Some Prince Caspian Tie-In Products Already Available
First of all, I must apologize for posting this today instead of last Friday, but I was so busy over Easter weekend I just didn’t have time. But hey, better late than never, right?
Last Friday I was in my local Family Christian Bookstore to ask about this upcoming weekend’s Prince Caspian sneak peek event, but the two employees I could spot were both busy helping customers at the moment. I wandered back to the section of the bookstore where the Narnia merchandise was and to my absolute (but pleasant) surprise, there were a few Prince Caspian movie tie-in books already sitting on the shelves!
Naturally I was in shock because I didn’t think any of these books were to be released until April 1 — but hey, I’m not complaining. Of course I greedily started flipping through pages and found they were chock-full of spoilers. I won’t post any here for those who are remaining spoiler-free, but I have a full review on the forum here if you want to read about them.
Here were the books I found that are already available:
Prince Caspian: The Movie Storybook
Prince Caspian: Coloring and Activity Book
Prince Caspian: Coloring and Activity Book and Crayons
Prince Caspian: The Reusable Sticker Book
Prince Caspian: Puzzle Book
Prince Caspian: The Tail of Reepicheep
Prince Caspian: Caspian’s Journey
Now there were a couple other books that I did not see, but NarniaWebbers starkat and Kathy tell me they found. They are:
Prince Caspian: Fight for the Throne
Prince Caspian: Lucy’s Journey
And one last thing: we’ve received a lot of spy reports letting us know that the Prince Caspian toys are now available to purchase in all Toys R Us stores. Here is glumPuddle’s review for the Telmarine Soldier and Miraz action figures:
UPDATE: SusanTheGentleHornblower was kind enough to send us a full report of Prince Caspian: The Movie Storybook. The majority of the plot is here so if you are avoiding spoilers, avert your eyes!
The story starts with a picture of Dr. Cornelius walking down a hall in Miraz’s castle. His hood to his cloak covers up his face completely. The story says that he helps Caspian escape through a secret passage in the wardrobe. I found this very interesting.
The opposite page shows Caspian on his horse with Cornelius standing next to him. Still cannot see the Dr.’s face. Caspian looks worried/confused. The story has the Dr. telling Caspian that, “Everything you know is about to change.” He also gives him Susan’s sword.
The story goes on to say that the soldiers are looking for Caspian in the castle but can’t find him. Some of them saw him leave, so they chase him. It goes on to say that he hits his head on a branch and falls down. The picture on this page is him on the ground blowing Susan’s horn, but it’s different than the one from the novel. Nikabrik’s back is towards us, and he’s approaching Caspian with his sword drawn.
The opposite page shows Nikabrik coming out of the house under the tree. His sword is drawn, and we can see Trumpkin behind him. A different picture than the novel.
The next page shows Edmund and Peter wrestling a boy on the ground. They are in the same uniforms as what they wear at the train station. Peter’s back is to us, and the boy is in between the Pevensie boys. Edmund’s face is clearly seen, and he looks upset and angry. The story says that the Pevensies have never adjusted back to English life, and that they get into fights.
The opposite page shows the same picture as the one in the novel. Susan and the boys sitting in front of Strand with Lucy standing there. The story tells us that Lucy says, “Aslan said that once a king in Narnia, always a king in Narnia!” Susan replies that they are here now, and that they’ll just have to get used to that. Right then they feel a spectacular feeling.
Next page shows the beach of Narnia with footprints and clothes strewn about it. The boys are taking off their shoes and Lucy is heading towards the water. Susan is already there. That well-known rock from New Zealand is in the background.
The opposite page shows a picture similar to the one in the novel of the kids at the ruins. The difference is that Peter is closer and Lucy is right behind Edmund, who is not yet on the steps in this picture. A big picture of Susan is on top of this picture. It shows her holding the chess piece. The story says that Edmund declares, “I don’t remember any ruins in Narnia.”
