Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[LadyTerra]

I found an interesting review of it here, which does explain some of C. S. Lewis' story.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/2532-The-Chronicles-of-Narnia-Voyage-of-the-Dawn-Treader

[Haids1987]

I found it interesting that the movie shied away from Eustace's transformation back, but I guess as it was written in the book would have been too graphic for kids?

That was disappointing to me too.  It is such an important scene in the book, and so symbolic.  They totally left that scene lacking, with only a brief mention of it hurting.  Too bad.  And speaking of disappointing, they totally just skimmed through the Dufflepud island.  That was my favorite island in the book, and it was barely shown!

And I just beamed a smile when I heard Jill Pole mentioned at the end.  Yeah, Eustace shouldn't know her until he goes off to school, but who cares?  It's Jill freakin' Pole!  Now go make Silver Chair!!

I was totally thrilled too!   I love that they mentioned her because now it's almost certain that they'll make The Silver Chair.  Harfang, here we come!

Now they need to get working on Silver Chair because God Aslan knows we need to get some Puddleglum up in here!

[waltzdancing]

I just got back from seeing it and I have to say it is very different. I enjoyed it but it isn't one of my favorites, something lacked. Ben Barnes was great as usual  , kinda missed his Spanish accent. I cried my eyes out at the end of the film, a chapter in a way has closed but another one is opening.

You could definitely tell that it was made by a different company and sometimes I found the visual effect overpowering, the dragon didn't bother me at all. The map in the hidden mansion and other little things seemed to overpower the film. My favorites will always be the first two, where the whole family is complete. I'll still buy it when it comes to DVD, just to say that I have it. 

[colin]

Yeah I have seen the film and enjoyed it and agree with what others have said. The mist thing  didn't go anywhere and will poulter made a brillant eustace. I am a big fan of the series and know all the books and hope the rest are made. I would love to see the Magicans Nephew and the horse and his boy made into movies.

[Haids1987]

Ben Barnes was great as usual  , kinda missed his Spanish accent.

Oh my gosh, me too!  It was so sexy in Prince Caspian!  He said that he modeled the accent after Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride.

sometimes I found the visual effect overpowering, the dragon didn't bother me at all. The map in the hidden mansion and other little things seemed to overpower the film.

See, I didn't see it in 3D, so I can only imagine how trippy and headache-inducing it must have been!

[waltzdancing]

I didn't see it in 3D either. It wasn't really a headache thing, the effect in some parts were too over the top for me.

[Damar]

So over the Christmas vacation I took from work, I read Voyage of the Dawn Treader, as well as Silver Chair and Last Battle.  As I was reading I started to think about the things in the movie that bugged me, particularly the mist.  And then it occurred to me that the writers could probably salvage the storyline about the mist.  The issue with the mist is that it doesn't fit in, there's no actual motivation behind it, and it just vanishes.  But then I started to look at what the attributes of the mist were.  Warning: you're about to take a trip inside my head, and that usually involves creating odd theories using obscure plot points.

Attributes of the mist:
It would appear to be evil.
It tempts people (mainly Lucy) based on selfish and physical desires.
It psychologically attacks its victims and makes them question what they know and believe.
It doesn't seem to belong in our world.
It's bubbling up to the surface from a dark place.
In the end, it takes the form of a serpent.
It steals people away to a dark place.  In fact, one could say that many have been taken by the mist, and few return to the sunlit lands.
IT'S FREAKING GREEN!

Sound like anyone you know?  Maybe from the Silver Chair?  Just a little?  This all could be a coincidence, and it probably is.  The mist most likely is just faulty writing.  But if the writers wanted to be clever, they could reference it in Silver Chair as the first attempt by the Queen of the Underland to take over the sunlit lands.  And since the star's daughter told Caspian and friends how to destroy the dark island, it explains why the Queen would have targeted Rillian and his mom in particular.  Suddenly the events that set off Silver Chair seem a lot more like a personal vendetta.

Like I said, though, I think it probably is a coincidence.  But the writers could make it work.  The mist was still incredibly weak, plot wise, in the movie, but if they reference it in Silver Chair in that way, they could retroactively make it a bit more meaningful.

[Haids1987]

Sound like anyone you know?  Maybe from the Silver Chair?  Just a little?  This all could be a coincidence, and it probably is.  The mist most likely is just faulty writing.  But if the writers wanted to be clever, they could reference it in Silver Chair as the first attempt by the Queen of the Underland to take over the sunlit lands.

Hmm, interesting theory.  The green mist bothered me a lot, too, and with the points you've made here, you're very correct, they could save that part of the storyline. 

One of the things that made CS Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader so interesting was that it didn't have an enemy.  It wasn't really one of those "good vs. evil" stories like his past works, it was more of a "being comfortable with yourself and God" story.  It was a bit sad to see that there was an actual bad guy created specifically for this movie, since it kind of took away from the symbolism.  Your theory would actually allow me to forgive this error, since it would all eventually tie in with the books.

