‘The Dawn Treader’ Dodges A Bullet

The filming of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is not only finished, but apparently it’s had its first viewing.

A number of pastors, leaders, and Narnia fans have seen a rough cut, and it’s getting good reviews so far. There seems to have been a concerted effort to work on a faithful adaptation, and Christianity Today reports that the filmmakers claim to have learned from previous mistakes, such as those made in Prince Caspian.

“We made some mistakes with Prince Caspian, and I don’t want to make them again,” said Mark Johnson, a producer on all of the Narnia films. He said Caspian lacked some of the “wonder and magic of Narnia,” was “a little bit too rough” for families, and too much of a “boys’ action movie.” He said it’s “very important” that filmmakers regain that magic for Dawn Treader, now in the editing stages—and he’s convinced they’ve found it: “I want to climb on the rooftops and say we have a wonderful Narnia movie.”

This sounds good to me. I thought some of the aspects of the Caspian movie were rather forced, including the attempts to add conflict between the brothers and a romance between the Prince and Susan. And even if pastors and most fans aren’t film professionals, this is some good news. Still, it doesn’t hurt to remember that letting pastors and the like see a rough cut of the film does give the Fox/Walden more free PR. I’m sure that pleasing fans was a desire, but then making sure to generate positive word-of-mouth months in advance also has its upsides.

However, this report could signal a disaster narrowly averted (spoiler alert for those who haven’t read the books):

[Another scene they got right was] The “un-dragoning” of Eustace, which many consider the highlight of the story. (In the book, the selfish boy Eustace turns into a dragon due to his greed; it is only through confession and penitence, and the Christ figure Aslan’s help, that he is able to shed the dragon skin and become human again.) Keller says she learned that writers originally wanted Eustace, still in dragon form, to fight a sea monster and “earn” his return to human form. But she says Flaherty, a committed Christian, “put them straight that you don’t earn grace, you receive it once you are humbled and aware of your need.”

I’m trying to imagine a Narnia where the motto is “Aslan helps those who help themselves.” I doubt this would go over with people who think this is one of the best moments in the series.

Hopefully all of this does indicate that the filmmakers have indeed learned from previous mistakes and are committed to a faithful adaptation.