army.
Whilst they journey Lucy finds herself at odds with her
siblings; she has seen the forest come to life in the night and has been shown
which the right way to go by Aslan himself. Yet her brothers and sister are not
able to see Aslan at all and they question of whether Lucy is imaging him.
Prince Caspian is probably the least favourite of all the
Narnia books that I have read. Very little seems to happen throughout the book,
it lacks the sense of adventure and drama of the story of the first book and is
heavily laden with morals and Biblical allegory.
For some this may strike true of their own faith, but for
others it makes the book seem rather dated; the characters lack any personal
emotion or motivation, as the entire book revolves around their devotion to
Aslan. The way the characters speak to one another is also very dated; making
the book seem somehow immature. By the end of the story you find yourself very
irritated by these seemingly perfect and witless children whose adventure in
Narnia lacks the darkness and intrigue of more recent fantasy novels.
In many ways however this is also one of the books strengths,
it strives to capture the wonder of childhood, the innocence and love that children
experience in a way that more recent literature seems to have shunned. Perhaps
it is simply that the book has not aged well, once children as old as Peter and
Lucy may have been the innocent and brave characters they are in the book, now
however their ages seem out of sync with their behaviour. They seem immature
and ignorant, particularly to the more cynical reader, whilst their ages
suggest they should be more inquisitive and perhaps have developed more
individual personalities.
I think overall the book is by far the weakest of the saga,
yet this does not mean it is poor at all. By comparison few children’s books
are as well written or innovative than those of the Narnia books; it is perhaps
just a little misplaced in a modern reader’s world. I like to read this novel,
because I can imagine that I read.
