"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb..."

[owlmoose]

The trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been out for several days at least, but somehow I missed it until now.

This is one of my favorite books in the series, and the one I've been most looking forward to seeing as a movie. And there are some things that look promising. But I have some questions. Who is the glowing white girl? Is she supposed to be the star's daughter? If she is, why is she making dramatic pronouncements and then shooting up into the sky? She was barely a presence in the books. Also, what's up with all these references to war? One of the things I always liked about Dawn Treader was the episodic nature of it, and that it was less about Narnia in peril and more about exploring the world and discovering its wonders. Last, but most definitely not least, I am really concerned about the appearance of Susan and Peter, because making that work would require so much contortion to the original story as to render it unrecognizable.

So, I will approach this one with caution. I expect I'll see it, unless it reviews really terribly, but I will keep my expectations low. (Which worked last time, so it seems a reasonable course of action.) But it's still disappointing; I pretty much loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I'd hoped that the rest of the series would live up to that standard. On the other hand, I had serious reservations about the trailer for LWW, too. So we shall see.

Comments

[imadra_blue]

Yay! Another fan of THHB! :D :D :D

And I think it could make an awesome movie, although they'd have to be really careful because there are some very problematic race issues in the original text.

Oh, yes. I never saw it as a wee thing, but now that I'm older, rereading that book does make me wince and feel a bit embarrassed. But if they update it and freshen it, and tweak a few things, it might be all right. I am depressed about the prospects of seeing the rest of the franchise onscreen, too, which is sad. The later works were just as good as the early ones. Prince Caspian was always my least favorite of the series, so I'm hoping it's just a bump in the road. But likely... this will be it.

Ah, I'm the same way as you about LotR! That's so rare! I like the movies much better myself. And my favorite book and movie is the first one. Most people turn their noses up at me, but I thought the films breathed life into Tolkien's universe in ways he couldn't.

[owlmoose]

The story was a lot tighter in the LotR movies, too, even given how long they all were.

I liked "Caspian" as a book, but I think it's easily the least cinematic of the books, because so much of it is politicking and backstory. So I can forgive them, a little, for making a mediocre movie out of it. "Dawn Treader", however, is *highly* cinematic, so they have no excuse for screwing it up. ;)

[imadra_blue]

Oh, yes. They condensed the sotry better, though I still think the 23 different endings of RotK, even on film, were excessive and indulgent. XD

I liked Prince Caspian pretty well, too--it was just my least favorite overall. I agree that it s hard to turn it into good cinema. Dawn Treader might serve them better, and hopefully they'll keep that adventurous, episodic feel to it!