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J.R.R. Tolkien sings 'Troll Sat Alone On His Seat Of Stone'

Hey, all you Ringers!

Here, JRR Tolkien sings Sam's song about the old troll, in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Isn't it great?!

Independence Day

To all my fellow Americans,

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Remember to thank God today for the United States of America!

(Maybe sing the national anthem.) : )

God bless America!

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 11: Return of the... White Witch?

"Peter dear... I've missed you."

Yeah, I'll bet. When you've been frozen for the past 13 centuries, I'll bet you miss even your old enemies.

Nikabrik has a suggestion for Caspian, and at this point, Caspian is willing to hear him out. At first. Until a Hag and a Werewolf appear. They're what make this scene unsuitable for young viewers - my younger siblings covered at this point.

Caspian and Nikabrik in the heart of Aslan's How

When the Hag uses the broken wand to summon the White Witch, a wall of ice springs up, hiding our view of the wall behind. One drop of human blood will free her. Jadis quickly hypnotizes a frightened Caspian, and Peter comes charging in with Trumpkin, Edmund, and Lucy. While Peter tries to stop Caspian, the others fight Nikabrik, the Hag, and the Werewolf. We finally get to see Lucy use her knife.

"Peter dear… I have missed you. Come, just one drop. You know you can't do this alone."

Yeah, I'd say that Jadis is pretty desperate, wouldn't you say? Wouldn't you be desperate, too? I mean, come on - 1300 years!

The wall of ice shatters.

But then she begins to dissolve, and the ice shatters and falls. Behind is none other than... Edmund. He finally defeats the White Witch! At this point, I felt like cheering him on!

Edmund's only words are very dry, referencing to Peter's earlier fight in the station: "I know. You had it sorted."

And behind Edmund, once again visible is the wall. And the carving of Aslan on it.

Coming Next: Returning to what you used to believe in.

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 10: Aftermath

Peter's guilt

Lucy: What happened?

Peter: Ask him.

Susan: Peter.

Caspian: Me? You could have called it off. There was still time.

Peter: No there wasn't thanks to you. If you'd kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now.

Caspian: And, if you'd just stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be!

Peter: You called us, remember?

Caspian: My first mistake.

Peter: No. Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people.

Caspian: Hey! I am not the one who abandoned Narnia.

Peter: You invaded Narnia. You have no more right to it than Miraz does! You, him, your father… Narnia's better off without the lot of you!

Peter feels the full weight of his guilt, and tries to take it out on Caspian. Edmund stops the two from going literally at each other's throats.

Lucy then heals Trumpkin with her cordial.

Trumpkin: Thank you, my dear little friend.

At one point, Glenstorm's wife looks at him with a questioning face, and he gives her a sad look. The lady centaur lowers her head.

Peter's grief, guilt, and anger... Caspian's anger and indignation... the grief of all the Narnians...

This scene continues the poignant sorrow of the last scene's ending with the deaths of the trapped Narnians.


Thanks to NarniaWeb for making a transcript available. It's not completely accurate, but I'll be referencing it from now on. Also, all the images I post here all come from NarniaWeb's Prince Caspian gallery.

Coming Next: Grief + Mistakes = The White Witch?

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 9: The Night Raid

Warning: Major Spoilers!!

And the description at the end may not be for younger readers.

Watch to see part of the raid at the beginning! (Note: this trailer has Japanese subtitles.)

Edmund is the signalman for the night raid on the Telmarine castle. The signal-light? His flashlight, of course! A bit of modern warfare inserted into Narnia in a rather humorous way... But more on that later.

He, Peter, Susan, Caspian, and Trumpkin all fly in on gryphons. Peter, Susan, and Caspian get into the castle through Dr. Cornelius's window. Caspian breaks the doctor out of jail, and Cornelius makes the mistake of hinting that Miraz killed Caspian's father. Almost from the very beginning, things go wrong, and it is only the beginning.

Caspian bursts into Miraz's bedroom, demanding to know the truth about his father's death.

