Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader (2010)

Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are called back to Narnia by Aslan. Along with their cousin, Eustace, a spoiled rotten, selfish young boy, they arrive on the Dawn Treader, a ship captained by King Caspian.

Caspian, played by Ben Barnes, is searching for the seven lords his uncle sent out over the ocean. When they find the first lord, he gives them a magic sword. They soon discover that they must find the remaining swords and place them on Aslan's table in order to defeat the evil spreading over the islands.

They will be tempted in many ways. Can they overcome these temptations and find all the swords to dispel the mist?

From all the reviews I've read, it seems producer Andrew Adamson, and executive producers Douglas Gresham and Perry Moore opted to make The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the biggest departure from C.S. Lewis's classic children's books. The reviews, like those for the other two movies, are varied and conflicting. People who haven't read the books (like me) enjoy the beautiful settings, epic adventure, and special effects this movie provides. Lovers of Lewis's books, however, decry the departure from the books' storylines and the stripping away of the more Christian elements.

Our family saw The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the movie theater not long after it came out. In 3D, it is a spectacular addition to the series. While Peter (William Moseley) and Susan Pevensie (Anna Popplewell) only appear in cameos during one of Lucy's dreams, fans of the movies are treated to seeing Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Caspian (Barnes) again. Liam Neeson and Simon Pegg also return to offer their voices to Aslan and Reepicheep respectively.

I was disappointed that Peter and Susan's departure to America is never explained in the movie. We don't know why the Pevensie children were separated; though we know by the end of the second movie the older two will not be returning to Narnia. Also interesting, and a bit lazy, is that like Peter in Prince Caspian, Edmund is finding it hard to be an average kid in England after being a king in Narnia. Lucy reminds him he's not a king in England, just as Susan reminded Peter they would need to get used to the fact that they may never return to Narnia at the beginning of Prince Caspian.

Will Poulter's Eustace Scrubb is an annoying little brat--a character you love to hate. Poulter did a fine job of creating Eustace to be so unlikable in the beginning that you wish Reepicheep had thrown him back into the water instead of keeping him on the Dawn Treader.

Each character is tested while on the journey. Lucy desires to be beautiful like her older sister Susan. I never got the feeling from the first two movies that Lucy was jealous of her sister, so this is a bit of a surprise. It's also not part of the book if the reviews I've read are accurate. Edmund and Caspian are tempted by a pool that turns everything into gold. But the focus in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is definitely more on the transformation of Eustace.

Being the selfish little runt that he is, Eustace finds a stash of gold and treasure, and gives into the temptation. As a result, he is turned into a dragon. It is the lessons he learns while a flying dragon and his contribution to the battle to place the swords at the table of Aslan that bring about his amazing transformation. While the battle moves the plot forward, it is not the focus of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as it was in the previous two installments. Even Edmund is surprised that he and Lucy were called back to Narnia when there are no wars to fight.

The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe is definitely my favorite out of the three, but The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a close second. Eustace's transformation is a big reason for that. While my understanding is that his conversion back to a boy is handled much differently than it was in the book, I do feel, overall the movie captured Lewis's message. This is the only movie of the three that I felt a PG rating was okay.

While opening weekends for the second two movies were significantly less than for the first one, the movies still did well. The Silver Chair is listed on the IMDB as in development for release in 2015. A lot can happen in four years, so we'll see what happens.

Actors: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet
Directors: Michael Apted
Writers: C.S. Lewis, Christopher Markus, Michael Petroni, Stephen McFeely
Producers: Andrew Adamson, Cort Kristensen, Douglas Gresham
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: April 8, 2011
Run Time: 113 minutes
ASIN: B004M1A21K
SRP:  $29.98

Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

The first book of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia was brought to the big screen in 2005 by Disney. While this is not the first production adapted from Lewis's classic books, it is the only one I've seen that left me excited enough to wish to explore the books.

The Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) are evacuated from London during the Blitz and sent to live with a professor and his housekeeper. While playing hide-and-seek, Lucy steps into a wardrobe and discovers Narnia, a magical land filled with mythical creatures and talking animals. She befriends Mr. Tumnus, a timid faun. Tumnus explains about Narnia, and how it is always cold because of the White Witch. Though he is supposed to turn Lucy over to the White Witch, he can't do this to his new friend, so he guides her back to the lamppost where they first met so she can return home.

Lucy's siblings don't believe her story. It isn't until they are all forced to hide in the wardrobe to escape the professor's mean housekeeper, that they enter Narnia together. This sets them on an adventure that none of them would ever have believed if they hadn't experienced it for themselves.

I made a point to read some of the Amazon reviews of this DVD prior to writing my review. As someone who hasn't read the books yet, my opinion is bound to be different from many of them.  The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe impressed me with its special effects, the lush landscape, and action scenes. We first meet the Pevensies as they are rushing to the shelter during the bombing of London.

William Moseley plays the oldest brother, Peter. With their father fighting in the war, Peter is trying to act like the man of the house. He instantly clashes with his younger brother, Edmund (Skandar Keynes), who is missing his father and not thrilled about Peter trying to take his place--especially when he tells Edmund what to do.  Susan (Anna Popplewell) is a beautiful, smart girl and the second oldest Pevensie child. As her character moves along, we see that Susan appreciates logic and has a gentle heart. She seems to be the peacemaker when the siblings fight, but she tends to be a bit hard on Peter.  Lucy, played so well by Georgie Henley, is innocent and open to new experiences. She is more curious than afraid when she enters Narnia for the first time and immediately befriends Mr. Tumnus. She is seeking for what she, as such a young girl, can contribute to help Aslan and Narnia. Her youth leads her to easily believe all that Aslan tells her.

After reading some of the Amazon reviews--many that compared the book to the movie--I can say it doesn't surprise me if Hollywood dealt with the Christian aspects of the book  in a more subtle way; but a Christian viewer would be hard pressed to miss the allegories. One thing I felt was missing, however, is an explanation as to why the Pevensies were sent to Professor Kirke's house. It bothered me throughout the movie, and in the times since, when I watched the DVD at home. Who is this professor? What link does he have to the children? A simple few words at the train station between the children and their mother would have explained why they were being sent there instead of somewhere else.

The DVD contains extras like bloopers and commentaries, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Close to the books or not, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of my favorite contemporary films. While I thought a PG-13 rating would have been better considering all the fight scenes and the epic battle at the end, my girls who are younger than that enjoyed the film too.

DVD Product Details:

Actors: Tilda Swinton, Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell
Directors: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson, Ann Peacock, C.S. Lewis, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Producers: Andrew Adamson, David Minkowski
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Unknown), Spanish (Unknown)
Subtitles: Spanish, French
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
DVD Release Date: April 4, 2006
Run Time: 143 minutes
ASIN: B000E8M0VA
SRP:  $19.99