The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader Review

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(More customer reviews)Preparing for their summer, Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund suddenly find themselves summoned back to Narnia. A lot has changed since they were last there, centuries have passed, and many humans of Narnia no longer believe in Aslan, dwarves or talking animals. Among those who do, though, is Prince Caspian, future King of Narnia. Caspian's uncle is trying to kill him, and he needs the children's help. [Color, originally aired in 1989, with a running time of 1 hour.]
The second story picks up Lucy and Edmund visiting their cousin Eustace. When the three children are drawn into Narnia, they join an adult King Caspian on his quest to discover the fate of seven of his father's counselors who were banished under the regime of King Miraz. Adventure and lessons await the children and the crew of the Dawn Treader! [Color, originally aired in 1989, with a running time of 2 hours.]
These movies (actually three television episodes) appear to be based quite closely on C.S. Lewis's books of the same titles, though I must admit that I haven't read the books for a long time. Overall, I found the acting better in these movies, and the special effects much better. (Also, the character Reepicheep is played by Warwick Davis, the star of the movie Willow.)
Once again, I liked the lessons that these movies taught, and the Christian themes that run through it. My children enjoyed watching it (an important consideration), and we all liked discussing it. I think that this is a great family movie, one that I highly recommend to you!

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Prince Caspian calls Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan back to the magical land of Narnia in his most harrowing time of need.Led by Aslan, the children help young Caspian to defeat the corrupt King Miraz, and restore Narnia to its full glory.Years later, Lucy and Edmund are sent back to Narnia, along with their insufferable cousin Eustace, for yet another perilous journey.This time the children assist Caspian on a voyage to rescue six lords of Narnia banished under Miraz's reign.Along their journey the children battle dragons and sea serpents, and sail across a golden lake to reach the edge of the world.

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The Chronicles of Narnia - The Silver Chair Review

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(More customer reviews)Years before Walden Media debuted their big-budget version of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe," the BBC created their own Narnia Chronicles. Despite some goofy prosthetics and a shoestring budget, this is easily the best of the three movies, with excellent acting, pacing, and even some decent special effects.
The story opens at a trendy school that Eustace Scrubb attends. But a garden shed doorway leads Eustace and his bullied schoolmate Jill to Aslan's country. But after Eustace is almost killed because of Jill, the god-lion Aslan gives girl an assignment and four signs to follow. King Caspian is now an old, dying man with no heir to follow him, because his son was lured away by a strange serpentine temptress long ago.
Jill and Eustace team up with a gloomy Marshwiggle, Puddleglum, who serves as their guide as they go to north Narnia. Along the way they must deal with carnivorous giants, enormous bridges and bad weather. But the enigmatic signs that Aslan gave Jill are hard to follow -- and they soon find that the missing Prince is ensnared in a web of madness and magic.
Don't expect this to be a mere copy of the past two movies -- the Pevensies are nowhere to be seen, and old faves like Caspian, Aslan and Trumpkin only have cameos. Sure, they ride owls and hang out with giants. But this is a grimmer, darker story, with a cataclysmic finale and a tight, sometimes harrowing storyline.
The past two Narnia movies suffered from hokey special effects and some spotty acting. "The Silver Chair" cleans all that up, trimming the special effects edges and focusing on the more majestic sets, costumes and scripting. And for the most part, it's quite a success. Even the flashbacks to the queen's death and Rilian's disappearance are heartrending and quietly effective.
There are a few flaws -- for a paradise, Aslan's country looks pretty scrubby and brown. And the final battle with the Emerald Witch is downright silly, with a giant snake puppet twisting around on the floor. But the special effects are infinitely improved in this one, ranging from convincing giants to some genuinely harrowing moments on a giant bridge.
Lewis had become a bit less hamhanded with the allegory and Christian symbolism by this time. Instead, he gives jabs at anything-goes attitudes and nihilism. Additionally, he creates one of the most intense and outstanding scenes of the entire Chronicles, with the Witch playing elaborate brain games with Rilian and the kids, slowly convincing them that all they know and believe is a lie -- including the sun and the world above ground.
Thwaites and Power both give excellent, understated performances as two kids who bicker constantly, but really care about each other, and Tom Baker (of "Dr Who" fame) is glorious as the perpetually pessimistic Marshwiggle. Barbara Kellerman, alas, is still hamming it up, with lots of over-the-top laughter, screeching, cooing and snarling.
Despite Kellerman and some primitive CGI, "The Silver Chair" is probably the best of the three BBC Narnia movies, with its darker storyline and excellent lead acting.