Prunaprismia: I thought you said he died in his sleep.
Miraz: Well, that part was true.

While Caspian holds his sword to Miraz's throat, Prunaprismia aims a crossbow at the prince. Then Peter and Susan burst in.

Miraz: This used to be a private room.

Susan aims for Prunaprismia, who aims for Caspian, who points his sword at Miraz! Miraz more or less admits that he killed his own brother, and offers Caspian a choice: kill him and be a "true Telmarine king" (my words, not his), or leave and be a coward. Prunaprismia and Susan shoot at the same time: Prunaprismia's arrow grazes Caspian's arm, and Miraz escapes.

Peter is angry with Caspian for not sticking with the plan, and Susan says that they need to call the attack off, that it's too late. If only they had.



Reepicheep and two of his mice "commandoes" infiltrate, and go to the wheel that raises the portcullis (iron gate) of the castle. They see a sleeping cat and tie its legs together. A Telmarine comes in and sees the bound cat. Reepicheep dangles overhead and forestalls the observation "You are a mouse" by saying, "Yes! I'm a mouse." Reepicheep kills the guard, and the mice come to the wheel. Trumpkin joins them.

Reepicheep: We were expecting someone... taller.
Trumpkin: You're one to talk.
Reepicheep: (almost laughing) Was there supposed to be irony in that?

Trumpkin and the mice struggle to lift the portcullis, while Peter, Susan, and Caspian rush to lower the drawbridge with the Telmarine army on their backs. But both groups manage, just as...

Edmund drops his flashlight when he should be signaling the Narnians to come into the castle! A Telmarine picks it up and starts playing with the light. The Narnians see the light flashing crazily, and Nikabrik voices what they're all wondering:

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Edmund retrieves the flashlight, however, and signals for the Narnians to attack.

Susan: (to Peter, sarcastic) Who are you doing this for??
(The teens turn and charge at the Telmarines.)
Peter: FOR NARNIA!!

A marked change for Peter since the first movie, when he cries: "For Narnia, and for Aslan!"

But the Narnians no longer have their only advantage, the element of surprise. Eventually, Miraz orders his crossbowmen to fire into the melee, killing Telmarines and Narnians alike. Peter calls the retreat, and as the Telmarines lower the portcullis as the Narnians try to escape. One Minotaur holds the gate up while the other go through. Glenstorm lifts Susan up onto his back, and they, Peter, Caspian, Cornelius, Trumpkin, Nikabrik, etc. run through. But the Telmarines shoot down the Minotaur holding up the gate, and the Narnians who didn't make it out are trapped inside.

The most heartbreaking moment of the film... Peter stops and sees the Narnians crowded at the gate, unable to break out. The Narnians on the other side of the drawbridge call out to him, as the drawbridge lifts. But before Peter's horse makes the jump to the other side, he still looks and knows that the trapped Narnians are dying because of him.

Edmund is the last to leave, on the back of the gryphon he rode in on. They fly over the courtyard, where the battle had been fought. It is as deathly silent as the bodies lying there. Every last Narnian at the gate has been shot down.


Coming next: the aftermath of a massacre.

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 8: Telmarine Intrigue

Quick note before I get started:
I've gotten sporadic in my posts, and I'm sorry. I'll try to do this at least twice a week still, but I have a lot going on right now. Summer is the busiest time of year for me. Today's post is short, but the next one is about the castle raid, and that one is going to be long. So please, just bear with me.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!!

Lord Sopespian isn't very happy, and you can't really blame him. Lord Miraz keeps grabbing up more and more power, and so many seats in the Telmarine Council are empty, due to Miraz's plots.

Sopespian works on bringing General Glozelle into his own conspiracy against Miraz. Glozelle is reluctant at first... until an incident at the Fords of Beruna.

Miraz has had a crew of men building a wide bridge across the Fords of Beruna to cross into Old Narnian territory. The way that you get to see the construction, and the way that the men are chopping down trees at the sight for building is reminiscent (for me) of Isengard in The Lord of the Rings films. I could almost hear the Isengard theme.

Reepicheep apparently led a night raid on the Telmarine supplies. Two regiments worth of armor and weapons gone (although my brother isn't sure that we ever even see the Narnians using the gear). On one supply wagon is a message:

You were right to fear the woods.

- X [Caspian the Tenth]

Miraz is quietly furious about the loss, and he hits Glozelle on the face with a sword hilt. It was a bad move, because Glozelle capitulates now to Sopespian's side.

Now that he can pin the Narnian "uprising" on Caspian - a "renagade" prince - Miraz takes the throne by law. The ceremony scene is subtly chilling.

The Coronation

The film has now become a shade darker.

Coming Next: A Good Plan Gone Wrong

Two Unrelated Things

That's right. Two topics for today that are totally unrelated.


1. Flowers

Here in the Midwest, it is the season for snowball bushes and irises to bloom. I've been taking loads of photos around my home of all the beautiful flowers. I've uploaded the best to my Flickr account - please check out my photostream!


2. Across the Stars

Today, I set up a second blog: this one is for my Star Wars fan fiction only. It's an Alternate Universe story that retells the saga with a lot of twists, including several Original Characters (one in particular). I also created a video preview of the "series" for YouTube. My AU is called Across the Stars, after Anakin's and Padme's theme. I'm posting the prologue and character list of the pilot story today. Please check it out!

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 7: The Kings and Queens of Old

Okay, I'd meant to post sooner than this, but real-life caught up with me. This post has turned out to be long as a result of having catch-up! Lol!

(Quick note: in a couple of the dialogue quotes today, there are a couple phrases that are not said in my home, but I'm just sticking to the script. Don't worry - if there were any real bad words, I would be using asterisks.)

Today, I'm going to open this with a Bible verse, and I might started doing this often. (All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version, or Authorized Version, unless otherwise stated.)

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

- Zechariah 4:6b

I chose this verse to tie in with the end, and it... oh, I was just about to give away the end of this post! You'll find out soon enough. Now, to return to the good old warning...

MAJOR SPOILERS!!

Right about now in the film's progression is when you'll probably start to get annoyed with Peter. I know I did! He acts like a know-it-all when he's trying to get his group to Aslan's How.

Edmund, on the other hand, is satisfyingly penitent about his mistakes during their last stay in Narnia, and stands up for Lucy when she sees Aslan. Trumpkin isn't so annoyingly disbelieving, but he does say: "I'm not going to follow a lion I can't see."

We start to get into the spiritual aspects of the film - bear with me, because from here on out, I'll be doing it often. Trumpkin said that he wouldn't follow a lion he couldn't see. Aren't there people who say the same thing about God here on Earth (as opposed to about Aslan in Narnia)? "I'm not going to follow a God I can't see. How do I know He's even real?"

But more on that later.

I like the way that they changed Lucy's first meeting with Aslan into a real dream, and in the morning, no less. There's still an ethereal quality about it - the filtered golden sunlight in the beautiful patch of forest. And Aslan does look bigger.

It's funny that the way that Caspian and Peter meet is with their swords! Hmm, talk about a foreshadowing of what's to come!

Trumpkin and the rest of the Pevensies enter, and Reepicheep soon follows...

Lucy: (whispering to Susan) "Oh my gosh, he is so cute!"
Reepicheep: (angry, drawing his sword and looking around) "Who said that??"
Lucy: (slightly guilty) "Sorry."
Reepicheep: (penitent) "Oh, uh, Your Majesty. With the greatest respect - (bows) - I do believe courageous, courteous, or chivalrous might more befit a Knight of Narnia." (Twirls his sword as he puts it away.)

