Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

"You know, extraordinary things happen to extraordinary people."

A year after their last adventure in Narnia, Edmund (Keynes) and Lucy (Henley) Pevensie are living with relatives, while their parents and siblings get settled in America.  Their cousin, Eustace (Poulter) is horrible and they are miserable.  While arguing with Eustace, they notice a painting of a ship on the ocean, and the waves come to life, spilling water into the room.  Soon the room is filled with water, and as they swim for the surface, they are in Narnia with a great ship heading towards them.

The ship is called The Dawn Treader, and is captained by Caspian (Barnes), now King of Narnia.  Caspian and his crew, including Reepicheep (Pegg), are seeking 7 Lords of Telmar who have been missing for many years.  The Lords were loyal to Caspian's father, and fled when his uncle tried to kill them.  The Lords were last seen sailing toward the Lone Islands.  Many adventures await, but can the crew withstand the evil permeating from their destination?


Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the 5th of 7 novels in C.S. Lewis' series... it is also my 2nd favorite novel in the series (finishing behind Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).  For that reason, I was excited to see this film (although I was unable to see it in theaters).

The film was heavy on the CGI, as most of the events of the book would be difficult to adequately replicate.  Thankfully the CGI in the film is better than the previous 2 films.  The series also acquired a new director, Michael Apted.  While previous director, Andrew Adamson, did well... Apted brings a new energy to the film / series.

Simon Pegg is a good Reepicheep.  I liked Eddie Izzard in Prince Caspian, but I don't mind the change.  This is the first film to only feature 2 of the 4 Pevensie children.  All 4 make an appearance, but the story focuses on Lucy and Edmund.  Eustace is not a likeable character, but Will Poulter transforms the character and eventually brings you to his side.  A good film... hopefully good enough for Waldner to secure funding to make the rest of the Narnia films (not sure which will be next).

Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) 113 minutes
Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie
Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie
Ben Barnes as King Caspian
Will Poulter as Eustace Clarence Scrubb
Simon Pegg as Reepicheep