TCON: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Year: 2010

Director: Michael Apted

Rating by MPAA: PG for some frightening images and sequences of fantasy action

Synopsis: Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

For more information you can go to its IMDb Page.

Official Trailer



ELL SAID

Rating:  


Review:

Wow. Just... Wow. I didn't think this Narnia was going to impress me again, but, once again, Disney proved their talent making epic movies. It started out sweet, with a strange Edmund moment (As usual) and then we head into Narnia. But, this time, Peter and Susan aren't even around, but a third and new friend is discovered (Kidnapped, according to him): Eustice Scrubb, the Pevensie's cousin. He was hilarious and, definitely was the star of the movie. Starting as a jerk (Similarily to Edmund on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but a bit more pathetic), he evolves into one of my favorite characters in the whole trilogy. Magic galore, to the point of amazing: Dragons, magicians, creatures with one, gigantic foot and more! This one movie outshone the previous two. Aslan didn't play a particularly important role which, I consider, was good, because we can't always have him saving everyone. Edmund, once again, was epic, but at the start he acted kinda whinny. The plot seemed strange, but everything was amazing.

STEPH SAID

If you want, you can read the book review first.

Review:

As a stand-alone movie (not comparing it to the book):

Rating:  

To those that haven’t read the books, this will probably be the best out of The Chronicles of Narnia movies. It was an amazing journey that immerses the viewer in the magical and wondrous world of Narnia. The viewers were, for the first time, given full access to the breath-taking, enchanting places and creatures that exist beyond the borders of the country of Narnia. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian took place in the country of Narnia --that is not to be mistaken with the world of Narnia. In the country of Narnia magical creatures and talking animals exist but that’s it; in the world of Narnia there is more than that. We were able to see islands that make people’s dreams come true, waters that turn everything it touches into gold, a sea of lilies, the end of the world itself and even got a glimpse of Aslan’s country; we met invisible people, magicians, sea serpents, dragons and stars.

Eustace’s character was powerful. He starts as an obnoxious character that nobody likes; by the end, he has turned into a beloved character that makes you cry with his inspiring change. This, of course, is thanks to Will Poulter’s impressive performance. He used little details, like his facial expressions or tone of voice, to help him portraying Eustace’s different sides. As a result, the boy that enters Narnia, is nothing like the one that leaves it.

Reepicheep’s goodbye was emotional. He has become one of my favorite characters from The Chronicles of Narnia (the second favorite, after Edmund), so seeing him leaving was the saddest part of the movie.

Comparing the movie to the book

Rating: 

The movie kept the basic story straight, as is usually done, but changed many, many things. Some of these changes were for the better; those parts of the story are better in the movie than in the book. Some of the changes were for the worst; I prefer the way it was done in the book, rather than the movie.

For the better:

• The way Edmund, Lucy and Eustace entered Narnia. In the books, the kids enter the moving painting; some water came out of it, but not the whole sea. In the movie, Narnia comes out through the painting, sinking the room.

• Eustace personality. Most of this point is explained above, but not all of it. In the book, Eustace started to change after becoming a boy again. Key word being “started”, but sometimes his change was unsuccessful. Eustace, from time to time, acted cruelly and ungratefully towards everybody around him. In the movie he did have a change of heart, visible to everybody and constant. 

• The friendly swordplay. Caspian and Edmund’s practice was entertaining, and it was good to see neither of them had lost their touch. Reep and Eustace’s was an added bonus. In the book, Eustace doesn’t give Reep the satisfaction; in the movie, however, he does. But, Reep took it a step further and used that opportunity to teach Eustace the proper way to duel. The funny thing was that Eustace took Reep’s advices, even though he dislikes Reep.

• Caspian’s end. The only thing I disliked about the book was Caspian’s ending. I didn’t like how he had an out-of-character moment and contended with everybody that opposed his decision to go to Aslan’s country. In the movie, Caspian was given an accurate and realistic ending. Yes, Caspian wanted to see Aslan’s country, but he was wise enough to know he shouldn’t abandon Narnia.

• Aslan’s message on individuality. This is a present matter involving kids and teens. Now, kids want to become their favorite artists. They dye their hair, buy specific clothes and start talking like their favorite artists. Aslan, taught Lucy that she shouldn’t wish to be somebody else; she should be happy to be Lucy Pevensie, because there is not another Lucy Pevensie in the world. (And he wasn’t talking about the name). Aslan showed Lucy, what would have happened is she wasn’t born: the kids wouldn’t have found Narnia. This is a nice change from the book, in which Aslan just reprimands Lucy for the enchantments she tried.

For the worse:

• Edmund’s portrayal. At the beginning of the story he was acting just like Peter: whining about how nobody treated him like the king he was, but acting like a child, sticking his tongue out to his uncle. If he wants to be treated like a king, he has to behave like one. But what’s worse is that he is nothing like that in the books. He is the wisest and best behaved of the Pevensie children. He is the one that should have been named High King of Narnia. Not happy with that, the movie presents Edmund as the creator of the Sea Serpent (he isn’t), making him look weak, as he was the only one that had a bad thought at that moment.

• Short end of the world. In the book, the End of the World lasts for many chapters. Days and days of traveling through crystal seas and undersea cities were shortened to a few minutes of traveling through the sea of lilies.