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silverthunder) wrote2010-12-31 09:36 am
silverthunder) wrote2010-12-31 09:36 am
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Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Last night, Cody and I went to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
It was really good! I was a little apprehensive after seeing Prince Caspian, but they actually went ahead and did a very good job with the adaption on this one! They changed a whole heck of a lot of things about it, but for the most part, those changes made sense to me (in terms of moving from a book to a movie) and were executed well. Nothing like that whole pointless 'attacking the castle' scene that went nowhere in Prince Caspian.
The most notable thing that was changed was the inclusion of an 'evil' force that needed to be defeated. Voyage of the Dawn Treader never had that, because it was a quest, and the objective was achieved by finding the seven missing lords (and bagging Caspian a wife, but that was kind of secondary). That's kind of boring for a movie, particularly one aimed at a younger audience, and so they hammed up the one lone island where the nightmares came to life and made it into the hideout of this evil mist that needed to be defeated by putting a bunch of swords on the stone table at Ramandu's island. Which was a little cheesy, but it worked out well enough. It meant that a couple of kind of useless characters were included, their only purpose being to provide a little drama and a more moving reason for the Dawn Treader to go on besides looking for the missing lords.
I had mixed feelings about this change, but I'll acknowledge that it does provide for a more smashing conclusion. Rather than ending with a peaceful, anti-climactic meeting at Ramandu's island, there is an epic battle with a sea serpant. The three sleeping lords are discovered before they rescue Lord Rhoop from the mist around the Dark Island, and after that battle, there's the meeting with Aslan and the kids go home.
The second most notable thing that changed was Eustace remaining in dragon form for much longer, and having a more resounding redemption sequence. He actually flies along with the ship (unrealistic, since he'd probably be unable to keep flying for as long as the ship is at sea, but this is glossed over) and participates in the final battle before being changed back and saving the day in the end by dealing with that whole sword thing that was never in the book. It was actually pretty fun to watch. He also formed a closer bond with Reepacheep, and I liked that too. Eustace, little prat that he is, was probably the most entertaining character in the movie, just like he was in the book.
Attempts were made to make the characters more compelling. Lucy's desire to be as beautiful as Susan was expanded upon and foreshadowed, so it made sense when it came up. It was also made into a 'just be yourself' moral, and I liked the way it was done. Edmund continues to be haunted by the White Witch and his ill-made choices in the first movie, which I liked because this was never much touched on in the books. There was some minor discontent over always having to be second-in-command (first to Peter, now to Caspian), but it was dealt with pretty easily around that pool with the water that turns everything to gold. Caspian talks a little more about his father. The development isn't exactly brilliant, but they were trying and it didn't annoy me, so I'm more or less happy with it.
There were a bunch of other changes made to the plot. The stop on the first island with the slave traders was shortened by quite a bit (a wise decision, I think) and the islands were visited out of order. The island with the pool that turns things to gold and the island where Eustace turns into a dragon became just one island. Coriander's island was visited before that, and there was no mention of the Dufflepuds having been changed from their original forms. Ramandu didn't even make an appearance on his island - only his daughter.
I'm sure there were more changes that I just can't think of. Like I mentioned earlier, none of the changes annoyed me, and really, most of them just added to my enjoyment of the movie. It was a pretty well-done adaption, in my opinion.
The mention of Jill Pole at the end makes me hopeful that they will make The Silver Chair next. We'll see, I guess.
It was really good! I was a little apprehensive after seeing Prince Caspian, but they actually went ahead and did a very good job with the adaption on this one! They changed a whole heck of a lot of things about it, but for the most part, those changes made sense to me (in terms of moving from a book to a movie) and were executed well. Nothing like that whole pointless 'attacking the castle' scene that went nowhere in Prince Caspian.
The most notable thing that was changed was the inclusion of an 'evil' force that needed to be defeated. Voyage of the Dawn Treader never had that, because it was a quest, and the objective was achieved by finding the seven missing lords (and bagging Caspian a wife, but that was kind of secondary). That's kind of boring for a movie, particularly one aimed at a younger audience, and so they hammed up the one lone island where the nightmares came to life and made it into the hideout of this evil mist that needed to be defeated by putting a bunch of swords on the stone table at Ramandu's island. Which was a little cheesy, but it worked out well enough. It meant that a couple of kind of useless characters were included, their only purpose being to provide a little drama and a more moving reason for the Dawn Treader to go on besides looking for the missing lords.
I had mixed feelings about this change, but I'll acknowledge that it does provide for a more smashing conclusion. Rather than ending with a peaceful, anti-climactic meeting at Ramandu's island, there is an epic battle with a sea serpant. The three sleeping lords are discovered before they rescue Lord Rhoop from the mist around the Dark Island, and after that battle, there's the meeting with Aslan and the kids go home.
The second most notable thing that changed was Eustace remaining in dragon form for much longer, and having a more resounding redemption sequence. He actually flies along with the ship (unrealistic, since he'd probably be unable to keep flying for as long as the ship is at sea, but this is glossed over) and participates in the final battle before being changed back and saving the day in the end by dealing with that whole sword thing that was never in the book. It was actually pretty fun to watch. He also formed a closer bond with Reepacheep, and I liked that too. Eustace, little prat that he is, was probably the most entertaining character in the movie, just like he was in the book.
Attempts were made to make the characters more compelling. Lucy's desire to be as beautiful as Susan was expanded upon and foreshadowed, so it made sense when it came up. It was also made into a 'just be yourself' moral, and I liked the way it was done. Edmund continues to be haunted by the White Witch and his ill-made choices in the first movie, which I liked because this was never much touched on in the books. There was some minor discontent over always having to be second-in-command (first to Peter, now to Caspian), but it was dealt with pretty easily around that pool with the water that turns everything to gold. Caspian talks a little more about his father. The development isn't exactly brilliant, but they were trying and it didn't annoy me, so I'm more or less happy with it.
There were a bunch of other changes made to the plot. The stop on the first island with the slave traders was shortened by quite a bit (a wise decision, I think) and the islands were visited out of order. The island with the pool that turns things to gold and the island where Eustace turns into a dragon became just one island. Coriander's island was visited before that, and there was no mention of the Dufflepuds having been changed from their original forms. Ramandu didn't even make an appearance on his island - only his daughter.
I'm sure there were more changes that I just can't think of. Like I mentioned earlier, none of the changes annoyed me, and really, most of them just added to my enjoyment of the movie. It was a pretty well-done adaption, in my opinion.
The mention of Jill Pole at the end makes me hopeful that they will make The Silver Chair next. We'll see, I guess.