The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Last night our church youth and families went to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the latest Narnia movie. I had visited with my cousin's daughter-in-law that afternoon and we agreed that Dawn Treader is our favorite Narnia book, and we were concerned about how the movie would treat it. I sent her a note on Facebook last night - "it's a good movie as long as you don't expect it to be the Voyage of the Dawn Treader!"

As with Prince Caspian, the best parts of the movie aren't in the book, and the best parts of the book aren't in the movie. No spoilers here - I won't mention the good parts of the movie, but be assured that there are some great moments and the overall message is good. But my favorite part of the book is the Dufflepud sequence, and it's terribly shortchanged here. So for those who will see the movie but haven't read the book, READ THE BOOK! The movie has more swashbuckling adventure, but the book has many more of those homey moments where we can recognize ourselves. I don't know about you, but I don't get in a lot of sword fights or have temptations to be king of the world. Judging others for their momentary weaknesses and wanting to know and control the future are more my style, which is where the book helps us. However, most females will be able to relate to Lucy's main struggle in the movie, and it's resolved well. And the Eustace character is an excellent actor!

If you're wondering whether to see the movie, I thought it was great. If your child is freaked out by sinister or creepy things, he/she should wait a while. From a Christian perspective, I think Aslan is portrayed accurately enough that even unbelievers will recognize the name he goes by in this world, and will want to get to know him better. Although again, he doesn't come into the story nearly as much in the movie as he does in the book.

Overall, a thumbs up for the movie as a movie, and thumbs down as an adaptation.