The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I've been waiting to see this movie for so long . . . about twenty-eight years, I'd guess. I would have gone to the theater weeks ago, except Hud was doing this weird passive-aggressive thing where he didn't want me to go see the movie without him, but he really didn't want to go see the movie. So I finally went by myself on the way home from work yesterday.

Side note: why do people pity me for going to see a movie by myself? I ran into Hud's cousin in the popcorn line, and he acted so sorry for me when he heard I was there alone. It's not like I don't have friends and family. (In that case, I would be pitiable.) Going to a movie alone is actually quite nice. Although I would have preferred a slightly less crowded theater where I wouldn't have had to fight strangers for armrests.

Anyway. About the movie. I know I'm a big fat Narnia nerd, but I got all choked up just seeing the Dawn Treader come to life up there on the big screen. It was absolutely perfect. Every tiny last detail of it.

As far as being true to the book, the ship was just about the only thing that was perfect. I could probably go on and on and on about the changes they made for the movie, as they were legion, but I'll just mention the ones that disappointed me the most.

First, the lack of surprise when Lucy and Caspian recognized each other, as if it were an everyday occurrence. Their greeting was almost as mundane as, "Oh, it's you, how nice." This struck me like the beginning of the second movie when they glossed over one of my favorite parts. ("I wonder who used to live here? I think we did!")

Second, there were a few lines from the book I really wished they'd used in the movie. Of course now the only one that comes to mind was when Eustace wandered off on Dragon Island. No matter how hard I willed it, I could not get Edmund to say, "Where's that blighter Eustace?"

Finally, while it was a nice lead-in to the next movie when Jill Pole was mentioned at the end of this one (and to be honest it gave me a thrill to hear her name), it's hard to believe she would have been friendly enough with pre-transformation Eustace to stop by his house.

I am torn between horror at the bastardization of the book and a grudging concession that they actually improved upon the storyline. The book always was just a long string of adventures, one after another, but the movie added more of a driving force (the evil green mist) and wove the different parts of the story together more tightly than the way they're found in the book.

I wrestled with this movie because it wasn't exactly like the book, but if I could look at the movie as its own entity I would have to admit they did a beautiful job with it. Everything in the movie looked wonderful, and the story was thrilling and exciting. Eustace was so perfectly, appallingly Eustace-like. And I loved how they used the old Pauline Baynes illustrations from the book during the credits at the end.

I had to see this movie in 3D because I waited too long and they're no longer showing it in 2D (which I tend to prefer, because I'm a cheapskate and I am convinced that 3D movies are just a ploy to milk more money from the moviegoing public). It's my opinion that the third dimension didn't add much to this movie. I mean, sure, it looked great, but beyond the uncomfortable granny glasses, I usually forgot to even notice the extra depth. But I finally got to see the movie, and that's what counts.

And . . . The Silver Chair is supposed to come out sometime this year! I can't wait!!