THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER

US, 2010, 115 minutes, Colour.
Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet, Terry Norris, Bruce Spence, Bille Brown, Tilda Swinton, Anna Popplewell, William Moseley.
Voices of: Liam Neeson, Simon Pegg.
Directed by Michael Apted.

Though I willingly went into the cupboard with Lucy in the first of the Narnia film series, I didn't find myself as much at home there as I had expected. Enjoyable, yes. Interesting enough, yes. But, not quite the magic anticipated. And there were the religious symbols, like the God in the noble lion Aslan, blessed still with Liam Neeson's voice, if you wanted to discover them but they were rather more oblique than I was led to believe. This was even more so with Prince Caspian but there was rather less enjoyment, less interest and far fewer religious references. So, I was not greatly anticipating going aboard the Dawn Treader, let alone being washed back through the painting of the ship and the sea into Narnia. Whether it was that the plot was more straightforward, I'm not sure, but I liked this one better.

This episode is geared to the fans of the previous films and presupposes you know who the Pevensie children are and what happened to them previously. Actually, Peter and Susan are now too old to go to Narnia (but appear in a brief fantasy sequence in America when Lucy succumbs to the temptation to be beautiful and to look like Susan only to find that she has been written out of their lives as has Narnia itself). This means that the two protagonists for Dawn Treader are Lucy, who is given a strong screen presence by Georgie Henley, and Edmond (played by Skandar Keynes, the younger brother who had succumbed to the White Witch to accept the temptation to power – and there is a brief repeat temptation this time) who is okay but is not a dominating presence. Actually, Ben Barnes, returning now as King Caspian, is much better and stronger than before.

But, there is a new cousin, Eustace Scrubb (which sounds and equivalent of Hyacinth Buckett). In fact, Eustace (well and obnxiously played by Will Poulter) has aspirations to be your perfectly ordinary, no frills, down-to-earth, wary of imagination and derisive of fantasy young Englishman – well, of those days, anyway. Eustace resents his cousins staying with him during the war and takes every opportunity to complain and whine (young whingeing Pom) in a priggy, piggy way. When he finds that the picture on the wall does have moving water (which he scoffed at) and ends up stranded in the sea, he still resists all belief in Narnia. He particularly dislikes rodent, Reepicheep. Simon Pegg is the elegantly voice of Reepicheep. Eustace is not only a pain in the neck but hampers the mission of the Dawn Treader at every move – until he is transformed into a dragon, which does him no end of good, and he admits at the end that he was a better dragon than a boy. As can be seen, he does provide some drama for the film.

In the meantime, King Caspian and Lucy and Edmond, discover that citizens are being taken as slaves and hidden away in a mysterious cloud dominated by a monstrous power. Seven Lords had tried to do something but had been defeated. The voyagers learn that they must collect the seven swords and place them on Aslan's table. The monster and some darting and swirling by Eustace-dragon bring some action to the climax of the film (the monster seems to have gone to the same make-up artist as Bill Nighy in the Pirate of the Caribbean series).

There are also some difficulties for the main characters as they are subjected to their personal temptations, with Edmond and Caspian building up to a confrontation, and Tilda Swinton looking in briefly as the White Witch. However, Aslan appears to them guiding them to righteousness.

The righteousness themes seem to me to be much more explicit than in the previous films.

This comes to a fine, rather didactic, conclusion to the film where Aslan suggests that God might be the name for him in our world, that he lives in a world beyond but is, nevertheless, present in our world and to us. He enables us to confront temptations, as we have seen for Edmond and Lucy earlier in the film.

Of local interest, the film was made in Queensland (with some photography in New Zealand) and featured some local actors, especially a vigorous Gary Sweet as the Captain of the Dawn Treader.

The film continues the appeal of fantasy on our screens.

1. The popularity of C.S. Lewis’s stories? The fantasy, the religious implications, their meanings?

2. The films and the visualising of Lewis’s stories and themes? The final credits and the artists’ response to Lewis’s stories, the originals?

3. The expectations of this film, for children, adventures, for adults, for fantasy lovers? For those who have experienced Narnia, the children, Caspian, Aslan, Reepicheep? The action, the battles, the characters?

4. The World War Two setting, England, Edmund and his trying to join up? The period, the contrast with Narnia, the children going through the water flowing from the picture, finding the ship? The characters, the sea and landscapes, action, the musical score? The addition of 3D?

5. The title, the ship, at sea, pursuing the seven lords, the discovery of evil, slavery? The adventures of the ship? The final battle, the dragon, the monster?

6. C.S. Lewis and the religious dimensions, Aslan and his final speech, a name to learn in this world, his presence in the world, helping people, opportunities of grace, fighting temptation? The quest for life? Becoming aware of this? Imagination and morals? The fantasy – but returning to the real world?

7. World War Two, London, those joining up, the shops and the streets, the homes, the children boarding with their aunt? Peter and Susan and their being away, in America? Their reappearance in the film through Lucy’s fantasy? Lucy and the house, Eustace and his complaints, his anger? A snob, whingeing?

8. The picture, the water moving, the ship, their going through the water, Eustace’s disbelief, Caspian on the ship, their being saved? Meeting the captain? Reepicheep? The welcome, the voyage? The memories of the past, the battles, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, Prince Caspian and his taking over from his father? This voyage and the mission of peace, the discovery of the slaves, searching for the seven lords, Eustace and his being disagreeable, stealing the food, Reepicheep and the swordfight? His having to come to terms with Narnia?

9. The film with its background of royalty, the presumptions of the superiority of kings and princes…?

10. The discovery of the island, the slaves, the father and the daughter, the separation from the mother, the daughter stowing away? The capture of the crew, in the cells, the children for sale, Eustace for sale? The captain and his bringing the crew to the rescue?

11. The world of magic, spells, Lucy and her finding the book, the visualising of the various spells, her wanting to be beautiful? The creatures on the island, their being unseen, the spell to make them visible, the joke of their being small, standing on each other’s shoulders? The magician and his world, his mansion, the moving maps and his explanations? His sending the group on their quest?

12. The abandoned island, the pit, the treasure, the temptation, Eustace succumbing to it? The nightmares and temptations of each of the central characters, Lucy and her dream of being beautiful, her being written out of the life of her family, Narnia disappearing? Edmund and the white witch, power? Caspian and the rivalry of Edmund?

13. Eustace as a character, stealing, obnoxious, with the gold, becoming a dragon, Aslan and his teaching Eustace a lesson, flying, fighting, having the final sword, putting it on Aslan’s table, becoming a boy again? His own view of what he was like previously, and as a dragon?

14. Aslan’s table, the creature from the star, explaining the possibilities, the seven swords?

15. The getting of the different swords? The dead lords? The lord in the water, turned to gold, their going down the hole and finding the gold? The other lords and their deaths? Eustace as the dragon? His swooping, their fear? Going to the table, the food, their being moved on to continue the quest?

16. Edmund and Caspian, their clash, the rivalry, desperation, Edmund and the witch coming again into his dreams? Aslan and the rescue?

17. The land of evil, the island, the monster? The fight, the destruction of the monster? The rescue of the slave boat, the people emerging from the cloud?

18. Aslan appearing, on the shore, the wave? His explanation of his land, his being in this world? Finding a name for him? Caspian thinking to go to his father, returning? Reepicheep, his nobility, his going into the other land? The children returning to their own homes? Eustace and his apology?

19. The children, at home in London – the effect of the voyage to Narnia, the experience, their future?