The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian/Old Dogs

Let’s take a look at the 2008 sequel, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” Some 1300 years Narnian time since their last visit, the kings and queens of the kingdom find out that while they were gone, the Golden Age of Narnia has become dead; Narnia has been taken over by the Telmarines and is now under the rule of the evil King Miraz, played by Sergio Castellitto. The four Pevensie children (William Moseley, Anna Popplelewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley) meet Narnia’s rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plans to kill him in order to put his newborn son on the throne. With the help of the gently dwarf (Peter Dinklage), courage talking mouse Reepicheep (Eddie Izzard), the badger Trufflehunter (Ken Stott) and Black Dwarf, Nikabrik (Warwick Davis), the Narnians, led by the fearless knight Peter and Caspian, go on a journey to find Aslan (reprised by Liam Neeson), rescue Narnia from Miraz’s oppressive rule, and restore magic and glory to the area.

Like the first film in the series, the strength of this fantasy adventure lies in the combination of two separate lands and our ability to look Narnia through the view of the four young main characters. Louise Keller said in her review, “The characters are engaging, the special effects extravagantly impressive and the New Zealand and Eastern European settings stunning.” Yes, Prince Caspian is amazing and there’s a lot to enjoy, but someone should let filmmakers know that length does not make a better film. Reasonably different, but here, the film’s length has negotiated its heart.

With a blink of an eye, we are taken (with the Pevensie children) from London’s Strand train station back to Narnia, where 1300 years have passed since their last visit and a lot has changed. “Things never happen the same way twice,” Aslan the lion with the glorious mane cleverly says, as Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy once again find themselves taken on an adventure with Prince Caspian reclaiming his throne. Keller complimented, “Ben Barnes is a suitable choice for the tall, dark, handsome and athletic Prince who is shepherded to safety from his scheming, ambitious uncle Miraz, powerfully portrayed by Sergio Castellitto. There are power struggles, large-scale battles and there's even a hint of romance between Caspian and Anna Popplewell's Susan, who has blossomed into a beautiful young woman.” Georgie Henley’s Lucy is enjoyable as the youngest Pevensie: it is her innocence and ability to believe that gives her to see what everyone does not.

The plot is confusing sometimes but the carefully described look of Narnia with is talking animals (the sword-swinging mouse voiced by Eddie Izzard is nice), noble centaurs, dancing trees and dwarves (led by the always amazing Peter Dinklage) has a lot of enjoyment. Keller said, “Tilda Swinton's White Witch makes a striking cameo appearance behind a spectacular wall of glass and I liked the special effect involving water and a giant Neptune figure. The climactic battle scene is effective but goes on forever, and as the Pevensies' reinhabit their school uniforms and return to their London lives, the way is paved for yet another instalment.” Let’s hope the filmmakers look out for the pitfalls that are seen here.

Now we come to the 2009 comedy, “Old Dogs.” Charlie (John Travolta) and Dan (the late Robin Williams) have been friends and business partners for 30 years. It’s been eight years since, in one foggy trip, the two celebrated Dan’s divorce by traveling to Miami, where Dan quickly meets Vicki, played by Kelly Preston, and marries her. Intelligently he has the marriage canceled but now, years later, he regrets what he did. He really wants to get back together with Vicki. Unknown to Dan, Vicki is looking for him as well. Not to renew the relationship but to drop off his kids!

A slapstick comedy that works on the improvisational talents of its actors, “Old Dogs” is a nice return for both Robin Williams, who underwent heart surgery in 2008, and John Travolta, who tragically lost his son, Jett, earlier in 2009. Michael A. Smith said in his review, “The two actors, friends since their days as Mork from Ork and Vinnie Barbarino on television, play off each other well. The story is standard Disney fish-out-of-water (think “3 Men and A Baby”).” Vicki has been sentenced to spend 2 weeks in jail because she was arrested at a protest rally. She needs someone to watch the kids, played by Ella Bleu Travolta and Connor Rayburn, while she’s unwilling and has no one else to ask but Dan. However, Dan lives in an “adults only” community so he and the kids are forced to stay with Charlie, who cannot believe the children haven’t seen “Friday the 13^th” parts one or two. To make matters worse, the men are involved in a huge business deal with a group of Japanese businessmen and are forced to depend on their assistant, played by Seth Green. Smith said, “In all of the chaos Dan tries his best to connect with his children, though mostly with less then stellar results.”

Director Walt Becker, who also did “Van Wilder” and “Wild Hogs” has a nice work behind the camera and the comedy goes easily. He also has filled the film with some hilarious cameos from actors like Ann Margaret, Justin Long, Luis Guzman, Matt Dillon and the late Bernie Mac in his final film role. The screenplay, by “Evolution” writers David Diamond and David Weissman, is pretty much a sketch for Williams and Travolta to work with, filling in areas with their own comedic work. Seeing how they had been friend in real life for 30 years allowed them both to show a real friendship on screen, which helps the film in its sometimes slow areas. However, almost a secondary character, Preston is strong and both kids are done well without being intelligent. Smith ended his review by saying, “With only the hard to judge “Princess and the Frog” and another Chipmunk movie on the horizon for the holidays, I think I can safely say that “Old Dogs” will be the family comedy of the season.”

Beware of tomorrow because we will be looking at some bad stuff in the next reviews for “Disney Live-Action Month.”