Another Weekend in Narnia video on YouTube has a slightly cut clip of this scene (don't forget: it's at the end). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5dU84VDDaw

Caspian takes the Pevensies to Aslan's How. The cavern containing the Stone Table is a beautiful place, telling the story of the Pevensies and Aslan as we know it in Wardrobe. At the center of the wall on the far side of the entrance is a carving of a huge Lion. And on the way in is carving of a Faun with an umbrella by a lamppost - and we hear a short strain of Mr. Tumnus's lullaby.



Peter suggests a raid on Miraz's castle. Edmund points out that though the How may be defensible, the Telmarines can starve them out.

Pattertwig: "We can collect nuts!"
Reepicheep: (sarcastic) "Right! And throw them at the Telmarines!" (annoyed) "Shut up."

(Is saying "shut up" an English thing? Because they sure say it enough in the movie! :P)

Lucy tries to be a voice of caution at the "council of war"...

Lucy: "No, Peter, you're not listening. Or have you forgotten who really defeated the White Witch?"
Peter: "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough."

If you've already seen the movie, did you hear the warning alarm at this point? I sure did! I was just cringing and thinking, "Oh, Peter, that is just a stupid thing to say!"

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit...

And yet, Peter thinks that he's waited long enough for Aslan. Lucy was right: Peter had truly forgotten. He thought that he could do it on his own, and he had forgotten that the last time he tried that, he failed. It was only by Aslan's intervention that Peter survived and that the Battle of Beruna was won.

But we can be like that, too. We think that we can go it alone, but, in truth, we can't. Alone, we'll fail - miserably, too. Our good victories come only through God. Without Him, we fail. We always will.

Don't go alone; don't tire of waiting for God. Wait for Him; follow Him. Our victory is by His Spirit.

It's a lesson that Peter learns in a heartbreakingly hard way. Don't make the same mistake.

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 6: The Little Problems in Caspian's Life

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!!

(I got tired of using the word "huge" - and "major" sounds more professional anyway. Lol.)

Meanwhile, Caspian is having something of a rough time with the Narnians. First, he gets into a swordfight with Nikabrik and spills Trufflehunter's soup! Then he is running from Telmarine crossbow men in the woods, only to be rescued by Reepicheep, who finishes off the soldiers, then wants to finish off Caspian! (See the Weekend in Narnia YouTube vid - the clip is at the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vROoHve-iU) Fortunately for Caspian, Trufflehunter intervenes.

Reepicheep: "Trufflehunter! I trust you have a good reason for this untimely interruption!"
Nikabrik: "He doesn't. Go ahead."

The Dancing Lawn meeting is not a council of war, but almost a hanging party. The Narnians want to take their revenge on Caspian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkv3BIGgUQ&feature=related

Caspian: "You would hold me accountable for the crimes of my people?"
Nikabrik: "Accountable... and punishable."

Trumpkin and Glenstorm begin to talk sense into the Narnians, however, and Caspian makes his own impassioned speech.

"Together, we have a chance to take back what is ours!"

After this point in the film (if I remember correctly), we don't see Caspian again until he charges at Peter!

Coming Next: The Kings and Queens of Old

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 5: Trumpkin Takes Center Stage!

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS!!

Meantime, Trumpkin is taken to Miraz, who "frames" the Narnians as Caspian's "kidnappers". Trumpkin is shown off before the Telmarine council as a Prisoner Of War, then taken out to the river-mouth to be drowned.
The Telmarine who rows the boat complains to his companion that the Dwarf is looking at him. The second Telmarine tells the first, "Don't look at him." The first Telmarine tries to look away, but is rather unnerved by Trumpkin's steady glare.
And as the Telmarines are about to toss Trumpkin out into the water, a young woman's voice shouts, "Drop him!" The Pevensies to the rescue!
We hear the recurrence of the Narnia theme as it played when Peter, Susan, and Lucy were riding the ice on the river in Wardrobe. The Telmarines do drop Trumpkin... into the water. As Susan shoots at the soldiers, Peter and Edmund dive into the water to help the Dwarf.
On the beach, Trumpkin grumbles about Susan saying "drop him," saying that the Telmarines didn't need any help trying to drown him. In less than a minute, though, Trumpkin realizes something.

