Double Feature - Of Mice and Pandas

I finally got to watch both Prince Caspian and Kung Fu Panda this weekend, and also got to enjoy a lovely Father’s Day weekend with my wife.

Prior to watching the movies, the whole family, my daughter and her grandparents included, went to a place called the Museum Café to have a Father’s Day buffet. The food was excellent, and included crabfat risotto, beef tenderloin tapa-style, roast lamb, fresh oysters, sushi, and Peking-style duck rolls. The giveaway bottles of wine for the dads were a nice punctuation to the meal.

Only problem was, to beat the heat, we had reserved a table inside the resto, only to discover that the air-conditioning was malfunctioning. To add insult to injury, there was a fresh breeze blowing outside, meaning we would have been much more comfortable dining in the shade than indoors, where there were only a few electric fans to keep cool.

The whole air-conditioning situation turned what would have been a great experience into just a good one, but I’m not really complaining. Enjoying great food with your family is always nice, heat or no heat.

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Regarding Prince Caspian, I’ll say up front that I liked this better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The character development was more solid, and themes were more mature than the previous movie. The primary Narnian elements were still there, including Aslan coming to save the day in the end, though with a woody, leafy twist revolving around his "Things never happen the same way twice" wisdom. I'll leave the Aslan-Jesus comparisons to other people. If I'm going to be talking about the breakout character of this film, I'm afraid it's not the lion, nor is it Prince Caspian (the Tenth!).

No. It would have to be none other than the mouse. THE Mouse.

Yes, I'm talking about Reepicheep, that small furry whirlwind of pure arrogance and deadly skill. If you watch this movie, prepare to be amazed. If you thought Frodo and the berserking Hobbits in Lord of the Rings were impressive, you haven't seen anything yet. This mouse may look like a swashbuckling musketeer or a master swordsman, but he also possesses what some people might call "l33t n1nj4 sk1llz."

This isn't an incredibly movie, mind you, but it is good. The coming sequel, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, becomes more attractive as a result. And to top it off, the mouse has a starring role there too.

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Now, Prince Caspian was good. Kung Fu Panda was awesome. They weren't kidding when they told you to prepare for awesomeness. This movie was either incredibly funny, wonderfully exciting, or both at the same time. Even the calmer moments had me smiling. A great story, wonderful cast, excellent characters, and superb CG animation made for the most entertaining movie so far this summer, rivaled only perhaps by Iron Man.

I can make very few criticisms, and they revolve around the climax. The movie ended on a nice note, but the climax deserved a better aftermath. I for one, demand two things from defeating the villain. First, I must see a body. Dead, mutilated, unconscious, bound, gagged, whatever. There must be a body. Second, I must at least have verbal affirmation of what happened to said body. Both of these requirements were, sadly, denied me.

My only consolation is that this opens up multiple avenues for a sequel. And for a movie this good, a sequel must indeed follow. The whole concept is just too awesome for a single film.