Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

The latest installment of the Narnia Chronicles has finally  hit the big screen and in true Narnian fashion it is another journey into the fantastical, blending the wildest of imaginings with just enough morale to be secretly believed.  Adults and children alike will fall in love with this relate-able fairytale from the wondrous mind of C.S Lewis. Fraught with very real dangers including a sea serpent, mysterious abductions by ‘The Mist’ and a voyage into uncharted waters, our leading characters must also deal with their inner deamons to overcome the struggle with fear and save the day. Themes for these are what make the story so real to the viewer; Lucy (Georgie Henley) and her inferiority complex over sister Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and his need to be top dog instead of second best and the lovable hunk Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) who feels the need to step up and fill his absent fathers shoes, must all learn to be themselves before they can be the saviors of their beloved Narnia.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader also has some more juicy twists in store for us, putting Peter (William Moseley) and Susan on the backburner and giving the younger Pevensie siblings a free reign at center stage. Well, not quite. Joining the two majestic monarchs in Narnia is cousin Eustace Scrubb played by Will Poulter (Son of Rambow, 2009 TV Series School of Comedy) to utter comedic perfection. Anyone with a stroppy child or annoying relative will be roaring with laughter at Scrubb’s misfortune at being landed in Narnia with his “crazy cousins”, however, like in all good family flicks he has us won over by the end; grinning like children at Christmas.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader seems very grown up in comparison to the previous two, with it being  more driven by the children and less by Aslan (Liam Neeson) or prophecy. Here Lucy, Edmund and Caspian must become people in their own right and can no longer rely on anyone else to bail them out. Of course there is the element of team work, magic and a bit of help from the odd friend along the way, but which Odyssey is undertaken by one man alone? All in all, a good sunday night family adventure complete with resplendent dragon, minotaur and our favorite pint sized warrior – voiced by Simon Pegg – Reepicheep!