Trumpkin: "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. You're the Kings and Queens of old."
Peter: (holds out his hand to shake) "High King Peter the Magnificent."
(Trumpkin stares at Peter's hand.)
Susan: "You probably could have left out that last bit."
(Edmund laughs.)
Trumpkin: (grins and almost laughs) "Probably."

Peter gives Trumpkin his sword to fight Edmund - Trumpkin has some trouble holding it at first! He soon recovers, and Edmund go at it fairly well.
And instead of wasting precious time over Trumpkin's disbelief, he believes right away. Also, he tells the Pevensies what is happening in Narnia on the way to meet up with the Narnians - another good use of screen time.

Coming Next: The Little Problems in Caspian's Life

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 4: Called Back into Narnia

(Note: Journey through Narnia began as a review of Prince Caspian and is turning out to be something of a cross between a review and a commentary. That's why I've been putting up the spoiler warning, and that's why I'll keep on using it throughout the Journey.)

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS!!

A train comes, and the station starts ripping apart, until the Pevensies can see a beach on the other side of the rails. When the train has rushed past, the Pevensies find themselves in a huge cave with the beach just outside, and the train fades away as it leaves.

I really like how they worked the pull into Narnia. The kids aren’t being pulled back to Narnia – they’re being pulled towards it.

And as they start to play in the water, we hear the recurrence of the beautiful song “One Day” from the first film. In Wardrobe, the song appears both in the train-ride scene and when the Pevensies enter Narnia together for the first time. In that context, this song works beautifully for this scene.

Edmund: “Where do you suppose we are?”

Peter: (grinning) “Where do you think??”

Edmund: “I don’t remember any ruins in Narnia.”

One change to the story that I really appreciate is that the Pevensies know right away where they are, and that they figure out their position at Cair Paravel quickly, too. In the book, it takes them all day to figure it out! Every time I read the book (or hear the Focus on the Family radio adaptation), I feel like saying, “Oh, come on, guys! It’s so ridiculously obvious! Where else would you be but Narnia??” If you’ve read the books, have you ever had that feeling?

The gold chess piece – a Centaur – that Susan finds is Edmund’s, and he says so.

Peter: “Which chess set?”

Edmund: “I didn’t have a gold chess set in Finchley.”

And the Pevensies also quickly work out that since their castle looks like ancient ruins, they must have been gone for centuries. These kids are really using their heads!

It’s so sad to see the kids standing where their thrones once were, looking out over what was once their throne room. Watching that, I could see in my mind’s eye where everything was supposed to be, and it was just so sad! The Pevensies have returned to find that their beloved Narnia has changed even more than they have.

Edmund inspects a remaining section of one of the stone walls. He says that the damage did not happen naturally – it was done by catapults. When Edmund said that, I had a mental shiver – this was something I’d never thought of before. The implication is that the Telmarines attacked Cair Paravel and destroyed it.

When the Pevensies are about to go down into the treasure chamber, Peter rips off part of his shirt for a torch. When he asks about matches, Edmund produces his new "electric torch" (flashlight, if you don't know). Peter laughs: "Why didn't you say so before?"

Each Pevensie has his or her own chest. Only Peter holds back at first from opening his as the others rummage through theirs. You could interpret his reluctance to open his chest several different ways, and I won't try right now.

One thing that I appreciate (another something I've always thought should be mentioned in the book) is something that Lucy says... with tears in her eyes.

"Everyone we used to know... Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers... they're all gone."

It's seemingly small tragedy compared to the bigger tragedies of what has happened in Narnia, but it really is an important one. The old Narnia is forever gone... and with her are the Kings and Queens' beloved friends.

Coming Next: Trumpkin Takes Center Stage!

Memorial Day

To all my fellow Americans,

Happy Memorial Day!

Take some time today to thank God for our service men and women, those who are in action right now, those who are at home, and those who are dead. They have fought and are fighting for the freedoms that we enjoy here in America. If you know anyone in the military, show them some appreciation today.

(Now we'll return you to our regularly scheduled program of Journey through Narnia.)

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 3: "I wasn't always a kid."

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS!!

When we first see Susan Pevensie, she is being approached by a boy known in the credits only as the "geeky boy." Poor kid! You have to pity him even more when Susan rebuffs all his attempts at friendly conversation! He says that whenever he sees her, she's alone. Susan has not been adjusting very well to the Pevensies' return to England.
And neither has Peter. We first see him right in the middle of a fight with several other boys in a subway station. When Peter's and Susan's eyes meet, Susan looks a sort of resigned "not again!" and Peter looks guilty. Then Edmund heroically leaps into the fray, and - as a huge fan of LotR - I could just hear a triumphal statement of the Fellowship's theme (music example: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli running at the beginning of The Two Towers). Edmund jumping in reminded me of Gimli doing the same thing to help Aragorn at Helm's Deep in The Two Towers. My brother noted that Edmund kept jumping on the older boys' backs.
Andrew Adamson looks at something in the movie that C. S. Lewis never looked at in the book, and it's something that I've wondered about before: how did the Pevensies adjust to going back to being kids back in England? And the film says (realistically, I think) that it was hard. Peter had been a thirty-ish High King of Narnia! Warrior king, even! Then he goes back to being an English schoolboy??

Peter: "I'm tired of being treated like a kid."
Edmund: (frowning) "We are kids."
Peter: "I wasn't always one..."

Peter - understandably - has a major attitude problem!
In fact, since we don't really find out anything about Edmund and Lucy in England, it's safe to assume that the younger two are coping better than their older siblings!

Coming Next: Called back into Narnia

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 2: All That You Know Is About to Change

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS!!

The Walden Media logo turns into an eclipse of the moon in the Narnia sky (a neat effect) – or is it actually Tarva and Alambil? We zoom in towards a castle – not Cair Paravel – to a woman (Prunaprismia) giving birth. Now that is an intense beginning. And at first I was confused: General Glozelle calls Miraz “Lord,” not “Your Highness.” Then we find out that Miraz is still Lord Protector, not yet King. And when Caspian’s tutor, Dr. Cornelius, comes to save the Prince, Caspian asks for five more minutes! Then his bed is shot to pieces by four rounds (at least, my brothers say it is three or four) of crossbow bolts. If Caspian had really been there, would they even have found any of him left?? But Caspian has already escaped – through a wardrobe of all things!

And it is Cornelius, not Aslan (as could be inferred from the trailers), who says, “All that you know is about to change.” Then Caspian is in for the race of his life as he rides his horse Destrier to escape General Glozelle and several of his soldiers. One shot of the chase is on open plains, and though the scene takes place at night, it reminded me of the Ringwraiths chasing Arwen in The Fellowship of the Ring.

(On a side note, this part is one of the scenes with the most consecutively original music in the entire film.)

And fans of The Chronicles of Narnia are surprised when Trumpkin is captured by Glozelle and Caspian blows the horn early.

Definitely different from the book, and the changes in the very beginning set off quite a few of the changes in the plot throughout the film. But all in all, I think that the opening scene is very cool, very fast-paced, and very, very exciting.

Coming Next: Back in England

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 1: Returning to Narnia

After having watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe DVD a couple of times, I began to long for Prince Caspian to be filmed, as well. About a year ago, a friend of mine sent me a poster for the movie.

Finally, Prince Caspian as a movie was a real thing to me. Then come December, the same friend sent me a link to NarniaWeb, where he had seen the theatrical trailer for the film: http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=1355&dl=14478175 The family computer was slow, however, and the wait for the trailer to upload completely was pure torture! Finally, my family and I were able to see it, and we were blown away. I remember commenting that just the trailer was better than the trailer for Return of the King. I retract that, but only so far as to say that the two are equal!

