New!
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth Podcast, Jan 24, 2023

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 13, 2022

Quests

Join our monthly digital book quests.

Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, January 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

Silver Bounty
“Current themes of freedom, sacrifice, and revenge flow through the briny depths of Silver Bounty by Victoria McCombs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 6, 2023

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Archives

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

Lorehaven issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ SpecFaith /

It’s Dawn

OK, it’s actually late afternoon here, but it is time for me to write my review of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I used a little chronometric license 😉 . I went to see the latest version—I say […]
Rebecca LuElla Miller on Jan 3, 2011
No comments

OK, it’s actually late afternoon here, but it is time for me to write my review of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, so I used a little chronometric license 😉 .

I went to see the latest version—I say latest because I understand some years ago the BBC produced a movie-length rendition of the third book in C. S. Lewis’s Narnia series—a week ago and have had time to mull over what I want to say.

First, in my list of 2010 favorites, I have to bump Dawn Treader from the number two spot in movies to number three. In its place I’m putting Tangled.

Now on to the actual review.

As a story. The friend I saw Dawn Treader with loved the movie. She, who had not read the book, thought it was the best of the three Narnia movies.

I thought it had suspense building to a climax, a touching ending, believable character development, adventure. I did not find the antagonist to be a sufficient foe, especially since the protagonists had no goal. Yes, Prince Caspian had a goal, but Edmund and Lucy didn’t have a specific goal. That weakened the story, I think.

As a movie adaptation. The boy who played Eustace Scrubbs was brilliant, and Reepicheep was every bit the hit he was in the book. I truly enjoyed both characters.

As so many others have said, I was left baffled as to why some of the scenes in the book were compressed and truncated, when developing them to their fullest would have made the movie much more interesting. The dangers of each island were barely revealed before they were solved. More please! was my response at every turn.

Also, I couldn’t help wondering why there weren’t more Narnians on board the Dawn Treader. It seemed to be mostly a group of men and a couple talking animals. No dwarfs. Perhaps I’m wrong to expect a more eclectic crew. I’ll have to pull out my copy of the book and see.

As a Christian work. Clearly the movie is not a Christian work, nor should viewers have expected it to be so. C. S. Lewis wrote fantasy, and we Christians recognized the truth he incorporated in his stories. Sadly, those coming to the books from a different worldview will miss some, if not all, of the parts that point to Christ. And that includes those who made the movie. True to form, they veered from the heart of Narnia in a variety of places. But they maintained what I consider to be the most crucial elements—Eustace’s change from dragon to boy and Aslan’s explanation that the children must learn to know him in their world by his other name. Those were well done and not downplayed at all.

Rant alert: Even if the movie makers had been faithful to the story, viewers should watch with a critical eye and measure the story with the Bible, not C. S. Lewis’s book. We Christians are too quick to give our stamp of approval to something that carries the “right” brand. Is it Christian? All right then, we can watch that movie, read that book, and put our powers of discernment away.

I find that to be a position setting a person up to believe false teaching.

I’ll use The Shack as an example. While many people loved the book because it gave them a greater understanding of God’s love and forgiveness, they may not have realized that it also exposed them to Paul Young’s ideas about universal salvation. Why? Because they let their guards down since they’d been told the book was a Christian work.

Labels, good or bad, should not do our thinking for us. We need to read and evaluate each work on its own, using the Bible as the standard by which we measure the truth it contains.

Conclusion. See The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Then see it again. More importantly, buy the book, read it aloud to someone you love, give it away and buy it again. Talk about the story. Compare it to what the Bible says about us and about God. And finally, cheer on the movie makers so that they will make the next one. These fantasies need to be out in our culture. They need to be stories Christians and non-Christians alike know and talk about. (And pray that the movie-makers get the next one right! 😀 )

Rebecca LuElla Miller
Best known for her aspirations as an epic fantasy author, Becky is the sole remaining founding member of Speculative Faith. Besides contributing weekly articles here, she blogs Monday through Friday at A Christian Worldview of Fiction. She works as a freelance writer and editor and posts writing tips as well as information about her editing services at Rewrite, Reword, Rework.
Website ·
  1. Morgan L. Busse says:
    January 4, 2011 at 8:54 am

    Ok, I have not seen this movie yet ($ and kids lol), but I liked your review, especially your ending when even if something is labeled “Christian” we should still bring discernment along. I’m starting to come across Christian fiction where sin is okay if it helps the greater good (or moves the plot along), with no consequences or a slight slap on the hand. I’m all for characters struggling, but when a Christian author says sin is okay for the greater good, that’s sending a mixed message to the readers.

    Reply
  2. Rebecca LuElla Miller says:
    January 4, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    Great example of the kind of thing we should be watching for, Morgan. Sadly, it seems the majority of readers are too quick to accept, or reject, a book and all it says based on the author’s name or the particular brand (oh, it’s Christian romance. Then it’s fine!). I think we take in a lot of subtle influence when we assume all is well if the book comes from X Christian store or is written by Y Christian author.

    Becky

    Reply
  3. Tweets that mention Speculative Faith: It’s Dawn -- Topsy.com says:
    January 4, 2011 at 3:16 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Speculative Faith, Timothy Stone. Timothy Stone said: http://tinyurl.com/2dcy784 – SpecFaith: It’s Dawn […]

    Reply
  4. Nikole Hahn says:
    January 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm

    “I’ll use The Shack as an example. While many people loved the book because it gave them a greater understanding of God’s love and forgiveness, they may not have realized that it also exposed them to Paul Young’s ideas about universal salvation. Why? Because they let their guards down since they’d been told the book was a Christian work.”

    Never liked The Shack. I thought it was billed as nonfiction, not fiction? Didn’t read it. Don’t want to. I like the point you made in this book. We do tend to brand it via labels and not put up to the truth of the Bible.

    Reply
  5. Martin LaBar says:
    January 7, 2011 at 8:16 pm

    I saw the film today. Your review is spot on, and the most crucial part of that review is this “But they maintained what I consider to be the most crucial elements—Eustace’s change from dragon to boy and Aslan’s explanation that the children must learn to know him in their world by his other name. Those were well done and not downplayed at all.” There were things that could have made the movie better, and many of them were also things that would have made it more like the book.

    Thanks.

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • Why Can a Book’s Movie Be So Bad? When an Adaptation Goes AstrayWhy Can a Book’s Movie Be So Bad? When an Adaptation Goes Astray
  • Human Nature 2: The Greatest Battle Lies WithinHuman Nature 2: The Greatest Battle Lies Within
  • Defeating Man-Centered Monsters With Greater StoriesDefeating Man-Centered Monsters With Greater Stories
  • ‘Dawn Treader’ Film May Hit Story Sandbars, Part 1‘Dawn Treader’ Film May Hit Story Sandbars, Part 1
Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven

Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter