Voyage of the Dawn Treader

"There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it."

That is the opening line from C.S. Lewis's book, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and it fits the character of Eustace quite well.  The movie was just released yesterday, and during the first showing around midday yesterday, I was at the theater ready to watch it.  Thankfully, I was very pleased with the movie.  It did not let me down like Prince Caspian had done a couple years ago.  While there were changes to the main story line, the key scenes from the book and the main themes were left in the movie.  One of the biggest differences between the book and the film was the ordering of the events.  Since Lewis wrote the book in a very episodic format, casually hopping from island to island across the Narnian sees, this would not translate well into the movie.  So the producers had to reorganize the scenes in order to make the storyline flow better on the big screen.

I for one did not have a problem with this reorganization.  While minor things were changed in the process, the movie still held true to the book.  Eustace was a pain from the start, and it was not until later in the movie that Narnia changed him into a much better person.  He also kept his diary, showing his skepticism of the whole adventure, which is true to the book.  He and Reepicheep did not get along, and Reepicheep exhibited his great faith that there was something at the edge of the sea at Aslan's country.  Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace all faced their temptations and showed how we are to overcome them.  While there was a mysterious power out on the sea, Narnia itself was in a time of peace, which allowed Caspian to set sail in search of the 7 lost lords.

One of the major additions to the movie was the quest for their swords as well.  While this is not in the book, I felt it was a great addition as it helped tie their various journeys and encounters on the different islands together in a more cohesive way.  They had a mission and a reason to get to Aslan's table.  Another addition was Edmund's temptation with the White Witch.  While Edmund did face his temptation of greed (which Lewis placed in the book), he also had to face the White Witch again, but not in the way you might think.

For those of you have read the book, I really do think you will love this movie.  Understand that it is not a word-for-word interpretation of the book.  But if you are looking for the salve traders, the dragon, the gold water lake, the magical book, the dufflepuds, Aslan's table, and the trip to Aslan's country, it is all there!  If you are looking for the spiritual elements: the struggles with temptation and the importance of having faith in God, they are there as well.  Aslan is amazing in this movie, and the closing scenes are very moving!

Finally, for all you avid Narnia fans, if you have also read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair, which would be the next book, you get a little taste of it at the end of this movie.  I will not spoil the surprise, for this comes from a scene that is not in the book.  But when Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace return to Eustace's home, be sure to listen carefully to his mother.  Like the movies before it, this movie prepares you for the next one, but you will have to see the movie to figure out how.

So go out and support this movie.  While I still like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the best, and mainly because it is closest to the book, this movie now takes second place.  It is far better than Prince Caspian.  However, if I were to judge these movies on the visual aspects and the special effects, the 3D carries this movie far past the other two.  I hope you all find the time to check this movie out before it leaves theaters, and hopefully in a few years we will be heading out to see the next one.

So that is all until... The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair.

Matt