Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Voyage of the Dawn Treader was never going to be an easy book to translate to film. It is a book that doesn’t have a lot going on – though it is a great book- so I was always interested in how it was going to follow the other two films…

Narnia Chronicles’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader was never going to be an easy book to translate to film. It is a book that doesn’t have a lot going on – though it is a great book- so I was always interested in how it was going to follow the other two films.

Due to scheduling conflicts (i.e. – a very busy teenage life) our resident Narnia expert was not able to accompany me to the review this film. I then had to fall back to my second – my 11 year old son. He wasn’t too keen to come – having loved the first film, he found the second a bit boring. My kids are a little fussy when it comes to films – I often think it is due to the sheer breadth of things they have seen over the years. They simply don’t suffer bad storytelling. So he wasn’t really keen to come. He is at that difficult age where he can’t really see the big budget things that 11 year old boys would like (Transformers et al), and is a bit too grown up (in his mind anyway) for the Disney animated features.

The story is somewhat changed from the book (fancy that). Susan and Peter are missing from this book/film (except for a brief dream sequence) as they can never return to Narnia. So that leaves Lucy and Edmund to be the main characters in this story. They are joined this time by their particularly repulsive cousin Eustace Stubbs who manages to have all the best lines.

All the usual suspects are present with Aslan, Reepicheep, and Caspian playing major roles. Interestingly the voice of Reepicheep is no longer done by the brilliant British comic genius Eddie Izzard– he has been replaced by the equally fabulous Simon Pegg who plays it quite straight. The character is not quite as funny as the second film.

This story is about the journey of Lucy, Edmund and Eustace with the help of Prince Caspian. Along the way Eustace is taught a hard lesson in humility and friendship with the help of Reepicheep, and it is this storyline that is pretty much the heart of the film.

Edmund is tested by the White Witch (who isn’t even in the book) and you would have hoped that he had learnt from his past experiences with her now that he is more grown up. Lucy learns about what is really important and the true meaning of beauty.

The 3D special effects are great, the acting not so much, the storyline has had some massive liberties taken with it but overall it is a good family film as it is just a swashbuckling adventure!

Don’t take a raving Lewis fan to it – they might be a little distraught with the changes, but that said, my hard to please eleven year old loved it! But then there is both a giant sailor-eating, boat-crushing sea serpent and a dragon in the film. What is not to love when you are 11?! That bit might be a little difficult for those under 6 to deal with though.

This really is a swashbuckling adventure film – while the book is a lot more character driven. See it as that and you will enjoy it. Perfect for the summer holiday family viewing.

By Anya Brighouse, 16 December 2010.