The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Encyclopedia
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
, the third novel in C. S. Lewis
's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia
(and fifth in internal chronological order). It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series
from Walden Media
. Unlike the earlier two films, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox
and the first to be released in Digital 3D
.
The film is set three Narnian years after the events of Prince Caspian
. The two youngest Pevensie siblings, Edmund
(Skandar Keynes
) and Lucy
(Georgie Henley
), are transported back to Narnia along with their cousin Eustace Scrubb
(Will Poulter
). They join the new king of Narnia, Caspian
(Ben Barnes
), in his quest to rescue seven lost lords and to save Narnia from a corrupting evil that resides on a dark island. Each character is tested as they journey to the home of the great lion Aslan
at the far end of the world.
Development on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader began in 2007, while Prince Caspian was still in production. Filming was supposed to take place in Malta
, Czech Republic
and Iceland
in 2008 with Michael Apted
as its new director, for a planned release in 2009. But production was halted after a budgetary dispute between Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures
concerning Prince Caspians performance, resulting in Disney's departing the production and being replaced by 20th Century Fox
. Filming later took place in Australia
and New Zealand
in 2009 and was converted into 3D in 2010. It was released in traditional 2D, RealD 3D, and Digital 3D
, and a limited release in 4D
.
The film premiered on November 30, 2010, at a Royal Film Performance
in London and was released worldwide on December 10, 2010 and was commercially successful but met with mixed reviews praising the performances and visual effects but criticizing the script and pace. The film received moderate success in North America with a gross of $104 million, which was lower than its predecessors. However, it fared better than Prince Caspian internationally with $310 million. The film was the 12th highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide with nearly $415 million and received a nomination at the 68th Golden Globe Awards
. It then became 20th Century Fox's highest-grossing film in 2010. The Magician's Nephew
was to be the fourth entry to the series, but in fall 2011 Walden Media
's contract with the C.S. Lewis Estate expired, meaning another Narnia film is on hold indefinitely.
, Lucy
and Edmund Pevensie
are staying with their irritating and bullying cousin Eustace Scrubb
. When water pours from a painting of a ship on the ocean hanging in Lucy's bedroom, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace are transported into an ocean in Narnia
.
They are rescued by Caspian
and Reepicheep
, and taken aboard the Dawn Treader
, the ship featured on the painting. Caspian invites them on a voyage to rescue the seven Lords of Narnia whom his uncle Miraz
banished.
They first visit the Lone Islands, where people are sold as slaves. Caspian and Edmund are captured and imprisoned while Lucy and Eustace were sold as slaves. Caspian meets one of the lost lords, who reveals that the slaves who are not sold, are sacrificed to a mysterious green mist. The Dawn Treader crew rescues them, battles the slave traders and reclaims the Lone Islands. The lord, who becomes the new governor, gives Caspian a sword originally given by Aslan from the Golden age.
At another island Lucy is abducted by invisible Dufflepuds who force her to enter the manor of Coriakin
, a magician. Lucy finds a book of incantations and recites a visibility spell after discovering different incantations such as beauty and snow. They later meet Coriakin who encourages them to defeat the mist by laying seven swords at Aslan's Table, but warns them that they are all about to be tested. While journeying, Lucy casts the beauty incantation, entering a dream in which she has transformed into Susan. She finds herself with Edmund and Peter and finds that neither Lucy nor Narnia exist. Aslan reveals himself to Lucy and explains the consequences of self-doubt and that her siblings only know of Narnia because of her.
They later visit a volcanic island. Edmund, Lucy and Caspian recover another sword from within a magical pool that turns anything that enters it into gold, and has turned one of the lost lords into gold as well. Edmund feels that this pool holds the key to limitless wealth, and he and Caspian argue about it before Lucy stops them. Meanwhile, Eustace discovers and steals some treasure, and finds the skeleton of another lord who perished on the island. While Edmund and Caspian look for him, a dragon
approaches and is driven away from the Dawn Treader. The dragon turns out to be Eustace, who has been transformed by the enchanted treasure after succumbing to its temptations. Reepicheep later tries to amend the situation and befriends Eustace.
Then they later arrive at Aslan's Table with three lost lords asleep around it. As they place the swords on the table they realize one is still missing. The star descends from the sky and turns into Lilliandil
, a beautiful woman who guides them to the Dark Island, lair of the mist. The crew voyages to the island and discovers the last surviving Lord. He warns them not to think of their fears but Edmund fails, his fear manifesting as a monstrous sea serpent
that attacks the ship. In the following fight between Eustace and the serpent, the last sword is thrown at Eustace, stabbing him. Wounded, Eustace flies away, landing on a sandy island and encountering Aslan, who transforms him back into a boy and sends him to Ramandu's island with the last sword. The mist tries distracting Edmund by appearing as Jadis
, the White Witch. Eustace overcomes the mist and puts the sword on the table, awaking the three sleeping lords and destroying the mist and the Dark Island; Edmund slays the sea serpent and they rescue the sacrificed people.
Eustace rejoins Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Reepicheep and they sail to a sea covered in lilies, eventually finding a shore before a massive wave. Aslan appears to them and tells them that his country
lies beyond, although if they go they may never return. Caspian refuses, acknowledging that he still has duties and responsibilities as Narnia's king, but Reepicheep reveals that it has been his intention to enter, and Aslan blesses him before he paddles above the wave. Aslan opens a portal in the wave to send Lucy, Edmund and Eustace home, telling them that Lucy and Edmund have grown up and will never return to Narnia. Aslan encourages them to know him in their world by another name
, and tells Eustace that he may return (having changed his ways throughout his journey). Edmund and Lucy bid farewell to Caspian and Aslan before entering the portal with Eustace. The three are returned to the bedroom as the ship disappears behind the waves where Eustace is called by his mother saying he has a visitor, Jill Pole
.
took over as the film's director from Andrew Adamson
, who opted to produce, with Mark Johnson
, Perry Moore
, and Douglas Gresham
. Steven Knight
wrote the script following a draft by Christopher Markus
and Stephen McFeely
. Richard Taylor, Isis Mussenden, and Howard Berger continued their roles working on the production design and practical effects, while visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel
, composer David Arnold
, and cinematographer Dante Spinotti
are newcomers to the series. The film was officially budgeted at $140 million, although some estimates put the cost at $155 million.
When Apted signed on to direct The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in June 2007, filming was set to begin in January 2008 for a May 1, 2009 release date. Shooting would have begun in Malta
, and then moved to Prague
and Iceland
. A few months later, Disney announced that "in consideration of the challenging schedules for [its] young actors", they were delaying the release date to May 7, 2010, and filming was moved to October 2008. Johnson rescheduled the shoot to Playas de Rosarito, Baja California (Mexico
), where two-thirds of the film would be shot at the water tank that was used for Titanic
and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
. Filming was also scheduled for Australia. Disney and Walden eventually grew concerned over safety in Mexico, and Australian officials at Warner Roadshow Studios
in Queensland
offered to become the project's base for the whole shoot.
Disney announced on December 24, 2008, that it would no longer co-produce the film. Disney and Walden disputed over the budget after the box office performance of Prince Caspian
grossed far less than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
; Disney wanted to limit it to $100 million, whereas Walden wanted a $140 million budget, of which Disney would only need to provide half. Another reason why Disney opted not to produce the film was because they feared the budget would only grow during filming and post-production. The Los Angeles Times
also reported "creative differences" led to the split. Times columnist Mary McNamara noted that Disney leaving the series could be a mistake, because Voyage is the most popular Narnia book, while Caspian was the series' least popular and did not create the anticipation surrounding the first film. Walden had to find a new distributor for the film. Several other studios, including Sony
's Columbia Pictures
, Paramount Pictures
, Warner Bros.
, and 20th Century Fox
were in negotiations to distribute the film, although several markets already predicted that Fox would take over.
It was announced in January 2009 that 20th Century Fox
would replace Walt Disney Pictures
as the distributor while Disney would still retain the rights for the first two. Fox had pursued the Narnia film rights in 2001 and distributed various other Walden projects. Producer Mark Johnson admitted that "we made some mistakes with Prince Caspian and I don't want to make them again." He said it was "very important" that filmmakers regain the magic for Dawn Treader.
was hired to rewrite the script with Christopher Markus
and Stephen McFeely
, following a draft written by Richard LaGravenese
and Steven Knight
. The previous two films have been described as remaining more faithful to the original stories than the third installment. Apted noted the episodic and disconnected nature of the story would need to be revised for a film version, such as the material involving the Dark Island, the Sea Serpent, and Eustace. They even discussed combining The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with The Silver Chair
, much as the BBC combined Dawn Treader and Prince Caspian in its television serial. As a result, some elements were borrowed from The Silver Chair, where Narnians are held hostage and rescued. The author's estate did not initially receive the change well, but it gained favor after review.
Eustace has a greater role as a dragon in the film such as not only allowed to proceed with the ship to the next islands in that state, but also proves a valuable asset for the crew for the remainder of the voyage. This is so he could take a major part in the action and not merely do expedition work duty as in the book. The book's stream of consciousness description about Eustace gradually realizing that he had become a dragon while sleeping is effective as text, but it could not easily be translated onto film. Further, a noted passage from the book where Aslan peels Eustace's dragon skin off in layers is not used. Walden President Micheal Flaherty remarked about it that "people don't earn grace; they receive it once they are humbled and aware of their need." The old dragon which Eustace finds, and sees it die of old age, in the valley in the book, is not used in the film.