Next page shows Telmarine Lords sitting in chairs at what appears to be a council. The story says that Miraz is trying to blame everything on the Narnians so he can make war with them and take the throne. What ‘everything’ is, I do not know.
The opposite page goes with it, showing Miraz in the center of a room with the lords. Trumpkin is in the middle, bound and gagged and beaten up. There is blood below his left eye. Miraz is pointing to him. He is using him as an example to the lords; a reason to blame the Narnians, I think.
Next two pages is a picture of the treasure chamber. It is almost exactly like the one we saw before, except Peter has his sword drawn and he’s looking at Edmund. On the second page Edmund comments that Cair Paravel looks like it was attacked after he sees all of the ruble everywhere. Could this be the added scenes to the video game?
Next page shows Caspian in a small doorway. He’s peeking around it from the left. It’s the same room with the beads hanging down that we saw in the Ben Barnes production blog when he first says, “I am Prince Caspian.” This is Trufflehunter’s house. He has just woken up and sees the three in the other room and is shocked. They took him in after his fall and were interested in the white horn he had. When they realize that it’s Queen Susan’s horn, they don’t kill him.
Opposite page shows Nikabrik sitting at a table in Truff’s house. The horn is on the small table as well as food and a candle. The story is saying how Truff thinks that Caspian was meant to help them. Truff thinks that the sound of the horn will bring back the Ancient kings and queens.
Next two pages show Susan on the edge of what looks to be Glasswater Creek. It’s definitely not the sea. She is aiming, with her back to us, at a boat that has two Telmarine soldiers throwing a bundle of something over. By the color of the fabric and the hair, it is obviously Trumpkin. Her sleeves open up on the underside over the elbows to reveal a blue material; the same of that in her skirt and the sleeves on her night raid dress. The story says she shot two arrows at them, and they save Trumpkin.
Next we see a picture of Caspian in what seems to be the Dancing Lawn. Trufflehunter takes him there, and at first the Narnians are very upset because they don’t trust the Telmarines. But Truff wins them over by reminding them that Narnia wasn’t right unless a Son of Adam was on the throne. They agree, and they resolve to make Caspian their rightful king. The opposite page shows Glenstorm and Mrs. Glenstorm. The picture of Glenstorm is the production one that we’ve seen, and the one of her is at the Dancing Lawn. There is a Satyr beside her, perhaps Tyrus?
Next is a picture of Glasswater Creek. The four Pevensies with Trumpkin. It’s very much like the book cover of This Is Narnia. I’m not sure if it’s identical, though. The opposite picture is of Peter and Lucy. Lucy is looking up at Peter sadly, and Peter looks very serious. The story is telling us that Lucy has seen Aslan, while no one else has and they don’t believe her. It also mentions something about crossing the river.
Next we find out that that night, Lucy dreams she sees Aslan, so she gets up in the night to look for him. She hears a rustle in some bushes, but to her disappointment it’s only Peter. Suddenly, Caspian rushes up and attacks Peter. Lucy eventually makes them stop when she realizes that Caspian has Narnians on his side, therefore he must not be a foe. Peter turns to Caspian and says, “Prince Caspian, I believe you called?”
The picture on the opposite page goes with this. Peter and Caspian seem to be talking to one another, and Edmund, Susan, Lucy, and then a little ways off Trumpkin are looking on with their backs to us. This is in the forest at day time, but the story says it takes place at night. The story says that as soon as Peter had said the above that Susan and Edmund rushed up.
So Caspian takes them to his underground camp, and when he leads them into one room, Lucy asks “What is this place?” when she sees the carvings everywhere. Then they all see the Stone Table, and in the picture Lucy is going forward looking distressed. Susan, who is to our left, also seems a little upset, and Peter is on the right, with Caspian further behind him on the right. Both boys are holding torches.