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Item Name: The Chronicles of Narnia - The Silver Chair; Studio:Homevision

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The Chronicles of Narnia - (3-Disc Set) - (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe/Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader/The Silver Chair) (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rather than the cartoons of Snow White, Cinderella, Pinnochio, Peter Pan, Bambi and so on, I was a resident of the land of Narnia when I was a kid. And not because my family is ultra-religious either. In fact, we never really picked up on the biblical parallels until we read about them on this website!
What we saw was a basic battle between good and evil and a great group of kids who had to conquer their shortcomings to become the best people they could be. They faced adversity and had to stand on their own against even their own friends and siblings to do what was right. And in the end, they triumphed! For me, this series contributed much more to my sense of self, my take on right and wrong, and my maturity than any Disney cartoons ever could have!
I first saw these movies on Public tv, PBS, when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old and my Mom had the foresight to record them to video tape for me. Over the years, I watched the tapes so much that they were really beginning to have poor quality, plus some pieces of the movies were missing. That's why I was delighted when these came out on DVD! Even at 20 years old, I still like to revisit my childhood for a time and I hope to share them with my children when the time comes, that being when I become a Mom.
I think my favorite would be The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the adventures are so varied and the ship is just beautiful! I love to see Eustace's transformation and all the islands they visit have so many different things and people to discover. Like Deathwater Island, the Island of the Dufflepuds and of course the Silver Sea and the underwater Warrior Sea People. This part of the film also leaves the least out. It includes most of the adventures from the book and allows time for plot development. I was disappointed that Prince Caspian is really that short, I wish they had made it longer.
My main complain is, why aren't The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle included? Why weren't these books made into films?
However, I have even more compliments for this particular set. The actor who plays Puddleglum is FANTASTIC! I remember watching him in Dr. Who as well, do any of you remember K-9 the robotic dog? lol But honestly, he does do a superb job in being a wet blanket! There are a few cheesy effects in this set, like the scene where Prince Rilian kills the serpent witch, it's SO obviously a dummy. Also, some of the cartoons are a little lacking in imagination. But, I do know that these are BBC films and that there was no such thing as complicated computer animation in the early 80's. Back then, we had black screens with green writing on them and dot matrix printers! I remember using those things in grade school.
But anyways, all in all this is a great set! I'm so happy to be able to preserve some of my favorite movies from childhood on DVD and see them whole and clear again after all these years! The story is timeless, engaging and non-denominational! BUY THIS SET, you will NOT be disappointed! Also recommended are Rigoletto, The Rogue Stallion, Black Beauty and The Black Stallion (guess I don't really like cartoons!) Enjoy!!!

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Fire breathing dragons, sprightly nymphs, talking animals, evil witches, deadly sea monsters, gruesome giants, kings and queens, a group of brave children and a very special wardrobe collide in an epic battle of good versus evil.Welcome to the enchanted world of Narnia, a mystical land sprung from the mind of legendary author C.S. Lewis.Danger and adventure are always close at hand in Narnia, for the future is under constant threat by dark forces.But not for long.Whispers that sail across the land say only one thing -- Aslan, the great lion, is on the move.The BBC and Home Vision Entertainment proudly present all nine hours of this grand series on DVD for the first time.

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