, Australia. Filming took place at Warner Roadshow Studios
in August and September 2009, with filming of exterior shots on board the ship at Cleveland Point
and the Gold Coast Seaway
in September 2009. Apted stated that fellow directors Gore Verbinski
and Peter Weir
recommended him not to shoot on water, so they built a giant Dawn Treader on a gimbal
at, which allowed it to rock and shift as if on the high seas. At the extreme end of the town's peninsula, jutting into Moreton Bay
, the 145 tonne boat could be rotated through 360 degrees to keep the sun angles consistent. Additional shots were taken at the Southport School, also located on the Gold Coast. It was also filmed at White Island in New Zealand.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10617842
, who supervised the effects on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, worked as the senior visual effects supervisor. British visual effects companies the Moving Picture Company
, Framestore CFC
, and The Senate VFX were hired to create the visual effects alongside Cinesite
and The Mill
. Moving Picture worked on the dragon Eustace and the Dawn Treader. They say the dragon is "amongst the most heroic characters ever created, and is scheduled to be featured in around 200 shots of the movie." They also revised Reepicheep from the previous film by saturating his color, giving him bushier eyebrows and ear hair, and made his whiskers a little more wiry just to give him a sense of age. Framestore also revised Aslan
, changing his color palette to be a more realistic lion than a golden lion and adding a darker mane; they also created 16 different dufflepuds to replace Jonathan Fawkner Angus Bickerton running around first as dufflepuds on the set; The Senate worked on the opening shot of King's College, Cambridge
, as well as the star effect on Liliandil at Ramandu's Island; Cinesite worked on the Dark Island, and Fugitive Studios did the end titles and credits, which featured original drawings created by Pauline Baynes
for the Narnia books. These illustrations were included because the film's creators wanted the credits to have visual interest, and also because they wished to include an acknowledgement to Pauline Baynes, who died in August 2008. Richard Taylor revealed that Weta Workshop
created new set pieces for the film and reused the ones created for The Lion, The Witch, the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, such as Lucy's Cordial, Susan's Horn and Edmund and Caspian's swords.
announced on February 2010 that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would be released in Digital 3D
and RealD 3D formats; it is the first Narnia film to have a 3D release. Walden had previous experience creating 3D films, having released James Cameron's
documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss
and Aliens of the Deep
, as well as Journey to the Center of the Earth
with New Line Cinema
. The filmmakers initially discussed shooting the film in 3D during principal photography but later decided to shoot in two-dimensional cameras to save on costs. Prime Focus Group
was hired in June 2010 to convert the film to 3D during post-production. Film director Joe Dante
remarked that Apted was at first skeptical about the conversion, stating "If I was gonna do a 3D movie, I would have done it differently." Later, he remarked that he was excited after seeing progress during the conversion. Dawn Treader was his first 3D film. Johnson later said that the reason for the film's 3D release was to help Dawn Treader at the box office, where it would be in competition with films such as Tangled, Tron: Legacy, and Yogi Bear
which were released in 3D.
scored the film, with themes composed by Harry Gregson-Williams
(who scored the first two films). It was the Arnold's fourth collaboration with Apted, after The World Is Not Enough
, Enough
, and Amazing Grace
. Arnold worked with Paul Apted in editing the score, which he said was "going to be epic." The scoring sessions took place during September and work was completed on October 8, 2010. An original song, "There's A Place for Us
" written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges
, and Hillary Lindsey
, and recorded by Carrie Underwood
, was released on November 16, 2010 exclusively on iTunes
. It was released on December 7, 2010 by Sony Masterworks. Covers of the song have recorded by various singers around the world.
, which was followed by a teaser poster in May 2010. A Christian Narnia conference was held from June 3–6, 2010, at Taylor University
in Upland, Indiana
. Director Michael Apted
and some of the producers gave exclusive commentary
on and first looks at the film, including a 5-minute "super trailer". Franklin Graham's
Samaritan's Purse
program promoted an international relief campaign entitled Operation Narnia to donate relief goods to children around the world from July to December 2010.
The historic caravel
ship The Matthew
was transformed into a replica of The Dawn Treader to promote the film. It sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel
on August 2010. National Geographic Channel
and Fox conducted a series of contests in Europe for people who want to visit the ship for three days. The National Maritime Museum in Cornwall
made the ship available to the public on August 28 to August 30, 2010.
On September 27, 2010, Michael Apted and Mark Johnson presented a 30-minute preview of the film in Los Angeles and New York City to positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times said it would be "the movie event of the holidays, which might be news to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and predicted that "a fourth Narnia film could very well be possible." IGN said that the film "was far more reminiscent of the vibrant and optimistic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe than of its dark and violent sequel, Prince Caspian". UGO said that "Narnia's gone back to the magic" and remarked that "sailing the high seas looks fun!"
The first official trailer for the film was released online on June 17, 2010. The trailer was attached to the theatrical release of Toy Story 3
on June 18, 2010. and then attached to Alpha and Omega
on September 17, 2010. 20th Century Fox
released the trailer on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid
DVD release. An international poster and trailer for the film was shown on October 7, 2010. A third trailer was released November 9, 2010. To promote the film's release, American television networks ABC
and Disney Channel
broadcast The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on December 11, 13, and 14. Cable network Syfy
screened Prince Caspian on December 12 and 13.
published new editions of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Chronicles of Narnia on October 26, 2010, with new images of the film. Harper published a new edition of The Chronicles of Narnia, commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and released it the same day. A movie storybook and several other tie-in books were released by HarperChildrens, Walden Pond Press, and Zondervan
to promote the film. On November 12, 2010, HarperCollins released an enhanced multimedia e-book
of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for several platforms including iPad
and Android.
Group Publishing released three previews from the film and included it in their vacation Bible school resource kit called Fun for the Whole Family Hour on August 19, 2010. Grace Hill Media released a resource tool entitled Narnia Faith for ministers and pastors on October 12, 2010.
and Disney Interactive Studios was supposed to develop a video game based on the film for Xbox 360
, PlayStation 3
, and Wii
when Disney was still involved in the project. But when Fox took over the production, Nihilistic sought out negotiations with Fox Digital Entertainment division. They failed to agree on a settlement, which resulted in the cancellation of the video game. Fox Digital Entertainment later collaborated with Gameloft
to produce a mobile game for iPhone
and iPod Touch
which was released on November 18, 2010.
There is no further information if a game will be made for Xbox, PlayStation 3 or any other platform.
in Leicester Square
. It was the first time the Royal Film Performance was screened in Digital 3D and the second time a Narnia film premiered at the event, the first being The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 2005. The premiere was attended by various personalities, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
. It was given a pre-release gala on December 8 in Knoxville, Tennessee
followed by a North American premiere in Louisville, Kentucky
on December 9, 2010. The film was originally set to have a May 2009 release date when Disney was still producing it. But was later delayed when Disney pulled itself and Fox helmed the production. Fox later announced a December 2010 release date because it felt that Narnia will do better during the holidays. It had its major release in Digital 3D
, RealD 3D, and 2D formats in Asia and Australia on December 2, 2010 and in North America and Europe on December 10, 2010.
reports that 49% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of 153 reviews, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 50%, based on a sample of 28 reviews. The consensus was: "Its leisurely, businesslike pace won't win the franchise many new fans, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader restores some of the Narnia franchise's lost luster with strong performances and impressive special effects." On Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted mean rating from film critics, the film has a rating score of 53% based on 33 reviews. CinemaScore
polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave the film an A- on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
praised the film and gave it three stars out of four, saying "This is a rip-snorting adventure fantasy for families, especially the younger members who are not insistent on continuity." Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel
gave it a three stars out of four; he remarked it is "a worthy challenger to the far more popular Harry Potter
pictures". The Guardian
gave the film a positive review. They stated that the film "arrives with confidence and bravado intact. ... and arguably the most Tolkien-esque of the Narnia books". IGN
was positive, stating "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a solid sequel that might even surpass the first entry as the best in the series for some fans. It also bodes well for the future of this once iffy franchise." Several film critics have praised Apted's direction in character development and Poulter's performance as Eustace. Among them, Arizona Republic's Kerry Lengel said, "the best thing about the film is neither the top-notch CGI nor the shallow moral lessons but the performance of Georgie Henley
as Lucy as well as the performance of her and Edmund's insufferable cousin Eustace Scrubb." Luke Y. Thompson from E! Online praised the performances, stating "Henley and Keynes are charming as ever, and Poulter's turn as Eustace injects a welcome note of comedic cynicism into the sea of sentimentality. Simon Pegg ably succeeds Eddie Izzard
as mouse warrior Reepicheep, Bille Brown's sorcerer Coriakin has a fun performance and a sequence in which Lucy inadvertently wishes her life away is brilliantly disorienting and nightmarish."
