Air Port Time Capsule Base Station Extreme - Get files off it to a new laptop after a crash

Time machine is not seeing the old files that I know are there.

That would be because Time Machine can only see the backups that have been made on the same Mac that made them. You have a new MacBook Pro, and it did not make the Time Machine backups.

Is there a simple way to get old files that I know are somewhere on this time capsule device - downloaded onto my new MacBook Pro?

The "simple way" is that you must use Migration Assistant on the "new" Mac to move data from a Time Machine backup of your "old" Mac over to your "new" Mac.

See this Apple Support document for details:

Restore your Mac from a backup - Apple Support

On the new Mac.......

Does the Time Capsule show up under the Locations heading on the left side panel of any Finder window?

Does the Time Capsule show up when you open AirPort Utility on the Mac? (Finder > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility)

The answer to both questions above needs to be "yes" before you can proceed.

"Target Disk Mode" is only going to work when you have 2 Macs connected to each other, so if you don't have the old Mac handy, this is not going to work.

Remember that you have 90 days of free phone support from Apple with a new Mac, so you might want to get with a product specialist on the phone to work through the data transfer step-by-step

Then, I don't have answer for you on why Migration Assistant cannot locate the backup files, since your new Mac has no trouble connecting to the Time Capsule and viewing the backup files.

You have powered off the Time Capsule, restarted the new Mac, and powered the Time Capsule back up again, correct?

Best to get with Apple Support on the phone so you can work through the process step by step and questions can be answered as they arise.