But when Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) appear for the first time in Prince Caspian, what struck me was something more than the changed appearance of its actors. If the Pevensies are supposed to have grown into adults in Narnia before returning home and then aged another year in the “real world” before returning to Narnia soon after Prince Caspian’s opening scenes, what I saw in their eyes made me believe that it was true. Gone is childhood naiveté and in its place is the acknowledgment of the much more complicated reality that surrounds them. Although each of them still cherishes the land of Narnia they have left behind, in each of them is also a recognition of the greater world of which they are a part. And as the newest Narnian adventure unfolded, it was that very necessity to reconcile the magical world of Narnia with the unmagical world of reality that pulled me in the most.

The story of Prince Caspian is about a kingdom in ruins, a magic that has died, and a rightful heir who has been denied his throne. For at least the first ten minutes of the movie, all is dark. Rooms are dark, the sky is dark, and the deeds in motion are dark. Although the movie begins with the first breath of a new life, the action quickly moves to the plotted assassination of the rightful heir to the Telmarine throne, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). When Caspian flees the castle to save his life, he stumbles into a world he thought no longer existed. And when he calls out for rescue on Susan’s horn, Caspian suddenly finds himself surrounded by the magical world of Narnia believed to have been made extinct by the many Telmarine kings before him.

The thing is, even though it is not extinct, the Narnia that Caspian finds is decidedly different from the one Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy left behind thousands of years before. When Caspian’s call brings them back, it only takes one misguided attempt to talk to a bear and one trip through a grove of silent, motionless trees for the children to see the same. And as they join forces with Prince Caspian and the remaining Narnians, it becomes their mission to both restore Caspian to his throne and bring magic back to a world now overrun with darkness.

Whether the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Prince Caspian is better is a question that will probably be debated among even The Chronicles of Narnia’s greatest fans. When it comes to the acting ability of its main players, its action sequences, and its special effects, Caspian definitely surpasses its predecessor. For those like me who are less drawn in by stories of fantasy and more by those of reality, Caspian’s increased element of human struggle is one that will pull you in more than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

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