Despite the movie adaptation of the book to appeal to the "everyman" and not just to Christian audiences and Lewis fans (with the introduction of the search for the seven swords side plot, the continued reoccurrence of the White Queen, and the larger role for the dragon Eustace), Christian reviewers found much to like about the movie. Key for many was the closing scene with Lucy and Aslan in which Aslan assures a sobbing Lucy "that he's very much in her world, where he has 'another name'. and that "This was the very reason why (Lucy was) brought to Narnia, that by knowing (Aslan) here for a little, (she) may know (him) better there." This was in direct contradiction to the first two Narnia movies in which Christian reviewers felt that the director failed to grasp and accurately reproduce key sections and overriding themes from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
and Prince Caspian
.
Mark Johnson, the producer of the Narnia films, later remarked that Prince Caspian "had strayed from its core audience," referring to the Christian and family audience who catapulted The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to the top at the box office. Tom Rothman, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, stated that "We think this is a tremendously undervalued asset, we believe there is great life in the franchise." He feels the film is not just a single motion picture, but a re-launch of a movie series that still has long-term potential. He commented that Fox and Walden had engaged in talks about further potential Narnia films, though such discussions were made prior to the opening of Dawn Treader.
as well as $311,299,267 in other territories. It is the 12th highest-grossing film worldwide of 2010, as well as Fox's highest-grossing film of that year since, ahead of Knight and Day and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opened in 3,555 theaters across the United States and Canada on December 10, 2010. On its opening day, the film grossed $8.3 million, which was far lower than the $23.0 million that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe made on its opening day in 2005, and also much lower than Prince Caspian, which had an opening day gross of $19.4 million in 2008. Although The Voyage of the Dawn Treader debuted at #1 at the box office and grossed $24.0 million for its opening weekend, it was far less than the opening weekends of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($65.6 million) and Prince Caspian ($55.0 million). Despite The Voyage of the Dawn Treader's disappointing opening weekend, Fox believed that word of mouth and the holiday season would help the film hold well. In its second weekend, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped 48%, the smallest second-weekend drop in the franchise, and came in with $12.4 million, in third place to Tron: Legacy and Yogi Bear
. During its third weekend, the 2010 Christmas
weekend, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped only 24%, the smallest decline among nationwide releases, and grossed $9.5 million. In the 2011 New Year's weekend, the film increased 8% from the previous weekend, grossing $10.3 million. On January 22, 2011, the film's forty-fourth day in theaters, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader became 20th Century Fox
's first film to gross $100 million in the United States
and Canada
since Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
crossed that mark in December 2009. However, it is the slowest Narnia film to reach $100 million in these regions, taking much longer than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (nine days) and Prince Caspian (thirteen days).
Overseas, the film performed better. On its limited opening weekend (Dec. 3-5, 2010) when it opened in only 9 territories (among them some limited releases), it earned $11.9 million ranking 4th for the weekend. On its first weekend of wide release (Dec. 10-12, 2010), it expanded to 58 countries and topped the box office, earning $65.8 million, for an overseas total of $79.8 million. The film's biggest opening market was Russia, where it opened with $10.9 million (the best start for the franchise) including previews. It had the best opening of for a Narnia film in Mexico ($7.1 million including previews) and South Korea ($5.3 million including previews). Its opening in the UK, a mere $3.9 million, was less than half of what Prince Caspian opened with and about a quarter of the first film's UK opening in 2005. However, the film held well throughout the holiday season in the UK, and on the weekend ending January 9, 2011 it outgrossed the £11,653,554 that Prince Caspian made in that region. It has so far made £14,317,168 ($23,650,534) at the UK box office.
On its second weekend, it held to the top spot at the box office, but declined 53% to $31.2 million for an overseas total of $125.2 million. It fell to fifth place on the Christmas
weekend ($23.1 million) and on New Year's weekend it went down to sixth place ($19.3 million) for an overseas total of $210.2 million. It eased 5% to $18.4 million from 53 markets on its fifth showing for a fourth place finish. It had a major opening of $6.3 million in China, which was better than Prince Caspian's $3.9 million. On its 12th weekend (February 25–27), it surpassed Prince Caspian's foreign gross ($278 million) when it opened in Japan, with a $6.6 million gross, which is behind the first film's opening ($8.9 million) but better than the second film's ($5 million).
nominated The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
("There's a Place for Us
") at the 68th Golden Globe Awards
. It received three nominations at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Best Youth Actor (Will Poulter
), Best Live Action Family Film, and Best Original Song. Poulter received a nomination for Young British Performer of the Year at the 2010 London Film Critics Circle Awards
. The film also received four nominations at the 37th Saturn Awards
. It was awarded the Epiphany Prize as the Most Inspiring Movie of 2010.
released The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader on Blu-Ray and DVD
on April 8, 2011. The release included a single disc DVD, a two-disc DVD double pack, a single disc Blu-Ray, and a three-disc Blu-Ray with DVD and Digital Copy.
The two-disc DVD double pack will feature an animated short film entitled The Untold adventures of the Dawn Treader, a guide to the Dawn Treader, seven featurettes aired on Fox Movie Channel
and 5 minutes of deleted scenes. The three-disc Blu-Ray edition will also feature 8 international music videos, a sword game, five Island explorations, two additional short films entitled Portal to Narnia: A Painting Comes to Life & Good vs. Evil: Battle on the Sea, a visual effects progression reel, and a digital copy.
Walden Media President Micheal Flaherty stated in an interview that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are developing a collector's edition box set DVD and Blu-ray containing the first three films.
would be the next film in the series. The C. S. Lewis Estate were in final negotiations to produce it and were yet to confirm a release date and the screenwriter. However, in fall 2011, Douglas Gresham
, a co-producer of the films, said that Walden Media
no longer owns the rights to produce another Narnia film. If another film was to be made, it would not be for another three of four years.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
, the third novel in C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
(and fifth in internal chronological order). It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series
The Chronicles of Narnia (film series)
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of English fantasy films from Walden Media that are based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels written by C. S. Lewis...
from Walden Media
Walden Media
Walden Media is a children's film production and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Its films are based on notable classic or award-winning children's literature, compelling biographies or historical events, documentaries and some original...
. Unlike the earlier two films, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and the first to be released in Digital 3D
Digital 3D
Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect....
.
The film is set three Narnian years after the events of Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
. The two youngest Pevensie siblings, Edmund
Edmund Pevensie
Edmund "Ed" Pevensie is a major fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He is a principal character in three of the seven books , and a lesser character in two others .In the live-action films, The...
(Skandar Keynes
Skandar Keynes
Skandar Keynes is a British actor. He is best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005. He has appeared in all three installments, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and most recently The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was...
) and Lucy
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
(Georgie Henley
Georgie Henley
Georgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch...
), are transported back to Narnia along with their cousin Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
(Will Poulter
Will Poulter
William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:...
). They join the new king of Narnia, Caspian
Caspian X
Caspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, also called Caspian the Seafarer and Caspian the Navigator, is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn...
(Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes (actor)
Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
), in his quest to rescue seven lost lords and to save Narnia from a corrupting evil that resides on a dark island. Each character is tested as they journey to the home of the great lion Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
at the far end of the world.
Development on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader began in 2007, while Prince Caspian was still in production. Filming was supposed to take place in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in 2008 with Michael Apted
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
as its new director, for a planned release in 2009. But production was halted after a budgetary dispute between Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
concerning Prince Caspians performance, resulting in Disney's departing the production and being replaced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Filming later took place in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 2009 and was converted into 3D in 2010. It was released in traditional 2D, RealD 3D, and Digital 3D
Digital 3D
Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect....
, and a limited release in 4D
4-D film
4-D film is a marketing term that describes an entertainment presentation system combining a 3-D film with physical effects in the theatre, which occur in synchronization with the film...
.
The film premiered on November 30, 2010, at a Royal Film Performance
Royal Film Performance
The Royal Film Performance is a charity performance of a British film which is attended by members of the British Royal Family. The proceeds from the evening's entertainment are donated to the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, a charity which offers financial support to people from the film,...
in London and was released worldwide on December 10, 2010 and was commercially successful but met with mixed reviews praising the performances and visual effects but criticizing the script and pace. The film received moderate success in North America with a gross of $104 million, which was lower than its predecessors. However, it fared better than Prince Caspian internationally with $310 million. The film was the 12th highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide with nearly $415 million and received a nomination at the 68th Golden Globe Awards
68th Golden Globe Awards
The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais....
. It then became 20th Century Fox's highest-grossing film in 2010. The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
was to be the fourth entry to the series, but in fall 2011 Walden Media
Walden Media
Walden Media is a children's film production and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Its films are based on notable classic or award-winning children's literature, compelling biographies or historical events, documentaries and some original...
's contract with the C.S. Lewis Estate expired, meaning another Narnia film is on hold indefinitely.
Plot
Three years after the events of Prince CaspianThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
, Lucy
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
and Edmund Pevensie
Edmund Pevensie
Edmund "Ed" Pevensie is a major fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He is a principal character in three of the seven books , and a lesser character in two others .In the live-action films, The...
are staying with their irritating and bullying cousin Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
. When water pours from a painting of a ship on the ocean hanging in Lucy's bedroom, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace are transported into an ocean in Narnia
Narnia (world)
Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, The Chronicles of Narnia. The world is so called after the country of Narnia, in which much of the action of the Chronicles takes place.In Narnia, some animals can talk,...
