The Chronicles of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe ★★★★ Prince Caspian ★★★½

In what could only be called an act of madness, I decided this Sunday that I would spend the hours after work watching, for the first time, 2005's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, to be followed immediately (it was about 30 minutes later) by its sequel, Prince Caspian, now in theaters. While such an exercise can hardly be recommended to the faint-of-heart, it certainly awarded me with a clear lens through which to compare the films.

I initally avoided The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, dubious of a CGI-tastic brutalization of one of the world's greatest children's novels. While the drawn-out introduction left me frustrated (as in "please, for God's sake, take me to Narnia already!), once the wardrobe doors were flung open, the film delivered a mix of fantasy, horror, violence, and yes, even some Christian symbolism, that was frankly rather breathtaking. I was pleased and, frankly, surprised by how satisfying it all proved to be.

Now, I have an inborn aversion to realistically-animated talking animals. Please do not show me a winking tabby cat or a commercial starring a chrous of singing, dancing puppies (I'm talking to you, Frontline!) But I must say, even this element of the Wardrobe was executed with a precision that kept it from grating too much. With few exceptions, digital effects were focused on the many dangerous or powerful subjects the film tackles, rather than working to evoke a sugar-coated dimension of dewy-eyed rodents.

Which brings us to my trip to the theater.

Far from drawing out our quest to re-enter Narnia, Prince Caspian launches us straight into an unfamiliar, human-filled Narnia that left the people behind me wondering if they were in the right theater. They were. It's 1300 years later, and Narnia has been taken over by a group of apparently Spanish humans called Telmarines. Their prince, Caspian X, must flee his kingdom before he's killed by a power-hungry uncle. Of course, he flees right into the forests of Narnia, where he meets a cool badger, some super-sweet dwarves, and, much to my chagrin, this freaking mouse that think's he's soooo hilarious. Even the voice of Eddie Izzard, whom I dearly love, cannot save this character, whose strange behavior and incongruous animation put him up there with Jar-Jar Binks on the list of CGI annoyances.

When this mouse, whose name is apparently Reepicheep, leaves the screen, the movie progresses admirably, with Caspian unknowingly summoning the ancient kings and queens of Narnia – our stars, Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and Peter. (Incidentally, the magic of Narnia seems to have transformed Peter into a super-hunk . Chill out – it's okay for me to say that, because the actor who plays him is 21. Seriously, though, it was distracting. Sweet Jesus.) The remaining mystical inhabitants of Narnia, led by these five nobles, must fight the Telmarines for their freedom. There are good-and-evil struggles reminiscent of the dark side, and clever, violent battle scenes that make you wonder if this is really a kids' movie. And then, in comes Reepicheep and his ilk, completely undermining all the coolness the film has amassed. What we're left with is two movies: the mature, exciting movie that shows through in the majority of scenes, and the goofy, pandering kiddie flick that should have been left on the cutting room floor.

The verdict? Both films are interesting and packed with moments their cast and crew can be very proud of. Neither film is perfect, but I would like to officially put to rest all of this "better than the original" talk that's surrounding Prince Caspian. At best, the film is an exciting appendage to the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. The indulgent desire to provide a little "something for everyone" frequently derailed the story's progression and ultimately distracted from the astonishing effects and fascinating darkness that gilds many of Caspian's scenes. We'll get to return to Narnia on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010; hopefully they'll leave the goofy characters at the pier.

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