Scene from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" |
The weekend that an adaptation of C.S. Lewis' much beloved book "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was released in theaters, a heavy snowstorm convinced this Christian dad to stay home rather than "tread" the treacherous roads.
And considering the lackluster performance of "The Dawn Treader" at the box office, many other moviegoers must have stayed home, too.
What turned them off? Was it the weather? The poor reception that "Prince Caspian," the previous Narnia movie, received? The higher, 3-D ticket price? Or rumors that "Treader" wasn't as "Christian" as its source book or even previous Narnia films?
Well, I can't imagine it was weather for the approximately 20 million fewer ticket buyers who skipped out on "Treader" (compared to the first in the series, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe").
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And it certainly shouldn't have been the 3-D ticket price, as "Treader" was loaded with visually spectacular, fantastic scenery in lush, vivid color and swashbuckling action that made it one of the few 3-D movies in the past few years to really take advantage of the new technology. Coupled with some clever audio – particularly during the scene with invisible characters who spoke unpredictably and entertainingly from all over the theater – "Treader" was a well-made treat for theatergoers well worth the extra couple of bucks.
Ah well, then perhaps it was the movie's message.
As fellow movie reviewer Dr. Ted Baehr pointed out, "Treader" does maintain much of the allegorical Christian content that C.S. Lewis wrote into the book: the metaphor for heaven that is "Aslan's country," the painful cleansing of Eustace's dragon scales that reflects the Holy Spirit's sometimes painful process of sanctifying the Christian, the seven deadly sins and the most important line of the tale, when Aslan tells the children he is "known by another name" – meaning Jesus – in their world.
Looking hard enough, and with enough hope, the Christian message of "Treader" can still be found.
If you want to.
If you're not cringing at all the opportunities that "Treader" missed or the theological blunders it slips into the script.
I'll point out two, specifically.
My first objection is based upon a pair of lines that come off as surprisingly modern and humanistic when compared to the version of "Treader" penned by the author of "Mere Christianity."
In one scene, Aslan tells Lucy, "You doubt your value; don't doubt who you are."
In another, Lucy tells a little girl who aspires to be like her, "When you grow up, you should be just like you."
More than just throwaway lines, these two scenes are powerful and poignant – moments that define the moral of the story – and they are delivered awkwardly, more like an afterschool special on self-esteem than a C.S. Lewis metaphor.
My second objection is over the changes introduced to Eustace and the mouse, Reepicheep.
Rather than a repentant boy trapped mournfully in a dragon's body by his own foolhardiness, Eustace actually stays a dragon long enough to be the hero of the film over and over again, a change that diminishes the power of the metaphor.
And Reepicheep, the only character to go to Aslan's country, says of his quest to see the promised land, "I can only hope to earn the right to see it," in direct contradiction to the gospel of grace.
Furthermore, Aslan tells the valiant mouse, "My country was made for noble hearts," and, "No one could be more deserving."
Say what? Lewis knew no man "deserves" heaven, neither is it made for the noble, but for the sinner redeemed who does not deserve it, but receives it by faith.
So while the Jesus metaphor is preserved in the film through Aslan, Jesus' message is completely corrupted.
Blogger Trevin Wax said it far better than I could: "My satisfaction was dashed when the rest of the scene turned upside down the entire theological vision of Lewis. 'My country is made for those with noble hearts,' says Aslan. Really? In the context of the film, the message is: be true to yourself, become a hero and then you can head into Aslan's country. That this vision of salvation has C.S. Lewis' name on it is a travesty."
The movie itself, in my opinion, is a solid sequel in the franchise, filled with adventure, mystery, magic and spectacle. But the message, alas, may make some Christian parents decide to skip it, even if the weather outside is lovely.
Content advisory:
- Surprisingly, "Dawn Treader" contains one violation of the Third Commandment. It contains no obscenities.
- The film contains one kiss and some flirtatious tones as Lucy is growing into a teen, dreaming of life as a woman, but no overt sexuality.
- The movie has several scenes of battle, sword fighting, punching, men falling to their deaths and so forth. There is also a major battle with a sea monster, including impaling the beast. There is little to no blood and gore.
- Above and beyond the movie's Christian (and anti-Christian) themes, the movie also contains several elements of myth and magic: the transportation to and from Narnia, a book of magic spells and incantations, a green mist that makes nightmares into reality, various characters under various spells, a magic pool, magic swords and so forth. Narnia is a fantasy world where magic is portrayed as amoral.