Lions with Sledgehammers-Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[Cambo]

Just went to see The Chronicles of NArnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader at the movies. I thought overall it was very good. Exciting, action packed, and the child actors were'nt awful (in fact Lucy and Eustace Scrubbs was pretty damn good.) It was a visual treat, they did the 3D effects really well, especially the water and the evil green mist.

But I left with a sour taste in my mouth, all because of two or three lines right at the very end. Aslan says something like: "I have a different name in your world. You were brought here so that you would know me better over there." At this point, the filmmakers (I don't think it was in Lewis' book) decided to cross the boundary the series has always pushed a little. That is, from glaringly obvious metaphor (acceptable) into sledgehammer polemicism (unacceptable). There are very thinly veiled Christian morals and themes throughout the previous stories, and Dawn Treader is no exception. I don't have a problem with this. I do have a problem with the thematic structure of a movie being: "vanity is bad, temptation should be resisted, greed will backfire on you, lust for power will be punished, the talking lion loves you just as you are, and oh, speaking of him, ASLAN IS JESUS! THE BIG CAT IS THE SON OF GOD! GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND BE GOOD CHRISTIANS!"

This offends my principles in several ways. For one thing, I categorically object to being proselytised at. But the biggest issue, when I thought about it, was that it denies the universality of Lewis' story. When I first read Narnia, I was young and innocent enough for much of the Biblical parallels to fly right over my head. I loved the story for the story. That doesn't mean I was ignorant of the themes. But I was ingorant of them as explicitly Christian themes. Temptation, vanity, greed, power lust, unconditional love...these themes can resonate with anyone, even those ignorant of Christian theology. When I got a bit older and re-read, the metaphors and parallels just about jumped off the page at me. Aslan being martyred and resurrected, hello? That's about as explicit as a metaphor needs to get.

So the story should have been left universal for those young or innocent enough to see it as such. The rest of us, those wise to Lewis' game, are even less likely to appreciate being beaten about the head with the Jesus sledgehammer.

[Menolly]

I am uncertain if Disney plans to make more Narnia movies, since the first four kids are pretty much absent in the rest of the books, IIRC. If they aren't planning on it, it seems they decided to draw a lot from the last book in the series, The Final Battle, where Aslan openly reveals who he is in "our" world.

That's just a guess though. I had read in reviews prior to opening that the film makers decided to go all out regarding the allegory. Only time will tell how the majority who see the film react to it, I guess.

[Cambo]

I think I read something about them making The Silver Chair, at least. That's the one where Eustace takes centre stage, right? It's been so long since I read the books, I can barely remember what happens. Must have blanked out Aslan "coming out" in The Last Battle. My reaction to that is similar to my reaction in the movie. Why ruin a good story by abandoning metaphor?

[Menolly]

Hence Tolkien writing Leaf by Niggle (which two of my Gravin Threndor player characters are named after, btw), when Lewis shared Narnia with their writers group. My understanding is Tolkien despised allegory, but when he read Narnia he decided to show Lewis how it should be done.

[Orlion]

If that's all he does, Aslan is more subtle in the movie than in the book. In the book, he's a lamb and invites the kids to eat honey with him and turns into a lion and says almost word-for-word what he says in the movie. Lewis always used a sledgehammer in the Narnia books,

[Cambo]

Seems I may have edited my recollection of the books. I remember on the first re-read the metaphors seeming very obvious, but don't remember finding them as blatant as the end of the movie. Hmm. May have to re-read again, possibly with the sad result of arriving at a more negative estimation of the books.

Or I could just get over it.

[dANdeLION]

This may belong in the Close as it's more about the religious undercurrents of the Narnia books/films than it is about the films. So don't freak out if I move it there.......that being said, I really enjoyed the movie. I wasn't offended at all, and if you were, then, as the Church Lady says, you're probably going to hell anyway.

[Orlion]

This may belong in the Close as it's more about the religious undercurrents of the Narnia books/films than it is about the films. So don't freak out if I move it there.......that being said, I really enjoyed the movie. I wasn't offended at all, and if you were, then, as the Church Lady says, you're probably going to hell anyway.

What!? How dare you propose such a reasonable course of action!

Now that I've got my tongue out of my cheek, how does it compare to Prince Caspian? I couldn't get through that one...

[dANdeLION]

I didn't see Prince Caspian. I saw this one and the first on in the theater, but missed the second one. I haven't bought any dvd's yet, because I was thinking about waiting for the box set. Anyway, I'll probably borrow my kids' dvd so I can see what I missed.

[Cambo]

I liked Caspian and Dawn Treader, despite my bitching. Dawn Treader was a bit lighter in tone than Prince Caspian, IIRC. It had some good comic moments, and certainly wasn't as dark as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Kind of a romping adventure, everyone learns a lesson, goes home the better for it, etc.

___, I certainly won't be freaking out if you want to move this to the Close. And yes, in the Church lady's estimation I am definitely destined for Hell. I should clarify, though, that it's my literary sensibilities that are offended, not philosophical or religious. I like the underlying themes in any story to remain just that- underlying. I don't appreciate being beaten about the head, even when I agree with the themes.

[Horrim Carabal]

I enjoyed Dawn Treader a lot more than the lackluster Prince Caspian.

The first movie was the best in the series, though.

btw...Disney bailed after Caspian underperformed. Dawn Treader was made without any involvement from the House of Mouse.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

We saw Dawn Treader, as well, and it wasn't overt in its message; it certainly didn't beat anyone over the head with any particular message.

Fortunately, you won't have to worry about any more Narnia movies. After Prince Caspian underperformed and Dawn Treader didn't set any box office records (no one though it would, anyway) they won't make any more movies. As it was, they were making only the books that featured the Pevensie children; now that they have done all the books feature those characters, no one will bother with converting the other books.

[Cagliostro]

That's a pity, as I found several of the books without the Pevensie kids more interesting, and was looking forward to those.

[Orlion]

I'm fine with it... no one could ever top Tom Baker as Puddleglum

[Cagliostro]

What a coincidence! I had a Puddleglum in the bathroom over my lunchbreak. Although we may not be discussing the same thing.

[Cambo]

I think it's a shame. One of the things I enjoyed about the books was how the main viewpoint shifted every couple of novels. And The Silver Chair is one of my favourites.

Again, I really did enjoy all three of the movies they made. Maybe five minutes at the end of Dawn Treader left me with a bit of a gripe, that's all.