“Voyage of the Dawn Treader” fails to make good use of its source material by adding nonsensical plot elements, but it still provides a charming, entertaining movie saved by the imaginative characters.
Edmund and Lucky Pevensie (Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley) and their cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) are whisked off to Narnia and join the crew of Caspain (Ben Barnes) and the Dawn Treader.
The journey starts as a search to find the seven lords of Narnia that escaped during Miraz’s reign (the bad guy of “Prince Caspian”). However, a green mist is descending upon Narnia and the goal of the voyage is changed. They must now find the swords of the seven Narnia lords and lay them at Aslan’s table to stop the mist from destroying Narnia.
The movie is based on a book in the series by C.S. Lewis, apparently I read a different “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”. In the book Caspian is trying to find the seven Narnia lords, but it’s easy to see why it changed from “lords” to “swords” a simple typo probably caused an entire plot change. This plot alteration not only makes absolutely no sense, but there was no need for it, the plot in the book was fine and easily transferable on to screen. This proves how much damage changing two letters can do to a fantastic story.
As already explained the swords need to be found to stop the mist, but the mist is never fully explained to the audience. It’s called a “temptation” and “pure evil” but it never explains just exactly what “it” is, where it came from, why it came, and what will happen if “it” is not destroyed.
The mist also brings new characters (not in the book), Rhince (Arthur Angel) and Gael (Arabella Morton) a father and his daughter trying to find his wife that was disappeared in the mist. However, these characters are undeveloped; audiences don’t know that much about them and therefore don’t develop much sympathy for them. They are also not given sufficient screen time to make their characters important enough, so it is questionable why they are even in the movie.
The plot additions also make the voyage speed up, which offsets the time lapse. The plot fast forwards to the islands to get to the action, then the plot moves on leaving hardly any in-between time. It also feels like the action on each island is resolved too quickly. The sequence of events compared to the book was also switched and swopped so dramatically hardly any of the events are in tune with the book, sometimes making it hard to follow.
However, there is good news for “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, those unfamiliar with the books will smell nothing foul other than the never explained green mist. Those audiences will thoroughly enjoy the action (which is not in the slightest bit “kid friendly”) and the characters.
The cast of character which includes Lucy and Edmund are still the same Lucy and Edmund that audiences loved in “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”. Caspian also returns as King of Narnia and he also has the same personality as he did in “Prince Caspian”, making it feel as if these are the same people and nothing has changed since their last Narnian adventure.
Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg) the mouse which in “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” proves to be even more likeable than when audiences first met him in “Prince Caspian”. He encourages people and is full of faith and courage. He also gives the audiences a lot to laugh at. Reepicheep provides the strongest performance and character.
One new comer for audiences is Eustace. Eustace is the kid that no one, not even his cousins, want to be stuck with. He is a whiny, selfish, know-it-all that keeps a diary of all his complaints. However, a certain circumstance occurs that changes his demeanor forever and gives the audience a good dynamic character to root for.
“Voyage of the Dawn Treader” also contains sweeping cinematography (Dante Spinotti) and a powerful score (David Arnold). The special effects (Brian Cox and Angus Bickerton) are also impressive of all the Narnia creatures and magic. Another element that helps the magic of Narnia is the hair and make-up (Isis Mussenden) that create real-looking characters like the Minotaurs and the Fauns.
Compared to the book “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” barely measures up to book fans’ expectations. However, they will be pleased that the key themes remain in the movie. As a movie by itself “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” gives audiences a story filled with adventure, magic and unforgettable characters, despite the unsolved plot holes.
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