.
They are rescued by Caspian
Caspian X
Caspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, also called Caspian the Seafarer and Caspian the Navigator, is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn...
and Reepicheep
Reepicheep
Reepicheep is a fictional character from C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia series. He appears in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and also in The Last Battle. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier, and wears a red plume tucked in his golden circlet...
, and taken aboard the Dawn Treader
Dawn Treader
The Dawn Treader was a Narnian ship in the fictional world of The Chronicles of Narnia. It was built by King Caspian X and is featured primarily in the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...
, the ship featured on the painting. Caspian invites them on a voyage to rescue the seven Lords of Narnia whom his uncle Miraz
Miraz
Miraz is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. He is the main antagonist in the second book Prince Caspian, and is the uncle of the book's protagonist....
banished.
They first visit the Lone Islands, where people are sold as slaves. Caspian and Edmund are captured and imprisoned while Lucy and Eustace were sold as slaves. Caspian meets one of the lost lords, who reveals that the slaves who are not sold, are sacrificed to a mysterious green mist. The Dawn Treader crew rescues them, battles the slave traders and reclaims the Lone Islands. The lord, who becomes the new governor, gives Caspian a sword originally given by Aslan from the Golden age.
At another island Lucy is abducted by invisible Dufflepuds who force her to enter the manor of Coriakin
Coriakin
Coriakin is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Biographical summary:...
, a magician. Lucy finds a book of incantations and recites a visibility spell after discovering different incantations such as beauty and snow. They later meet Coriakin who encourages them to defeat the mist by laying seven swords at Aslan's Table, but warns them that they are all about to be tested. While journeying, Lucy casts the beauty incantation, entering a dream in which she has transformed into Susan. She finds herself with Edmund and Peter and finds that neither Lucy nor Narnia exist. Aslan reveals himself to Lucy and explains the consequences of self-doubt and that her siblings only know of Narnia because of her.
They later visit a volcanic island. Edmund, Lucy and Caspian recover another sword from within a magical pool that turns anything that enters it into gold, and has turned one of the lost lords into gold as well. Edmund feels that this pool holds the key to limitless wealth, and he and Caspian argue about it before Lucy stops them. Meanwhile, Eustace discovers and steals some treasure, and finds the skeleton of another lord who perished on the island. While Edmund and Caspian look for him, a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
approaches and is driven away from the Dawn Treader. The dragon turns out to be Eustace, who has been transformed by the enchanted treasure after succumbing to its temptations. Reepicheep later tries to amend the situation and befriends Eustace.
Then they later arrive at Aslan's Table with three lost lords asleep around it. As they place the swords on the table they realize one is still missing. The star descends from the sky and turns into Lilliandil
Ramandu's Daughter
Ramandu's daughter is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She appears principally in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...
, a beautiful woman who guides them to the Dark Island, lair of the mist. The crew voyages to the island and discovers the last surviving Lord. He warns them not to think of their fears but Edmund fails, his fear manifesting as a monstrous sea serpent
Sea serpent
A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
that attacks the ship. In the following fight between Eustace and the serpent, the last sword is thrown at Eustace, stabbing him. Wounded, Eustace flies away, landing on a sandy island and encountering Aslan, who transforms him back into a boy and sends him to Ramandu's island with the last sword. The mist tries distracting Edmund by appearing as Jadis
White Witch
Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
, the White Witch. Eustace overcomes the mist and puts the sword on the table, awaking the three sleeping lords and destroying the mist and the Dark Island; Edmund slays the sea serpent and they rescue the sacrificed people.
Eustace rejoins Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Reepicheep and they sail to a sea covered in lilies, eventually finding a shore before a massive wave. Aslan appears to them and tells them that his country
Aslan's Country
Aslan's Country is a fictional location from C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series. It is the home of Aslan, the great lion. It is described as a series of mountains, thousands of feet high, but without snow or ice. Instead, Aslan's Country has a clear blue sky, lush green grass, colourful...
lies beyond, although if they go they may never return. Caspian refuses, acknowledging that he still has duties and responsibilities as Narnia's king, but Reepicheep reveals that it has been his intention to enter, and Aslan blesses him before he paddles above the wave. Aslan opens a portal in the wave to send Lucy, Edmund and Eustace home, telling them that Lucy and Edmund have grown up and will never return to Narnia. Aslan encourages them to know him in their world by another name
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, and tells Eustace that he may return (having changed his ways throughout his journey). Edmund and Lucy bid farewell to Caspian and Aslan before entering the portal with Eustace. The three are returned to the bedroom as the ship disappears behind the waves where Eustace is called by his mother saying he has a visitor, Jill Pole
Jill Pole
Jill Pole is a major character from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. She appears in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.-Prior story:Very little is known about Jill's family or her life before she becomes friends with Eustace...
.
Pevensies and Scrubbs
- Georgie HenleyGeorgie HenleyGeorgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch...
as Lucy PevensieLucy PevensieLucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
: Lucy is the youngest of the Pevensie children. A Queen of Narnia who first discovered the world of Narnia during the events of The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
, she comes back to Narnia to save it from a threatening evil while her faith is being tested along the way. Henley feels that Lucy's desire to be more beautiful than her sister Susan represents the dilemma of modern teenage girls on beauty and image. - Skandar KeynesSkandar KeynesSkandar Keynes is a British actor. He is best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005. He has appeared in all three installments, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and most recently The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was...
as Edmund PevensieEdmund PevensieEdmund "Ed" Pevensie is a major fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He is a principal character in three of the seven books , and a lesser character in two others .In the live-action films, The...
: Edmund is the second-youngest of the Pevensie children and a King of Narnia. He is more matured after the events of Prince Caspian, and he takes good care of his younger sister and cousin while they embark on a voyage to defeat the enemy. On his last journey, his hunger for more power against Caspian and the White Witch is being tested. - Will PoulterWill PoulterWilliam Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:...
as Eustace ScrubbEustace ScrubbEustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
: Eustace is the Pevensie children's annoying cousin who gets transported to Narnia for the first time. At first, he irritates everyone with his bad attitude, but he dramatically changes after he is cursed and becomes a dragon. With the support of his cousins and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, Eustace becomes a more generous and cooperative soul. He uses his dragon form to good advantage first when the Dawn Treader is caught in magically induced doldrums by towing the ship and later attacking by the sea serpent, earning the crew's respect.
Dawn Treader crew
- Ben BarnesBen Barnes (actor)Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
as King CaspianCaspian XCaspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, also called Caspian the Seafarer and Caspian the Navigator, is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn...
: Caspian was raised as a TelmarTelmarTelmar is a country in the fictional world of Narnia created by the British author C. S. Lewis for his series of books which compose The Chronicles of Narnia. The Telmarines are prominent in the book Prince Caspian, the second book published in the series...
ine prince and was helped by the Pevensie children to ascend to the throne as the new King of Narnia during the events of Prince Caspian. As the King of Narnia, he has grown into a wise young man and embarks on a voyage to seek the seven lost lords of Narnia and to defeat an enemy who threatens to corrupt it. Along the way, his faith is tested when he is tempted by the green mist of Dark Island, which appears to him as his greatest fear - his father feeling nothing but disappointment in him. Also on the voyage, Caspian finds a new love interest when he meets Lilliandil on Ramandu's Island and is instantly smitten with her. The Spanish accent that Barnes used in the film Prince Caspian was changed to his own English accent for this film. - Simon PeggSimon PeggSimon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
as the voice of ReepicheepReepicheepReepicheep is a fictional character from C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia series. He appears in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and also in The Last Battle. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier, and wears a red plume tucked in his golden circlet...
: Reepicheep is the valiant swashbuckling mouse who aided Caspian and the Pevensie children during the events of Prince Caspian. He joins Caspian in the voyage on the Dawn Treader because he is aware that his time is at an end; he must seek the unseen Aslan's Country as his last voyage. Pegg replaced Eddie IzzardEddie IzzardEdward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
because director Michael AptedMichael AptedMichael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
thought that his voice is more mature and serious compared to Izzard's. - Gary SweetGary SweetGary Sweet is an Australian film and television actor known for his roles in Alexandra's Project , Police Rescue, Cody, Big Sky, The Battlers, Bodyline and Stingers....
as Lord DrinianLord DrinianLord Drinian is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader he is the captain of the Dawn Treader and a close friend of King Caspian X...
: Drinian is the captain of the Dawn Treader and Caspian's best friend. He is a very cautious and protective captain, and is somewhat superstitious about stories of sea serpentSea serpentA sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.Sightings of sea serpents have been reported for hundreds of years, and continue to be claimed today. Cryptozoologist Bruce Champagne identified more than 1,200 purported sea serpent sightings...
s. - Shane RangiShane RangiShane Rangi is a New Zealand actor from Ngati Porou. He featured in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and was also a stunt performer....
as Tavros the MinotaurMinotaurIn Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
: Rangi also played Asterius the Minotaur in Prince Caspian and General Otmin in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. - Morgan Evans as Randy the FaunFaunThe faun is a rustic forest god or place-spirit of Roman mythology often associated with Greek satyrs and the Greek god Pan.-Origins:...
