Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I have no idea what kind of Narnia fan I am. I only read half the books when I was a kid and out of that I only remember two really well…..so half-fan? Anyways I don’t think I need to be an uber fan to know the last movie, Prince Caspian, was an uber downer. I, along with many, were hoping Dawn Treader would bring back some of the magic from the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

            I don’t know why but the only part I remember of the book is the beginning and how the kiddies get back to Narnia. After watching the scene I now know how I want to go to Narnia. Forget the Wardrobe I want my whole room to fill with water and then be washed away into a painting. More dramatic. And of course Ben Barn*ahem* I mean Prince Caspian fishing you out is also a bonus.

            Actually Prince Caspian was not my favorite character (surprising I know) or Edmund and Lucy but Eustace. The younger siblings have to stay with relatives while the older two are with the parents overseas. Eustace is the cousin who hates anything illogical and fanciful (especially Lucy and Edmund’s stories about Narnia). He is such a brat and remains so throughout most of film but I loved the kid’s humor. He also seemed like the most realistic out of the characters as well. Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and Eustace all had personal challenges that they had to overcome by the end of the film but Eustace’s didn’t feel forced in anyway. I felt as though with the other three the writers were like “well we have to come up with conflict with each of the main characters so we will have some plot”. The point of adding the subplot of having the four face their fears/negative personality traits was to flesh them out but it kinda fell short. Lucy’s storyline was actually really touching until Aslan popped in to explain to audience what’s going on. Uhhh…..thanks. I know they were just trying to give Aslan more air time but I think we got the point.

            Hmmm….I hope I’m not sounding too negative because the movie was good, it just wasn’t great. Most of the add-ins to the plot actually hinder then helped. Anytime there is just “pure evil” it’s hokey to me even in a kid’s movie. I do think kids will enjoy the movie (and parents), there were just many things that could have been polished up. And it achieved being better than Prince Caspian. A key factor was also timing of the release. Many fell in love with Toy Story over the summer and were just wowed by Harry Potter. The standard has been set high over the past few months for kid-center movies.

Consensus: Dawn Treader is good flick to watch in the theater but not a must-see (unless you’re an uber fan).