Moviefone Launches 'Prince Caspian' Character Guide!

(Pictured above: Glenstorm, an honorable Centaur and an astronomer charged with watching the skies for portents.)

Moviefone has put up a whole character guide for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (featuring exclusive looks at five new characters). Unlike The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this is a book with a huge cast. The four Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) return to Narnia. But where only a short time has passed in our world, it is more than a thousand years later in Narnia, and a race of people called the Telmarines have invaded and ousted the natives. All of the characters you grew to love in the last story are long dead. Except Aslan, of course, but that's to be expected if you know your religious allegory!

So, Moviefone has gotten together with director Andrew Adamson to walk you through the new faces you'll be seeing -- and not a moment too soon, as this film opens on May 16. Audiences will be surprised, hopefully pleasantly so, by what a different story Prince Caspian is from its predecessor. Caspian is a story of conquest and rebellion -- the villains in this film are also a far cry from the White Witch. The Telmarine King Miraz and his lordly allies, Glozelle, and Lord Sopespian, are entirely human, their maliciousness owing more to Shakespeare than dark magic. Which isn't to say there aren't otherworldly elements here -- a Werewolf also seeks to lure Caspian into a dangerous alliance. But this is a story of dynasties and politics, a real turnaround from what was tackled in Wardrobe. It throws you as a child reader, but I think the real world elements may be more appealing to adult audiences in this film.

Obviously, Prince Caspian is our hero -- and there's a touch of a young King Arthur about him. Though he is the rightful heir to the throne, his evil uncle King Miraz seeks to murder him, and place his own son on the throne. The young Caspian must fight to regain his rightful title, and free Narnia from a despot. He was much younger in the book than this uber-Viggo they have cast, but I suppose they felt it would be too hard to believe a sword wielding youngster. Or they felt people would just see it as a retelling of The Sword in the Stone . . . which it kind of was, right down to Caspian's Merlin, Dr. Cornelius, the tutor who sets Caspian on his destined path. He is half dwarf and half Telmarine. Cornelius helps Caspian to realize the lies King Miraz has perpetuated on Narnia and the suppression of non-Telmarine races which directly affects the half-blooded teacher.

Caspian also has plenty of new talking animal characters -- most notably Reepicheep, who is quite possibly the coolest of the secondary characters. He's a Talking Mouse, and while he is unbearably cute, he would probably slash you if you dared pet him. He is noble and honor driven; a mouse destined for great things, and who's story carries over into Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Apparently, Adamson based Puss in Boots on him -- which makes me worry he's entirely missed the point of Reepicheep. He is voiced by Eddie Izzard who, as much as I like him, is the last person I can imagine voicing a character akin to Legolas or Frodo -- but I still have high hopes for him. You will also meet a badger named Trufflehunter, who is the first Narnian the Prince encounters -- and who dresses his wounds, as well as introduces him to the world his uncle has driven underground.

Of course, there's many more characters I can't begin to get into -- dwarves, minotaurs, and centaurs, all of whom mistrust Caspian due to his Telmarine heritage. It is with difficulty that he wins them over, with no small assistance from the Pevensie children. This movie will have plenty of battles -- and, if done right, an awesome duel between Peter and Miraz.

To accompany the character guide, Adamson has released a bunch of character stills. The new characters all look fantastic, as would be expected from the geniuses at WETA. Reepicheep's design is especially inspiring -- I could stare for hours at how pinkly transparent his ears are. Hopefully, the script and acting will live up to the design, and we'll be in for a good fantasy epic.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian opens on May 16th, 2008. Hopefully, the stills will inspire you to go and read the book, which there is still plenty of time to do!