Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D

Movie Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Rating: PG
Director: Michael Apted
Starring: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Will Poulter. Also, the voices of Simon Pegg and Liam Neeson
Category: Adventure, 3D, Family, Fantasy

Moms of Faith Rating: 7 out of 10

Intro: This is part three of the movie series that is based on the C.S. Lewis classic books. However, this installment of the series is not distributed by Disney. 20th Century Fox has taken the reigns.

Review: I have never read the Narnia books, however, the more movies I see, the more I want to read the originals by C.S. Lewis. From my experience, the book is always better than the movie!

As all of my long time readers know, I am very wary of any movies (Christian OR secular) that have an element of witchcraft in them. This film is no different. The first in the series; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe had the least amount of outright witchcraft in it…and I do own that one. However, part two; Prince Caspian went even further, and the whole scene with the demonic followers of the white witch and their chants/incantations (calling her out) made my chest tight. I do not own Prince Caspian because of this.

Now, part three, Voyage of the Dawn Treader will also go on my “do not own” list. Why? Again, incantations/spells and the like are witchcraft any way you slice the apple. Period. (see negative side below for more)

First, I must say that 20th Century Fox did a decent job in the overall look, feel and making of the film. I am not sure why Disney gave it up, and I don’t really care. LOL! However, at least 20th Century Fox kept true to what the fans of the series want.

The movie itself had a slow start in my opinion. I think it took a little too long to really get going. Thankfully, once it did, your interest was kept…for the most part.

Lucy and Edmund entered Narnia via a picture on the wall this time, and were accompanied by their pretentious cousin, Eustace, who adds an element of humor and entertainment to a film that needed it. There is much adventure, fun and lessons to be learned in this film. However, as usual, I do not want to give storyline away, so I will leave it at that!

One thing I was bothered by though, and maybe it is because I am so anal …LOL… Prince Caspian lost his accent! He sounded more British than Spanish. It bothered me the whole movie! LOL!

On the negative side: I find it amazing how Christian land will sing the praises of any movie that does not have sex, drugs, and bad language. We forget the other negative elements because as a whole we have decided that as long as it does not have sex and language issues it’s not “that bad”, so, let’s adopt it and promote it is a family movie!

It annoys me to no end. We are such hypocritical laughing stocks to a world that knows FULL WELL what we SHOULD be promoting and not promoting…obviously better than God’s own children!

I was disappointed in a couple aspects of the film…

Sadly, Lucy recites a few incantations from a book of spells, and again my spirit had a check and my chest was tight with discomfort.

Sure, we can call it “entertainment”. However, let me ask those who take that stance a couple questions…

  1. Who are we to pick and choose what is STILL sin today and what is not?
  2. If we want to call witchcraft “entertainment” even though the Bible CLEARLY tells us to avoid it, why not let our husbands go to strip clubs and buy porno? What is the difference? Isn’t it also labeled “entertainment”?

Please do not take this the wrong way, I understand there is an underlying positive message to this series and Aslan is metaphorically Jesus/God. I also understand that lessons are learned and the spells (well, at least one of the spells) are considered evil in the film. However, when we throw in elements that are so clearly forbidden by Daddy God, what are we proving? Can we not send a positive message, and still leave out the things that are very unhealthy to listen/view/absorb?

We have taken something like witchcraft, which is VERY real, my friends, and packaged it in pretty bows in the name of “entertainment“. We have decided to pick and choose what is “relevant” for “today” in God’s Word. However, the Bible I read says that God is the SAME yesterday, today and FOREVER!

Hmmm….

I would encourage all of my readers to prayerfully consider your stance on ALL issues. Does it line up with the Word, your flesh or the world?

Conclusion: Overall, the film was fun, semi captivating and engaging. For me, it was my least favorite of the three.

Worth seeing? Hmmm, well, that depends on your views. Also, if you saw one and two and never read the books, you may want to see it to appease your curiosity! LOL!

Oh, and before you blast me for this review, LOL…Please do not misunderstand me, I am not a self righteous, judgmental loony tune who only looks at the dark side of everything. However, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…perhaps, just perhaps it IS a duck!

And, after writing this, I wonder if I should even own the first one? Hmmm…Something to ponder and pray about!

I would love to know your thoughts on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader below…

Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved

4 Comments

  1. Heather R Riggleman on December 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm

    I took my oldest daughter to it last week during the Christmas season. I thought it was an great movie, good points and lessons too.

  2. Angie Hott on January 3, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    Actually, we are planning to see this movie on Wednesday! Having read all seven books in the series with my 10 year old daughter, we are VERY excited to see this movie and look forward to meeing Eustice. Thanks for the tips… we’ll keep an eye out for your the areas of concern you mentioned! But we will still go to see the movie… we are such book nerds!
    By the way, “The Last Battle” (7th in the series) is the best and most clever book ever!

  3. Lisa on April 5, 2011 at 2:21 am

    The Voyage of Dawn Treader is a wonderful movie and was so happy to see y’all discussing it! Don’t forget that it comes to DVD April 8th.

  4. Marie Carnine on May 19, 2011 at 11:59 pm

    Thanks for this review. I was about to let my kids see this but saw a preview of it tonight and was having concerns about the witchcraft in the movie. I don’t want to introduce my kids to witchcraft, even if it comes in a so called “christian package”. I think highly of CS Lewis and his life and books but sometimes movies can interpret things and show them in such a way to create lasting pictures in our minds and can open our spirits up to things.

    Thanks again!

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