After that, I started checking NarniaWeb (http://www.narniaweb.com/default.asp) periodically for updates on the movie. I think that it was in March when things started heating up – after all, it would only be two more months until Prince Caspian's theatrical release in the US. By the time April came, I was checking NarniaWeb almost every day – I would be doing my daily email-check and my daily NW check at the same time! And, of course, in the four weeks before the release, there was a lot to check out. http://www.narniaweb.com/newsarchives.asp There was something to see almost every day – I probably downloaded over twenty YouTube videos in those four weeks! And I could not believe all the spoilers I was getting! My brother succinctly summed it up by saying that we knew just about everything that would happen in the movie before we saw it! We even got to see a few scenes almost completely like they are in the movie (only a few seconds here and there would be cut out of them).

The past couple of years, my family and I would watch the first movie on Easter, since Wardrobe is, after all, a fantasy retelling of The Greatest Story Ever Told. (Click here to find out about the LWW super-trailer http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=642&dl=6859770, and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZOCZtQafn4 to see the trailer on YouTube.) This year, we decided to wait until the day before we went to see Prince Caspian. By the opening weekend, I wasn't just dying to see Caspian – I was dying to see Wardrobe, too! But opening weekend finally came, and we went to the theater on the second day. My siblings and I were hyped.

And sitting there with the commercials playing, I felt a sense of unreality, like I couldn't believe that we were finally here. But after half a year of excited anticipation, we really were here! We were about to return to Narnia!

Coming Next: Part 2: Everything You Know Is About to Change

Skywalkers

YouTube Commentary - Luke, Arwen, Peter, and Susan?

The first time I saw this video on YouTube, I saw Arwen Evenstar first... on a video that is called "Skywalkers!" I thought "what?" I kept watching, and saw Peter and Susan Pevensie. "What?!" And finally, Luke Skywalker. "WHAT?!"
So I read the description on the side:

"Its Several years after the Empire was defeated and A New War is starting, Luke and Jordan sit down with their Children Ben and Liv to talk about the upcomming war when Liv and Ben try to tell Luke they don't want him to go until luke explains what needs to be Done, Ben Changes his mind and wants to help and Liv Gets Mad at them all and well im sure you all can figure out the rest, just something i did randomly cause i was bored, hope you enjoy -Jordi
Also If anyones curious, Liv Tyler sings the song. Thanks To LovelyLivTyler.com i was able to download it!" - TheBrokenAngel8

I call this one of my favorite YouTube vids. It's very creative and well-edited; and it contains one of my favorite songs from The Lord of the Rings movies as well as all three of my favorite films: LotR, Narnia, and Star Wars! As I am a fanatic of all three, it's cool to see the three of them mashed together.
If you turn up the volume on the very beginning, you can hear Susan ("Liv") say: "We wouldn't get caught up in a war."
The creator did a very good job picking the clips of the different films with the right lighting. Luke and the Pevensies, if not quite Arwen, look like they're really in the same room. And Luke's clips fit so well in the context, e.g. when he's trying to "convince his kids" and his "reaction to Liv's departure."
And I love the song, too:

With a sigh, you turn away
With a deepening heart, no words to say
You will find that the world has changed forever

The trees are now turning from green to gold
And the sun is now fading
I wish I could hold you closer

I love that song! Liv Tyler has such a beautiful voice!
I think that this video is an excellent example of what people can do with a little creativity, a lot of imagination, and - of course - the right ingredients!

The Journey Begins

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you'll be swept off to."
- Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

My first post on my new blog!

If you know fantasy, then you're sure to know my interests just by my title...
1. Rings: The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
2. Lightsabers: Star Wars
3. Wardrobes: The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis

On this blog, I'll be talking about just about anything and everything, but especially about LotR, Star Wars, and Narnia. I'll be posting book reviews and short essays, and giving links to and commenting on YouTube videos...
Posting on this blog is going to be an interesting journey. I've stepped out onto the Road, and I can't wait to find out where it takes me.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can...