- Steven RookeSteven RookeSteven Rooke is an Australian actor best known as his role as Terry in the 2006 movie Footy Legends.-Tv roles:-External links:...
as Nausus the Faun
Narnians
- Liam NeesonLiam NeesonLiam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
as the voice of AslanAslanAslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
: Aslan is a great lion and the highest of all the Kings of Narnia. He tests everyone's faith as they embark on a voyage to defeat evil and to seek his country in the ends of the world. He finally reveals to Lucy and Edmund that they will no longer visit Narnia and they must know him as someone else in their own world. - Laura BrentLaura BrentLaura Brent is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Lilliandil in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Biography:...
as LilliandilRamandu's DaughterRamandu's daughter is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She appears principally in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...
: Lilliandil is the daughter of the retired star, RamanduRamanduRamandu is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, part of the series The Chronicles of Narnia.- About :...
and the Blue Star that shines over Ramandu's Island; the crew on the Dawn Treader follow her position in the sky to reach the island. She aides the crew in destroying the evil of Dark Island and is also Caspian's love interest. The name of Ramandu's Daughter is not mentioned in the novel, so producer Douglas GreshamDouglas GreshamDouglas Gresham is an American-born British biographer and film producer, resident in Malta, and one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.- Personal life :...
coined the name "Lilliandil". - Bille BrownBille BrownBille Brown, AM is an Australian Shakespearean actor and acclaimed writer of plays.Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at the University of Queensland where he received and Honorary Doctorate of Letters...
as CoriakinCoriakinCoriakin is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Biographical summary:...
: Coriakin is a wizard and a retired star who guides the Dufflepuds to wisdom. He reveals to the crew the evil that threatens to corrupt Narnia and warns them that each one of them will be tested in their faith by Aslan. - Terry NorrisTerry Norris (actor)Terry Norris is an Australian actor who interrupted his career for 10 years with a stint in state politics.-Acting career:...
as Lord Bern: Bern is one of the Lost Lords of Narnia who settled on the Lone Islands. He later succeeds as its new Governor. - Bruce SpenceBruce SpenceBruce Spence, born September 17, 1945 is an actor, having spent most of his career performing in Australia. Bruce attended Henderson High School in West Auckland....
as Lord Rhoop: Rhoop of the Lost Lords of Narnia. He gets trapped on the Dark Island. - Arabella Morton as Gael: Gael is a Lone Islander whose mother was sacrificed to the green mist. She later sneaks onboard the Dawn Treader to follow her father, (Rhince, played by Arthur Angel) who also joins the Dawn Treader crew to look for his wife. She is good friends with Lucy and sees her as her heroine, as Lucy acts much like a big sister to her.
- Nathaniel ParkerNathaniel ParkerNathaniel Parker is an English actor best known for playing Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley in the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Personal life:...
as Caspian IX: The late father of Caspian X, who was murdered by his brother MirazMirazMiraz is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. He is the main antagonist in the second book Prince Caspian, and is the uncle of the book's protagonist....
shortly after his son's birth. The green mist of Dark Island appears to Caspian as his father, telling him that he is ashamed to call him his son. - David Vallon as Governor Gumpas
- Michael Foster as Gumpas's money collector
- Roy BillingRoy BillingRoy Billing is a New Zealand television actor, now based in Sydney, Australia.-Career:Billing has starred in many television shows and had main roles on Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Dossa and Joe and Hell Has Harbour Views...
as Chief Dufflepud
Cameos
- William MoseleyWilliam Moseley (actor)William Peter Moseley is a British actor, currently best known for appearing as Peter Pevensie in the film series The Chronicles of Narnia. Previously, he had a small role as Forrester in a 2002 adaptation of the novel Goodbye Mr...
as Peter PevensiePeter PevensiePeter Pevensie is a major fictional character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Peter appears in four of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy...
: Peter is the oldest of the Pevensie children, who was crowned as the High King of Narnia during the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He was too old to experience the wonders of Narnia after the events of Prince Caspian. - Anna PopplewellAnna PopplewellAnna Katherine Popplewell is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005.-Early life:...
as Susan PevensieSusan PevensieSusan Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. Susan is the elder sister and the second eldest Pevensie child. She appears in three of the seven books—as a child in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy...
: Susan is the second-oldest of the Pevensie children and a Queen of Narnia. She was too old to visit Narnia a third time along with her older brother Peter. She went to America with her parents, leaving her younger siblings to spend their vacation with their cousin. - Tilda SwintonTilda SwintonKatherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton is a British actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She has appeared in a number of films including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, The Beach, We Need to Talk About Kevin and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her...
as Jadis, the White WitchWhite WitchJadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
: The White Witch is a former queen of Charn and a witch who ruled Narnia after the events of The Magician's NephewThe Magician's NephewThe Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
and during the events of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Edmund's memories of her are revived by the mist to torment him in his test to defeat temptation. - Douglas GreshamDouglas GreshamDouglas Gresham is an American-born British biographer and film producer, resident in Malta, and one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.- Personal life :...
as a slaver: Douglas Gresham is the step son of C. S. Lewis and has made cameos in all three Narnia films all of which he produced.
Development
Michael AptedMichael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
took over as the film's director from Andrew Adamson
Andrew Adamson
Andrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S....
, who opted to produce, with Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson (producer)
Mark Johnson is an American film producer. Johnson won the Best Picture Academy Award for producing the 1988 drama movie Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise...
, Perry Moore
Perry Moore
William Perry Moore IV , also known as Perry Moore, was an American author, screenwriter, and film director...
, and Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham is an American-born British biographer and film producer, resident in Malta, and one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.- Personal life :...
. Steven Knight
Steven Knight
Steven Knight is a British screenwriter. Knight has written scripts for numerous British television programmes such as the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, BBC's Commercial Breakdown, The Detectives and others. However, he is best known for screenplays he wrote for films Dirty...
wrote the script following a draft by Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus is an American screenwriter who frequently collaborates with Stephen McFeely.-Filmography:*The Life and Death of Peter Sellers *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe *You Kill Me...
and Stephen McFeely
Stephen McFeely
Stephen McFeely is an American screenwriter who frequently collaborates with Christopher Markus.-Filmography:*The Life and Death of Peter Sellers *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe *You Kill Me...
. Richard Taylor, Isis Mussenden, and Howard Berger continued their roles working on the production design and practical effects, while visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel
Jim Rygiel
Jim Rygiel is a visual effects supervisor. He has worked on major feature films since 1984, including The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.- Early life :...
, composer David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
, and cinematographer Dante Spinotti
Dante Spinotti
Dante Spinotti, A.S.C., A.I.C. is a cinematographer.Spinotti was born in Tolmezzo, Italy. Among the more notable films he has worked on are The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and L.A. Confidential...
are newcomers to the series. The film was officially budgeted at $140 million, although some estimates put the cost at $155 million.
When Apted signed on to direct The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in June 2007, filming was set to begin in January 2008 for a May 1, 2009 release date. Shooting would have begun in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, and then moved to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. A few months later, Disney announced that "in consideration of the challenging schedules for [its] young actors", they were delaying the release date to May 7, 2010, and filming was moved to October 2008. Johnson rescheduled the shoot to Playas de Rosarito, Baja California (Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
), where two-thirds of the film would be shot at the water tank that was used for Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
. Filming was also scheduled for Australia. Disney and Walden eventually grew concerned over safety in Mexico, and Australian officials at Warner Roadshow Studios
Warner roadshow studios
Village Roadshow Studios are a set of film production facilities location in Oxenford, Queensland, on Australia's Gold Coast. The complex is made up of 8 sound stages accompanied by a range of other production facilities. The Studios have been home to countless feature films, telemovies, TV series...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
offered to become the project's base for the whole shoot.
Disney announced on December 24, 2008, that it would no longer co-produce the film. Disney and Walden disputed over the budget after the box office performance of Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
grossed far less than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
; Disney wanted to limit it to $100 million, whereas Walden wanted a $140 million budget, of which Disney would only need to provide half. Another reason why Disney opted not to produce the film was because they feared the budget would only grow during filming and post-production. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
also reported "creative differences" led to the split. Times columnist Mary McNamara noted that Disney leaving the series could be a mistake, because Voyage is the most popular Narnia book, while Caspian was the series' least popular and did not create the anticipation surrounding the first film. Walden had to find a new distributor for the film. Several other studios, including Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
were in negotiations to distribute the film, although several markets already predicted that Fox would take over.
It was announced in January 2009 that 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
would replace Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
as the distributor while Disney would still retain the rights for the first two. Fox had pursued the Narnia film rights in 2001 and distributed various other Walden projects. Producer Mark Johnson admitted that "we made some mistakes with Prince Caspian and I don't want to make them again." He said it was "very important" that filmmakers regain the magic for Dawn Treader.
Writing
Michael PetroniMichael Petroni
Michael Petroni is an Australian film writer and director.Petroni worked in the early 1990s as a comedy writer and performer on Australian television, and appeared as "Psycho Bob", an American serial killer character, in The Big Gig and DAAS Kapital .In 1994, he moved to Los Angeles to study...
was hired to rewrite the script with Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus
Christopher Markus is an American screenwriter who frequently collaborates with Stephen McFeely.-Filmography:*The Life and Death of Peter Sellers *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe *You Kill Me...
and Stephen McFeely
Stephen McFeely
Stephen McFeely is an American screenwriter who frequently collaborates with Christopher Markus.-Filmography:*The Life and Death of Peter Sellers *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe *You Kill Me...