[Damar]

I agree.  Voyage is all about the journey.  Both the literal one, as well as growing as a person, like Eustace did.  Likewise after the journey Lucy and Edmund are told they've grown too old to return to Narnia.  They need to move on to, and discover, higher things in their own world.  Likewise Caspian grows as a king and finds himself a wife.  And ultimately they discover the end result of life, which is Aslan's country.  It's all about growth and change.  The story doesn't need a villain and I feel like the movie didn't give the audience enough credit to realize that and instead took the easy way out and tried to create an antagonist.  I can understand why they would do that, and feel it's more marketable and that the audience just isn't clever enough.  But really, are they simplifying things because the audience isn't clever, or does simplifying things make for a less clever audience by lowering expectations of what a more complex story is?

[Haids1987]

The story doesn't need a villain and I feel like the movie didn't give the audience enough credit to realize that and instead took the easy way out and tried to create an antagonist.

Yes, totally!  I know that there are quite a lot of people who have read the books and seen the movies and never realized the religious symbolism, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a religious thing.  Like you said, Caspian grows as a king and finds his wife--his is more of a personal journey than a spiritual one.  Most people who don't care about the parallels/don't know about them could accept that, I believe.

[Cez]

I watched part of this while I was waiting for Tron. I was actually liking it! (I didn't really like the first 2)

[Haids1987]

Did you sneak into the theatre?

[Cez]

shhhhh

[writerlove]

I liked the movie. I've liked the previous two as well.  But I don't think they touched on Caspian's journey at all. He simply says at the end, I haven't been as good of a king as I need to be. It seemed random to me. Edmund's was a little better developed but not much. Is all their journeys expanded upon in the book? I would like to read the books now since I enjoy the movies so much. I definitely saw some religious parallels but there's probably more I didn't.

I saw it 3D and thought it looked pretty cool. Especially all the ocean and water effects. But it's a racket how much I paid for two tickets for one movie! (Yeah, it was night price with 3D added on, but still.)

[Haids1987]

I liked the movie. I've liked the previous two as well.  But I don't think they touched on Caspian's journey at all. He simply says at the end, I haven't been as good of a king as I need to be. It seemed random to me. Edmund's was a little better developed but not much. Is all their journeys expanded upon in the book?

Hmmm. Good question. It's been a year or two since I last read the books, but off the top of my head, I can't remember many specifics of Caspian not being "as good of a king as he needs to be." 

The only thing I can think of is how, in the book, Caspian declares that he should be the one to go to Aslan's country and explore the great unknown.  Everyone tries to talk him out of it, but he's insistent and stubborn about it.  When he goes into his room, Aslan appears to him and tells him he can't go, and I think tells him that he's not thinking of his people (by leaving his own country and never coming back) and only thinking of himself.  Maybe that's what they meant by that line, but you're right, it is pretty random.

(Posted on: January 09, 2011, 01:34:47 PM)

Gah!  After a youtube search on VotDT, I found the clip I referenced earlier...the one Aslan says to Lucy and Edmund about going by another name in our world. 

It might be a spoiler if you haven't read the books/seen the movie, so be forewarned.

[dark-daventry]

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[wilco64256]

Really that's the most sensible route to take - out of the remaining books I think Magician's Nephew is the one that really ought to be made into a movie next.

[dark-daventry]

Really that's the most sensible route to take - out of the remaining books I think Magician's Nephew is the one that really ought to be made into a movie next.

Indeed. I admit I haven't read any of the books, but considering that, from what I hear at least, The Magician's Nephew happens chronilogically first, it's almost equivilant to a "reboot", except the difference here is that they already have some fantastic source material to work from. I'm tempted to call it a pseudo reboot.

[KatieHal]

I haven't read the book, or seen the latest Narnia movie yet, but it strikes me that calling it a reboot is a big misnomer from what I can gather. I mean, CS Lewis wrote it himself...it doesn't sound like he used it to rewrite existing books (even if they did come later)...and aren't few if any of the same characters even in the Magician's Nephew story?

[Haids1987]

"Reboot" is definitely not the right word for it.  It's a prequel, and yes, he did write it after he wrote The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but it's not something that he took and revamped.  It explains the origins of Narnia, and tells about Professor Kirke's childhood...plus it tells where a lot of the most important icons and ideas came from.  (i.e: Why do only some of the animals talk, why does the witch think she has free reign over the land, and why the heck is there a lamp post in the middle of the woods? )  In a sense, it would be like how the first three Star Wars movies were made after the last three.

It would be a cool idea for a movie, especially since, as we've discussed, it gets darker and more serious from the rest of the series on out--and people who don't realize/don't care that it's a Christian parallel would be weirded out or bored numb.