The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Warning: Big spoilers ahead.

Okay. So I'm still trying to sort out my feelings here (I'm writing this Friday night after seeing the movie-it will be posted Saturday morning). Forgive me if all of this is very disjointed and confusing. :)

First, let me say that I am not one of those people who can separate book from movie very well. At least, not when the movie first comes out. After I've seen it three or four times, maybe. But I accept this, because I'm a big book nerd. Books like the Narnia series are such a part of me that I feel cheated when they're altered.

I loved "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." (We saw it in 2D, by the way. I hate 3D.) I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed about it now, so if I come across as negative, know I don't mean to be. I want all of you guys to go out and support this lovely movie, because if this one flops, there won't be any more Narnia movies. And I don't know about you, but I really want to see "The Silver Chair" and "The Last Battle" (the other books as well, but these especially) on the screen.

This is my main issue with the Narnia movies, or at least PC and VDT: I feel like they are a little too "dumbed down." We all know that the books and movies are considered to be for children. But C.S. Lewis did not believe in writing down to children. He was a genius, and he wrote cleverly, even for kids. It seems to me that the movie-makers feel a need to dumb down and modernize the stories for today's audiences. And that's not necessary! Also, they don't need to make every single Narnia movie into a "we've got to save Narnia!" thing. LWW and PC are meant to be like that- this one is not. This is just an adventure story.

A tiny bit more negative until I move into the positive. I hated the green mist thing. I didn't mind the seven swords at Aslan's table part. But the green mist, taking the boatloads of sacrifices? It was like the smoke monster from Lost, only in a different color. I found the mist thing so cheesy and uncalled for. And why on earth did they have to make Edmund such a jerk at the beginning? It was Peter in PC all over again. "I'm a king/I deserve to rule, etc." Also, this is minor, but I didn't like the way they reordered the islands so much. That's all. :)

The whole temptation/defeating the darkness in yourself theme was good (if slightly overdone thanks to the *cough*green mist*cough*). Very good. The acting was also good. I am so glad that they ditched Caspian's artificial accent. Good, grief. Lucy and Eustace were the best, by far.

Eustace was perfect. Seriously, I can't think of one single part when he wasn't Eustacey. It was amazing. And I find it incredible that they can make you feel so much sympathy for a dragon. Who used to be such an obnoxious brat :)

Also perfect: the "Island of the Voices," as it's called in the book. Despite the slight changes, I loved it! *chorus of agreeing voices in the background* :) Coriakin was a little off. But the rest of it, including all of the trimmed hedges and bushes and the gorgeous mansion, made up for that.

The whole sea serpent thing was definitely the tensest scene in the entire movie. I was bracing myself, with my arms crossed and practically clutching each other. When I realized what I was doing, I almost laughed because I was so into it. The sea serpent was majorly creepy. I didn't even mind so much that they put him on the Dark Island.

The end scene was incredible. The best lines from Aslan were kept exactly the same, which is the most bluntly spiritual/Christian part of the movie. With all of the goodbyes, it was just heartbreaking.

So, all in all, I loved the movie. Honestly, I did. I'm just a little disgruntled with some of the changes. I can't wait to see it again- I'm usually a lot less critical the second time around. I don't know why I torture myself by reading the book just before the movie comes out. And in this case, I was finishing the book in the car about 20 minutes before the movie began. Maybe not the best idea. Anyway, go see the movie! Support it, if at all possible, to keep the series going. It's the least you can do for Narnia. :)

Until next time,