It’s been a year since the four Pevensie children—Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy—left Narnia at the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and they’re growing weary of their non-adventurous lives in World War II-era London. When they’re suddenly transported back to Narnia at the start of this film (courtesy of Prince Caspian who desperately sounds Susan’s magical horn), they learn that 1,300 years have passed in Narnian time, the land has been taken over by the Telmarines, and the Narnian race and history have been reduced to myth. (And Aslan is nowhere to be found.) Caspian, however, is a goodhearted Telmarine and is determined to be a good king—as long as he can defeat the plans of his evil uncle, Lord Miraz, with the help of the four returning kings and queens of Narnia.

While it could be argued that the many divergences from the book water down author C.S. Lewis’ intended spiritual content, there is still much to like about Prince Caspian—even spiritually speaking.

(I suppose you could say the following fits the textbook definition of a “spoiler,” but that’s harder to defend when the book’s been in circulation for decades.)

The most powerful spiritual element is Aslan’s reemergence at the end of the movie. Indeed the film greatly reduces the significant role he plays in the book, but when Aslan finally shows himself to Lucy—the lone Pevensie sibling who holds out hope that Aslan will return—she rushes into his arms, and they collapse in a heap, laughing. It’s a moving moment that reflects our future joy of finally being united with Christ—one that you could easily use in a discussion with your students.

There are a number of dialogue snippets between Lucy and Peter can work as jumping-off points for discussions, too: Lucy telling Peter (the biggest Aslan doubter) to remember who really defeated the White Witch on their previous visit to Narnia, that perhaps Peter can’t see Aslan because he isn’t looking, and when Peter remarks that Aslan gave no proof of his presence in the forest, Lucy tells Peter, “Maybe we’re the ones who have to prove ourselves to him.”

There’s another “death” in this Chronicles installment that’s much subtler: The death of faith. With the Telmarines’ overrunning the land and pushing the Narnians into hiding for more than a millennium, the magical qualities of Narnia (i.e., faith and belief in the supernatural) are believed extinct. So there are no more dancing trees, many wild animals that don’t talk, etc. But Aslan rights those wrongs as well in the end—and in a powerful, unmistakable fashion. Not an insignificant spiritual interpretation to throw your students’ way.

If you take your teenagers to Prince Caspian in the theater, be sure to note these and other dialogue points of reference in order to more easily guide your kids into deeper spiritual understandings. Be prepared also for a lot of battle scenes and death on a grand scale—it’s not of the gory sort, but it’s a pervasive plot element that could be troublesome for some younger psyches.