, following a draft written by Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese is an American screenwriter and occasional film director. He is best known as the writer of The Fisher King.-Personal life:...
and Steven Knight
Steven Knight
Steven Knight is a British screenwriter. Knight has written scripts for numerous British television programmes such as the British version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, BBC's Commercial Breakdown, The Detectives and others. However, he is best known for screenplays he wrote for films Dirty...
. The previous two films have been described as remaining more faithful to the original stories than the third installment. Apted noted the episodic and disconnected nature of the story would need to be revised for a film version, such as the material involving the Dark Island, the Sea Serpent, and Eustace. They even discussed combining The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. It was the fourth book published and is the sixth book chronologically. It is the first book published in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear. The main characters are...
, much as the BBC combined Dawn Treader and Prince Caspian in its television serial. As a result, some elements were borrowed from The Silver Chair, where Narnians are held hostage and rescued. The author's estate did not initially receive the change well, but it gained favor after review.
Eustace has a greater role as a dragon in the film such as not only allowed to proceed with the ship to the next islands in that state, but also proves a valuable asset for the crew for the remainder of the voyage. This is so he could take a major part in the action and not merely do expedition work duty as in the book. The book's stream of consciousness description about Eustace gradually realizing that he had become a dragon while sleeping is effective as text, but it could not easily be translated onto film. Further, a noted passage from the book where Aslan peels Eustace's dragon skin off in layers is not used. Walden President Micheal Flaherty remarked about it that "people don't earn grace; they receive it once they are humbled and aware of their need." The old dragon which Eustace finds, and sees it die of old age, in the valley in the book, is not used in the film.
Filming
Ernie Malik, a unit publicist for the film, confirmed that filming began on July 27, 2009, on location in QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. Filming took place at Warner Roadshow Studios
Warner roadshow studios
Village Roadshow Studios are a set of film production facilities location in Oxenford, Queensland, on Australia's Gold Coast. The complex is made up of 8 sound stages accompanied by a range of other production facilities. The Studios have been home to countless feature films, telemovies, TV series...
in August and September 2009, with filming of exterior shots on board the ship at Cleveland Point
Cleveland, Queensland
Cleveland is a suburb located approximately east-south-east of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and is the council seat for the Redland City local government area...
and the Gold Coast Seaway
Gold Coast Seaway
The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton Bay and is one of Australia’s most significant coastal engineering projects...
in September 2009. Apted stated that fellow directors Gore Verbinski
Gore Verbinski
Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
and Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
recommended him not to shoot on water, so they built a giant Dawn Treader on a gimbal
Gimbal
A gimbal is a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. A set of two gimbals, one mounted on the other with pivot axes orthogonal, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain immobile regardless of the motion of its support...
at, which allowed it to rock and shift as if on the high seas. At the extreme end of the town's peninsula, jutting into Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
, the 145 tonne boat could be rotated through 360 degrees to keep the sun angles consistent. Additional shots were taken at the Southport School, also located on the Gold Coast. It was also filmed at White Island in New Zealand.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10617842
Effects
There are 1,400 special effects shots that were made for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, more than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 800 and fewer than Prince Caspian 1,500 shots. Angus Bickerton served as the lead visual effects supervisor of the film while Jim RygielJim Rygiel
Jim Rygiel is a visual effects supervisor. He has worked on major feature films since 1984, including The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.- Early life :...
, who supervised the effects on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, worked as the senior visual effects supervisor. British visual effects companies the Moving Picture Company
Moving Picture Company
The Moving Picture Company is a post production facility creating digital visual effects and computer animation for feature films, commercials, music videos and television...
, Framestore CFC
Framestore CFC
Framestore is a British Oscar-winning visual effects company based near Oxford Street in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired the Computer Film Company in 1997. The company works across several different areas of the media: feature films, commercials, music videos, feature animation and digital.The...
, and The Senate VFX were hired to create the visual effects alongside Cinesite
Cinesite
Cinesite Ltd is a digital visual effects and post-production facility in London and one of the largest such companies in Europe...
and The Mill
The Mill (post-production)
The Mill is a post-production and visual effects company launched in 1990 with offices in London, New York and Los Angeles.The Mill's Film special effects subsidiary, Mill Film, won an Oscar for its work on the film Gladiator. The Mill was the first UK-based post-production company to set up...
. Moving Picture worked on the dragon Eustace and the Dawn Treader. They say the dragon is "amongst the most heroic characters ever created, and is scheduled to be featured in around 200 shots of the movie." They also revised Reepicheep from the previous film by saturating his color, giving him bushier eyebrows and ear hair, and made his whiskers a little more wiry just to give him a sense of age. Framestore also revised Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
, changing his color palette to be a more realistic lion than a golden lion and adding a darker mane; they also created 16 different dufflepuds to replace Jonathan Fawkner Angus Bickerton running around first as dufflepuds on the set; The Senate worked on the opening shot of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, as well as the star effect on Liliandil at Ramandu's Island; Cinesite worked on the Dark Island, and Fugitive Studios did the end titles and credits, which featured original drawings created by Pauline Baynes
Pauline Baynes
Pauline Diana Baynes was an English book illustrator, whose work encompassed more than 100 books, notably those by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. She was born in Hove, Sussex....
for the Narnia books. These illustrations were included because the film's creators wanted the credits to have visual interest, and also because they wished to include an acknowledgement to Pauline Baynes, who died in August 2008. Richard Taylor revealed that Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
created new set pieces for the film and reused the ones created for The Lion, The Witch, the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, such as Lucy's Cordial, Susan's Horn and Edmund and Caspian's swords.
Conversion to 3D
After the success of the 3D release of Avatar, 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
announced on February 2010 that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would be released in Digital 3D
Digital 3D
Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect....
and RealD 3D formats; it is the first Narnia film to have a 3D release. Walden had previous experience creating 3D films, having released James Cameron's
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss
Ghosts of the Abyss
Ghosts of the Abyss is a 2003 documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was Disney's first film produced in 3-D and was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron after his Oscar winning film Titanic...
and Aliens of the Deep
Aliens of the Deep
Aliens of the Deep is a 2005 documentary film, directed in part by James Cameron alongside fellow cameraman Steven Quale, who would later go on to direct Final Destination 5 six years later, and filmed in the IMAX 3D format. It was produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures...
, as well as Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008 film)
Journey to the Center of the Earth is an American 2008 3D adventure film starring Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, and Anita Briem...
with New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. The filmmakers initially discussed shooting the film in 3D during principal photography but later decided to shoot in two-dimensional cameras to save on costs. Prime Focus Group
Prime Focus Group
Prime Focus Group is one of the largest film, advertising and television post-production and visual effects companies in the world. It is the result of a number of acquisitions and mergers by Prime Focus Ltd.-Prime Focus Group:...
was hired in June 2010 to convert the film to 3D during post-production. Film director Joe Dante
Joe Dante
Joseph "Joe" Dante, Jr. is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and science fiction content....
remarked that Apted was at first skeptical about the conversion, stating "If I was gonna do a 3D movie, I would have done it differently." Later, he remarked that he was excited after seeing progress during the conversion. Dawn Treader was his first 3D film. Johnson later said that the reason for the film's 3D release was to help Dawn Treader at the box office, where it would be in competition with films such as Tangled, Tron: Legacy, and Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear (film)
Yogi Bear is a 2010 American live-action film adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Yogi Bear Show directed by Eric Brevig. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cavanagh, Anna Faris, T. J. Miller, Nate Corddry, and Andrew Daly....
which were released in 3D.
Music
Composer David ArnoldDavid Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
scored the film, with themes composed by Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
(who scored the first two films). It was the Arnold's fourth collaboration with Apted, after The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...
, Enough
Enough
The score for Enough, composed by David Arnold, was released on June 4, 2002.#"Give Me a Sign"#"F.B.I.?"#"New Leaf"#"Slim and Joe"#"Get Out of the House"#"Goodbye Gracie"#"Training Day"#"Breaking In"#"Setting the Trap"#"Fight Club"...
, and Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace (2006 film)
Amazing Grace is a 2006 U.S.–UK co-production film, directed by Michael Apted, about the campaign against slave trade in the British Empire, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn...
. Arnold worked with Paul Apted in editing the score, which he said was "going to be epic." The scoring sessions took place during September and work was completed on October 8, 2010. An original song, "There's A Place for Us
There's a Place for Us (song)
"There's a Place for Us" is the title of a song written by David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey and co-written and recorded by American country artist Carrie Underwood, and is featured on the soundtrack for the 2010 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The song was featured...
" written by Carrie Underwood, David Hodges
David Hodges
David Hodges is a songwriter, producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is best known for his work with the band Evanescence, which he left in 2002. He has also been part of the bands Trading Yesterday, The Age of Information, Avox, and David Hodges solo...
, and Hillary Lindsey
Hillary Lindsey
Hillary Lindsey is a country music singer-songwriter. As a songwriter, she has written songs with or for Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, and Tim McGraw. One of her compositions, Underwood's Number One hit "Jesus, Take the Wheel",...