Opposite page is Caspian in what seems to be Aslan’s How. Narnians are behind him. The story is talking about how the Narnians are very excited to see the kings and queens, and that they have a war council to make Caspian the rightful king.
Next two pages discus the night raid. The first picture is at Miraz’s castle. Peter (on the left) and Caspian are rushing forward from an open archway with swords drawn. The story is talking about how they attack the Telmarine castle. Peter says, “For Narnia!” but we already knew that.
Opposite page is Peter on some steps with a Telmarine soldier on them as well, but Peter is lower down on the steps. The Telmarine seems to be shying away, and both swords are drawn and I think Peter has a small scratch below his left eye. The story tells how the Telmarines drive them back to Aslan’s How, despite a valiant effort on the Narnians part.
At this point, Peter realizes that spirit alone will not help them win. Because of this, he sends Lucy to find Aslan. The picture on this page shows Lucy on a black horse. The next page is the same one as in the novel. Lucy is smiling to a fuzz on the left that is obviously Aslan. The story says that he appears to her immediately. She inquires why he did not show himself fully before. He tells her that things are never the same twice. Then he asks if they should wake her friends (the trees) up, and he does, but the story does not say how.
Next page tells how Caspian comes up with the idea for a one-on-one combat, and the picture shows Edmund in armor holding a scroll. Behind him is a smaller picture of Miraz and some lords sitting at a table covered in documents under some kind of tent. Edmund is seemingly delivering the message. Miraz accepts the challenge. The opposite page shows Peter and Miraz fighting. Both have their helmets on at this point. Telmarine Lords stand in the background. Peter has just struck Miraz’s shield.
The story goes on to tell how Peter corners Miraz, but then hands his sword to Caspian and tells him that it is not his fight to end. The picture shows what looks like Caspian about to behead a kneeling Miraz with someone else’s sword, not Peter’s though. I think it’s Miraz’s. The story, however, states that Caspian tells him, “Keep your life, but I’m giving the Narnians back their kingdom.” They then go into battle. The picture on the opposite page is Peter standing in front of Aslan’s How with a bloody drawn sword and a battered face.
The next picture shows Peter standing to the right of Caspian in what seems to be the brink of battle. Peter’s face looks much more bruised and mottled on his left side. The story is saying how the Telmarines are about to attack, and that the Narnians need something more in order to win. Then the trees arrive! The battle starts, and on the opposite page is a very interesting picture of Peter who seems to be yelling/grimacing. His sword is clean, and there is no one immediately around him. The story says that he orders the charge into battle, again with “For Narnia!”
Next two pages are a Telmarine Lord and some other soldiers on horses. They are retreating to the bridge after being chased by the trees and other Narnian soldiers. They find, however, that Aslan is there, and the bridge is destroyed and they run away when her roars.
Final two pages are about Caspian’s coronation. The first page shows a picture of him on Destrier, in his coronation outfit that I described in my earlier report. There are people around him, and he seems to be going by some walls or maybe in a castle. Caspian has a nice smile on his face.
Other page shows the Pevensies. Peter and Susan are riding next to each other and are smiling to each other. Her dress is as described as above, and Peter has on that mysterious blue shirt underneath a navy blue vest that buttons the far right side of his chest. Blue hose as well. They are both riding white horses. Edmund can be seen behind Susan, but he’s quite blurry. He is riding a brown horse, and wears an outfit that looks similar to Peter’s, only in brown. Lucy’s head can be seen, but the rest of her is covered by Susan. I see a small patch of pink, so I think Lucy’s dress might be pink, but I’m not sure. The story says that after the battle the Pevensies and Caspian bow to Aslan. Aslan declares Caspian the rightful king of Narnia. Peter then gives Caspian his sword. Caspian is shocked and honored, and tells Peter that, “I’ll keep it safe till you return.”
The last page says that the Pevensies look at Narnia one last time before going through a doorway that Aslan made out of oak branches. They find themselves in England at the train station, where no time has passed.