Book to Movie: A Return to Narnia

Though The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opened in theaters last week, I didn't have the opportunity to see it until today. I sat down with mixed feelings, one part of me excited because...well, it's Narnia...and the other part nervous because of negative reviews. But I had to see for myself, of course, and, frankly, the first two were wonderful.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was fantastic, and, though Prince Caspian deviated from C.S. Lewis' original masterpiece, it was still an exciting sequel. And, I knew, that even if The Voyage of the Dawn Treader moved away from the book, it would still be good too.

There were, of course, things I liked and things I didn't like about the movie. First of all, the 3D is really a rip-off. Unneeded, and, perhaps, not as good as plain 'ol 2D that we're used too. Aside from that, Prince Caspian's accent change was ridiculous. No, I didn't particularly like his inital accent in Prince Caspian, but a sudden switch to a British accent seemed strange. Maybe he just became more "refined" as King of Narnia. Also, Carrie Underwood's song as the credits roll, something about how we can be kings and queens "if we just believe." Well, they just threw C.S. Lewis out the window with that.



my version of the book



So, I have one paragraph of complaints. But, I could devote many more to praises. Though some things are changed from the book, I still feel that the original meaning is the same. The last scene with Aslan, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace at the edge of Aslan's country nearly brought me to tears. Eustace's change, though not as elaborant as in the book, is wonderful. Reepicheep's face time (though his voice has changed, too) is marvelous. If anything, perhaps the movie can draw people in to read the real thing.

I still like the book best, and maybe that is just because of C.S. Lewis' wonderful writing style and the unadapted allegory of Christianity. I know the movies have been tamed down because of that, but, the Truth is the Truth. Hopefully some can, as Aslan so cleverly says at the end of the book, after he tells the children they must return to their own world, "This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." And that is why I love The Chronicles of Narnia so much.