Right now, Amazon has the classic C.S. Lewis series The Chronicles of Narnia on sale. All 7 books in the series are available for the Kindle for only $1.99 each:
This bundle, being sold exclusively through Amazon, contains the Blu-ray editions of Disney’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian.
Based on the books by C.S. Lewis, the Narnia movies are fantasy adventures that follow the four Pevensie children to the magical world of Narnia. In 2005’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the inhabitants of Narnia — mythical creatures and animals that can speak — live under the tyrannical rule of the evil White Witch, who keeps the land in a perpetual state of winter. The coming of the children prompts the return of Aslan the Lion, which threatens the Witch’s reign. In Prince Caspian, it’s been a year since the children returned home to England, but it’s 1,300 years later in Narnia, where the corrupt King Miraz has usurped the throne from its rightful heir, Prince Caspian. In this darker sequel, the children return to Narnia to find it vastly different from the place they remember.
After Disney decided to stop co-financing the franchise with Walden Media, it looked like The Chronicles of Narnia was in some big trouble after only two movies. Instead, like Superman appearing from the sky, 20th Century Fox has shown up to save the day, reaching a preliminary agreement to co-finance at least the third movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader with Walden.
This isn’t very much of a surprise as, when it was announced that Disney was disowning the franchise, all signs pointed toward Fox (Read: Disney Breaks Up With ‘Narnia’ Franchise), who had done plenty of work with Walden before. Fox also was trying to obtain the rights to the books before Walden won them, so they obviously didn’t need too much motivation.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 3-Disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Starring Ben Barnes, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Peter Dinklage
Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 2, 2008
The travesty of Disneyfication that surrounded the first wearying and child-like installment of C.S. Lewis’ seven-book series is still lurking somewhere in the shadows of the second adaptation, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The first half of the movie details the overthrow of Narnia by the ruthless Telmarine Empire, an army of men sporting perfectly-sculpted beards that scream EVIL! The Narnians have problems of their own. Their deceased king’s son, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), is next in line to inherit the throne, but the man who killed his father is his Uncle Miraz (played with abundant energy by Sergio Castellitto). Not only does Miraze want the throne for himself, he also intends for his newborn son to inherit it from him. Caspian is thus forced to flee from the medieval castle.
All four of the Pevensie children are back from the previous film, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This time around they return to Narnia on a speeding train. One year has passed in their time, but 1,300 years in Narnia’s. They realize things are fishy when a starving bear doesn’t stop to have tea with them, but instead regards one of the Pevensie children as fresh meat. This isn’t Narnia anymore. The four meet up with Caspian, who used Queen Susan’s horn to call upon the Narnians to help him regain his rightful place on the throne, to stop the violence, and to restore Narnia’s wonder.
When The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe came out, it was automatically in the shadow of the juggernaut Lord of the Rings franchise that had just torn through cinematic history. Because of this shadow, comparisons were made — whether admitted or not — and Narnia wasn’t as earth-shattering as some would have thought. And while it wasn’t the worst movie ever made, it was forgettable and this highly impacted its sequel The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which had a sadly mediocre run, ultimately bringing it to its assumed fate.
Disney and Walden Media have officially confirmed that Disney will be parting ways with Walden Media on their collaboration the The Chronicles of Narnia franchise and that Disney will not be co-producing or financing the third project, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was already in pre-production.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