, and recorded by Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
, was released on November 16, 2010 exclusively on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. It was released on December 7, 2010 by Sony Masterworks. Covers of the song have recorded by various singers around the world.
Promotions
In addition to its production budget, Fox and Walden spent around $100 million to promote the film around the world. In late November 2009, three still pictures from the film were released on the social networking site Facebook. In February 2010, Narnia.com, the official domain, returned after a nine-month hiatus, bringing exclusive reports from the set. The full site, with the first trailer, information on the film's story and cast, and other content, opened on June 17, 2010. The film's first promotional banner was presented at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...
, which was followed by a teaser poster in May 2010. A Christian Narnia conference was held from June 3–6, 2010, at Taylor University
Taylor University
Taylor University is a private, interdenominational, evangelical Christian college located in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian colleges in America....
in Upland, Indiana
Upland, Indiana
Upland is a town in Jefferson Township, Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,845 at the 2010 census. It is most notable for being the home of Taylor University, a Christian college with 1,920 students, as of 2011.-History:...
. Director Michael Apted
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
and some of the producers gave exclusive commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
on and first looks at the film, including a 5-minute "super trailer". Franklin Graham's
Franklin Graham
William Franklin Graham III , known publicly as Franklin Graham, is an American Christian evangelist and missionary. He is the president and CEO of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse.He currently lives in Boone,...
Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian humanitarian organization that works worldwide to assist people in physical need alongside their Christian missionary work. The organization’s president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham...
program promoted an international relief campaign entitled Operation Narnia to donate relief goods to children around the world from July to December 2010.
The historic caravel
Caravel
A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
ship The Matthew
Matthew (ship)
The Matthew was a caravel sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America, presumably Newfoundland. After a voyage which had got no further than Iceland, Cabot left again with only one vessel, the Matthew, a small ship , but fast and able. The crew consisted of only 18 people. The...
was transformed into a replica of The Dawn Treader to promote the film. It sailed from the Atlantic Ocean to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
on August 2010. National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
and Fox conducted a series of contests in Europe for people who want to visit the ship for three days. The National Maritime Museum in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
made the ship available to the public on August 28 to August 30, 2010.
On September 27, 2010, Michael Apted and Mark Johnson presented a 30-minute preview of the film in Los Angeles and New York City to positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times said it would be "the movie event of the holidays, which might be news to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and predicted that "a fourth Narnia film could very well be possible." IGN said that the film "was far more reminiscent of the vibrant and optimistic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe than of its dark and violent sequel, Prince Caspian". UGO said that "Narnia's gone back to the magic" and remarked that "sailing the high seas looks fun!"
The first official trailer for the film was released online on June 17, 2010. The trailer was attached to the theatrical release of Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
on June 18, 2010. and then attached to Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega (film)
Alpha and Omega is a 2010 3D American computer animated comedy-drama film produced by Crest Animation Productions and Richard Rich. The film is directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, starring the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Dennis Hopper , Danny Glover and Christina Ricci.The film...
on September 17, 2010. 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
released the trailer on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Thor Freudenthal and based on Jeff Kinney's book of the same name. The film was released on March 19, 2010. It was released on DVD, iTunes, and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010.-Plot:...
DVD release. An international poster and trailer for the film was shown on October 7, 2010. A third trailer was released November 9, 2010. To promote the film's release, American television networks ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
broadcast The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on December 11, 13, and 14. Cable network Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
screened Prince Caspian on December 12 and 13.
Books
HarperCollinsHarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
published new editions of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Chronicles of Narnia on October 26, 2010, with new images of the film. Harper published a new edition of The Chronicles of Narnia, commemorating the 60th anniversary of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and released it the same day. A movie storybook and several other tie-in books were released by HarperChildrens, Walden Pond Press, and Zondervan
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
to promote the film. On November 12, 2010, HarperCollins released an enhanced multimedia e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for several platforms including iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
and Android.
Group Publishing released three previews from the film and included it in their vacation Bible school resource kit called Fun for the Whole Family Hour on August 19, 2010. Grace Hill Media released a resource tool entitled Narnia Faith for ministers and pastors on October 12, 2010.
Games
Nihilistic SoftwareNihilistic Software
-History:Nihilistic was founded in March 1998 by Ray Gresko, Robert Huebner, and Steve Tietze. Gresko and Huebner had formerly worked at LucasArts, and Tietze had worked at Rogue Entertainment...
and Disney Interactive Studios was supposed to develop a video game based on the film for Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
when Disney was still involved in the project. But when Fox took over the production, Nihilistic sought out negotiations with Fox Digital Entertainment division. They failed to agree on a settlement, which resulted in the cancellation of the video game. Fox Digital Entertainment later collaborated with Gameloft
Gameloft
Gameloft SA is a major French computer and video game developer and publisher headquartered in Paris, France. The company also has subsidiaries in 31 countries around the world....
to produce a mobile game for iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
which was released on November 18, 2010.
There is no further information if a game will be made for Xbox, PlayStation 3 or any other platform.
Release
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader held its world premiere on November 30, 2010 in London at the Royal Film PerformanceRoyal Film Performance
The Royal Film Performance is a charity performance of a British film which is attended by members of the British Royal Family. The proceeds from the evening's entertainment are donated to the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, a charity which offers financial support to people from the film,...
in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. It was the first time the Royal Film Performance was screened in Digital 3D and the second time a Narnia film premiered at the event, the first being The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 2005. The premiere was attended by various personalities, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
. It was given a pre-release gala on December 8 in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
followed by a North American premiere in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
on December 9, 2010. The film was originally set to have a May 2009 release date when Disney was still producing it. But was later delayed when Disney pulled itself and Fox helmed the production. Fox later announced a December 2010 release date because it felt that Narnia will do better during the holidays. It had its major release in Digital 3D
Digital 3D
Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect....
, RealD 3D, and 2D formats in Asia and Australia on December 2, 2010 and in North America and Europe on December 10, 2010.
Critical reception
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been met with mixed reviews from critics. Film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 49% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of 153 reviews, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 50%, based on a sample of 28 reviews. The consensus was: "Its leisurely, businesslike pace won't win the franchise many new fans, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader restores some of the Narnia franchise's lost luster with strong performances and impressive special effects." On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted mean rating from film critics, the film has a rating score of 53% based on 33 reviews. CinemaScore
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.-Background:...
polls conducted during the opening weekend revealed the average grade cinemagoers gave the film an A- on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
praised the film and gave it three stars out of four, saying "This is a rip-snorting adventure fantasy for families, especially the younger members who are not insistent on continuity." Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
gave it a three stars out of four; he remarked it is "a worthy challenger to the far more popular Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
pictures". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the film a positive review. They stated that the film "arrives with confidence and bravado intact. ... and arguably the most Tolkien-esque of the Narnia books". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
was positive, stating "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a solid sequel that might even surpass the first entry as the best in the series for some fans. It also bodes well for the future of this once iffy franchise." Several film critics have praised Apted's direction in character development and Poulter's performance as Eustace. Among them, Arizona Republic's Kerry Lengel said, "the best thing about the film is neither the top-notch CGI nor the shallow moral lessons but the performance of Georgie Henley
Georgie Henley
Georgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch...
as Lucy as well as the performance of her and Edmund's insufferable cousin Eustace Scrubb." Luke Y. Thompson from E! Online praised the performances, stating "Henley and Keynes are charming as ever, and Poulter's turn as Eustace injects a welcome note of comedic cynicism into the sea of sentimentality. Simon Pegg ably succeeds Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
as mouse warrior Reepicheep, Bille Brown's sorcerer Coriakin has a fun performance and a sequence in which Lucy inadvertently wishes her life away is brilliantly disorienting and nightmarish."
Despite the movie adaptation of the book to appeal to the "everyman" and not just to Christian audiences and Lewis fans (with the introduction of the search for the seven swords side plot, the continued reoccurrence of the White Queen, and the larger role for the dragon Eustace), Christian reviewers found much to like about the movie. Key for many was the closing scene with Lucy and Aslan in which Aslan assures a sobbing Lucy "that he's very much in her world, where he has 'another name'. and that "This was the very reason why (Lucy was) brought to Narnia, that by knowing (Aslan) here for a little, (she) may know (him) better there." This was in direct contradiction to the first two Narnia movies in which Christian reviewers felt that the director failed to grasp and accurately reproduce key sections and overriding themes from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
and Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
.
Commercial analysis
Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo stated that "There certainly will be an audience for this picture, I just don't think it is going to restore the franchise to its former glory." He added that the film would be considered a relative success if it made anything close to Prince Caspian's box office numbers, which would increase the likelihood of further Narnia films.Mark Johnson, the producer of the Narnia films, later remarked that Prince Caspian "had strayed from its core audience," referring to the Christian and family audience who catapulted The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to the top at the box office. Tom Rothman, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, stated that "We think this is a tremendously undervalued asset, we believe there is great life in the franchise." He feels the film is not just a single motion picture, but a re-launch of a movie series that still has long-term potential. He commented that Fox and Walden had engaged in talks about further potential Narnia films, though such discussions were made prior to the opening of Dawn Treader.
Box office performance
The film grossed $415,686,217 worldwide, including $104,386,950 in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
as well as $311,299,267 in other territories. It is the 12th highest-grossing film worldwide of 2010, as well as Fox's highest-grossing film of that year since, ahead of Knight and Day and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is loosely based on The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan...
.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opened in 3,555 theaters across the United States and Canada on December 10, 2010. On its opening day, the film grossed $8.3 million, which was far lower than the $23.0 million that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe made on its opening day in 2005, and also much lower than Prince Caspian, which had an opening day gross of $19.4 million in 2008. Although The Voyage of the Dawn Treader debuted at #1 at the box office and grossed $24.0 million for its opening weekend, it was far less than the opening weekends of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($65.6 million) and Prince Caspian ($55.0 million). Despite The Voyage of the Dawn Treader's disappointing opening weekend, Fox believed that word of mouth and the holiday season would help the film hold well. In its second weekend, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped 48%, the smallest second-weekend drop in the franchise, and came in with $12.4 million, in third place to Tron: Legacy and Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear (film)
Yogi Bear is a 2010 American live-action film adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series The Yogi Bear Show directed by Eric Brevig. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cavanagh, Anna Faris, T. J. Miller, Nate Corddry, and Andrew Daly....
. During its third weekend, the 2010 Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
weekend, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped only 24%, the smallest decline among nationwide releases, and grossed $9.5 million. In the 2011 New Year's weekend, the film increased 8% from the previous weekend, grossing $10.3 million. On January 22, 2011, the film's forty-fourth day in theaters, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader became 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
's first film to gross $100 million in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
since Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film stars Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, and the voices of Justin Long, Jesse McCartney, Matthew Gray Gubler, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, and Anna Faris...
crossed that mark in December 2009. However, it is the slowest Narnia film to reach $100 million in these regions, taking much longer than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (nine days) and Prince Caspian (thirteen days).
Overseas, the film performed better. On its limited opening weekend (Dec. 3-5, 2010) when it opened in only 9 territories (among them some limited releases), it earned $11.9 million ranking 4th for the weekend. On its first weekend of wide release (Dec. 10-12, 2010), it expanded to 58 countries and topped the box office, earning $65.8 million, for an overseas total of $79.8 million. The film's biggest opening market was Russia, where it opened with $10.9 million (the best start for the franchise) including previews. It had the best opening of for a Narnia film in Mexico ($7.1 million including previews) and South Korea ($5.3 million including previews). Its opening in the UK, a mere $3.9 million, was less than half of what Prince Caspian opened with and about a quarter of the first film's UK opening in 2005. However, the film held well throughout the holiday season in the UK, and on the weekend ending January 9, 2011 it outgrossed the £11,653,554 that Prince Caspian made in that region. It has so far made £14,317,168 ($23,650,534) at the UK box office.
On its second weekend, it held to the top spot at the box office, but declined 53% to $31.2 million for an overseas total of $125.2 million. It fell to fifth place on the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
weekend ($23.1 million) and on New Year's weekend it went down to sixth place ($19.3 million) for an overseas total of $210.2 million. It eased 5% to $18.4 million from 53 markets on its fifth showing for a fourth place finish. It had a major opening of $6.3 million in China, which was better than Prince Caspian's $3.9 million. On its 12th weekend (February 25–27), it surpassed Prince Caspian's foreign gross ($278 million) when it opened in Japan, with a $6.6 million gross, which is behind the first film's opening ($8.9 million) but better than the second film's ($5 million).
Accolades
On 14 December 2010, The Hollywood Foreign Press AssociationHollywood Foreign Press Association
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an organization composed of working journalists who cover the United States film industry for a variety of outlets, including newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Today, the 90 members of the HFPA represent at least 55...
nominated The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
("There's a Place for Us
There's a Place for Us (song)
"There's a Place for Us" is the title of a song written by David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey and co-written and recorded by American country artist Carrie Underwood, and is featured on the soundtrack for the 2010 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The song was featured...
") at the 68th Golden Globe Awards
68th Golden Globe Awards
The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais....
. It received three nominations at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Best Youth Actor (Will Poulter
Will Poulter
William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:...
), Best Live Action Family Film, and Best Original Song. Poulter received a nomination for Young British Performer of the Year at the 2010 London Film Critics Circle Awards
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2010
The nominees for the 31st London Film Critics Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2010 were announced by the London Film Critics Circle on December 20, 2010.-Actor of the Year:*Jeff Bridges – True Grit*Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network...
. The film also received four nominations at the 37th Saturn Awards
37th Saturn Awards
The 37th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2010 were held on June 23, 2011.-Best Science Fiction Film:*Inception*Hereafter*Iron Man 2*Never Let Me Go*Splice...
. It was awarded the Epiphany Prize as the Most Inspiring Movie of 2010.
| Year | Award | Category/Recipient(s) | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Family Film | ||
| Best Youth Actor (Will Poulter Will Poulter William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:... ) |
||||
| Best Original Song ("There's a Place for Us") | ||||
| 2010 London Film Critics Circle Awards London Film Critics Circle Awards 2010 The nominees for the 31st London Film Critics Circle Awards, honouring the best in film for 2010 were announced by the London Film Critics Circle on December 20, 2010.-Actor of the Year:*Jeff Bridges – True Grit*Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network... |
Young Performer of the Year (Will Poulter Will Poulter William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:... ) |
|||
| 2010 Art Directors Guild Awards | Excellence in Production Design for a Fantasy Feature Film | |||
| 2011 | 68th Golden Globe Awards 68th Golden Globe Awards The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais.... |
Best Original Song ("There's a Place for Us There's a Place for Us (song) "There's a Place for Us" is the title of a song written by David Hodges, Hillary Lindsey and co-written and recorded by American country artist Carrie Underwood, and is featured on the soundtrack for the 2010 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The song was featured... ") |
||
| 9th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of... |
Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture (Reepicheep Reepicheep Reepicheep is a fictional character from C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia series. He appears in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and also in The Last Battle. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier, and wears a red plume tucked in his golden circlet... ) |
|||
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite 3D Live Action Movie | |
||
| 2011 London Critics Circle Film Awards | Young British Performer of the Year (Will Poulter Will Poulter William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:... ) |
|
||
| 32nd Young Artist Awards Young Artist Awards 2011 The 32nd Annual Young Artist Awards ceremony, presented by the Young Artist Foundation, honored excellence of young performers under the age of 18 in the fields of film and television for the year 2010, and took place on March 13, 2011 at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, Los Angeles,... |
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast (Georgie Henley Georgie Henley Georgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch... , Skander Keynes, Will Poulter Will Poulter William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:... ) |
|||
| 19th MovieGuide Faith and Values Awards | Most Inspiring Movie | |||
| Crystal Dove Seal Award | Best Adventure | |||
| 37th Saturn Awards 37th Saturn Awards The 37th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2010 were held on June 23, 2011.-Best Science Fiction Film:*Inception*Hereafter*Iron Man 2*Never Let Me Go*Splice... |
Best Fantasy Film | |||
| Best Performance by a Younger Actor (Will Poulter Will Poulter William Jack Poulter is an English actor, most notable for his roles as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow, and as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Career:... ) |
||||
| Best Costume | ||||
| Best Special Effects | ||||
| National Movie Awards | Fantasy | |||
| Performance of the Year (Ben Barnes Ben Barnes (actor) Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:... ) |
||||
| Performance of the Year (Georgie Henley Georgie Henley Georgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch... ) |
Home media
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
released The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader on Blu-Ray and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 8, 2011. The release included a single disc DVD, a two-disc DVD double pack, a single disc Blu-Ray, and a three-disc Blu-Ray with DVD and Digital Copy.
The two-disc DVD double pack will feature an animated short film entitled The Untold adventures of the Dawn Treader, a guide to the Dawn Treader, seven featurettes aired on Fox Movie Channel
Fox Movie Channel
The Fox Movie Channel is a channel which shows movies uncut and commercial-free.-Overview:Movie content consists mainly of selections from 20th Century Fox's library of releases through the 1990s and movies produced exclusively for television. Widescreen versions are shown whenever available....
and 5 minutes of deleted scenes. The three-disc Blu-Ray edition will also feature 8 international music videos, a sword game, five Island explorations, two additional short films entitled Portal to Narnia: A Painting Comes to Life & Good vs. Evil: Battle on the Sea, a visual effects progression reel, and a digital copy.
Collector's Edition and Blu-ray 3D
20th Century Fox, have announced that the 3D Blu-ray will be released in the US on August 30, 2011.Walden Media President Micheal Flaherty stated in an interview that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are developing a collector's edition box set DVD and Blu-ray containing the first three films.
Next film
On March 22, 2011, it was confirmed The Magician's NephewThe Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
would be the next film in the series. The C. S. Lewis Estate were in final negotiations to produce it and were yet to confirm a release date and the screenwriter. However, in fall 2011, Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham
Douglas Gresham is an American-born British biographer and film producer, resident in Malta, and one of the two stepsons of C. S. Lewis.- Personal life :...
, a co-producer of the films, said that Walden Media
Walden Media
Walden Media is a children's film production and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia series. Its films are based on notable classic or award-winning children's literature, compelling biographies or historical events, documentaries and some original...
no longer owns the rights to produce another Narnia film. If another film was to be made, it would not be for another three of four years.