An Unfamiliar Narnia

I’ve seen Prince Caspian twice now, once with my wife and then today with my oldest daughter.

Although the novel by C.S. Lewis is all about Old Narnia restored, this movie seems to say that Lewis' Narnia needs an upgrade, as Aslan cautions: "Everything you know is about to change." The rest of the movie unfolds in a dramatic yet quite unfamiliar direction. Something is missing.

While I think many aspects of the movie are well done, my main disappointment is its failure to capture the heart of the book Prince Caspian. C.S. Lewis’ story tells us that the 4 Pevensie children return to Narnia in its hour of need, but only after encountering Aslan are they changed, encouraged and empowered to defeat the enemy. The movie locates the Aslan encounter at the end. I think this is a major shift from the Narnia story as Lewis created it, towards a more humanistic view. The lines that best illustrate this are when Peter says to Lucy in Aslan’s How:

Peter: “You’re lucky.”
Lucy: “Why?”
Peter: “…to have seen him. I wish he’d given me some sort of proof.”
Lucy: “Maybe he wants us to prove ourselves to him.”

Later in the movie Aslan's lines are also subtlely changed to indicate that Lucy’s courage comes from within her, instead of from him.

Lucy: “I wish I was braver.”
Aslan: “If you were any braver, you would be a lioness.”

What is lacking here is the sense that Aslan’s presence blesses and changes those who follow Him. I love the line from Prince Caspian, chapter 10… ‘Lucy buried her head in his mane to hide from his face. But there must have been magic in his mane. She could feel lion-strength going into her… “Now you are a lioness,” said Aslan. “And now all Narnia will be renewed.” '

Instead, the movie tells an altered story in which people act and Aslan does the finishing touches. Like Arminian theology, the sovereignty of the Lion-Saviour is diminished in favour of a human-shaped destiny. Either we are center stage in the Story in which God takes a supporting role, or God is center stage in the Story in which we take a supporting part. The Narnia stories are firmly of the second kind.

One more thing: because the transforming encounter with Aslan does not happen until the end of the movie, most of the characters remain rather unheroic. There is so little humility because they continue in their pride. Peter demonstrates this throughout the movie in trying to prove himself. Although an argument could be made that this seems more realistic and human, I think we end up with heroes who offer more angst than admirable qualities. Lucy often remains the exception as she faithfully waits for Aslan to move.

All this I suppose is no surprise, since the director Andrew Adamson actually is a Son of Adam and has therefore inherited sin and a worldview that is not really Biblical. Though he is gifted, the perspective through which he allows us to see Narnia is somewhat blurry. Ironically, as we watch this film about the restoration of Old Narnia, we long to see a truer vision of Narnia restored to the big screen. I recommend for further reading Gene Veith's response in his blog (and book) The Soul of Prince Caspian.

On the other hand, the special effects were very good, especially the CGI animals and battle scenes. My favorite visual moment was when the icy wall containing the White Witch's spirit was shattered by Edmund's blade, revealing a sculpture of Aslan behind it.

Overall, I give Prince Caspian a 6 out of 10. Here’s hoping that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is more Aslan-centric.