Reactions to “Dawn Treader” Trailer

June 19, 2010 Mike Narnia Film News, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Movie News, Twentieth Century Fox, Walden Media 51

This week’s release of the long-anticipated teaser trailer for “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” generated a decent amount of buzz on entertainment- and movie-related websites and blogs. Here’s a sample of what people had to say about the trailer:

…Entertainment Weekly’s Grady Smith writes “I love the trailer like Edmond [sic] loves Turkish Delight”

…Drew McWeeny of hitfix.com says the trailer “is still an intriguing glimpse at an adaptation of the best book in the ‘Narnia’ series”

…Amanda Haska of E! Online asks “Stunning visuals, magical creatures and seriously epic battle scenes, could this be the best Narnia film yet?

You can also check out articles at the National Catholic Register and Empire Online. Empire says the the lower budget shows in the trailer, a debatable claim given the nearly six months of post-production left, but praises the Australian locations.

Nevertheless, much of the reaction to the “Dawn Trader” trailer is positive. One thing I noticed in reviewing these sites was that a number of people adding comments remarked how much they liked the “Dawn Treader” book and looked forward to the film version.

December 10 will be here before we know it!

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Walt Disney Records have released two versions of the soundtrack for Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe today. The first is the Original Soundtrack, featuring score composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and songs performed by Alanis Morrissette, Imogen Heap, Tim Finn and Lisbeth Scott. The other is the 2-disc Special Edition Soundtrack, which includes a Special Edition CD, containing the original soundtrack plus a 40-page souvenir booklet, and DVD. […]

51 Comments

  4. Paul,

    I have noticed the positive reviews myself. The only criticism has come from a few well know Narnian fans. I thought the trailer was about as perfect a teaser trailer as you could get. All the people I have talked to that saw the 3D trailer before TS3 loved it!

    I was wanting to get your thoughts on the possibility of Tilda Swinton being cast as TLOTGK?

    I ask this because of the very

    • I’m honestly not sure about her appearing as the Lady of the Green Kirtle. There have been scholars that believed the White Witch later became her, and there have been others that said otherwise. Tilda’s eyes are naturally green, so they may not have changed them for this movie.

    • They are naturally green, but it sure looks like they are exaggerated GREEN in the trailer and with the addition of the GREEN smoke… Could just be coincidence, but it makes you wonder… at least it does me. ; )

    • I would love to see Tilda Swinton as TLOTGK!

      P.S. Paul, what is your opinion of Jadis/White Witch/The Lady of the Green Kirtle?

      • I think the Lady of the Green Kirtle is someone new, personally, and I would love to see someone new in that role. I’d love for it to be someone that commands respect and power.

        • In reading the books I never noticed any similarities in character between the Lady and the WW. (Other than being witches and going after young boys promising them kingship of countries they have no real authority over.) Being able to “come back” as a younger, more beautiful witch with entirely different powers, in my eyes, gives Jadis far more actual power than she has or ever should have–especially considering she’s dead 😉 and has so far been able to re-appear (in the movies) only by Black Magic and in dreams. I think Tilda will do a fabulous job as Jadis in TMN, but I agree with Paul that we will and should see a new personality for TLOTGK.

  5. I’m hoping the best. My dad says it looks awesome, and I like how it looks for the most part, but I am still apprehensive.

  6. I seriously think this movie could make or break the franchise. So many people 1. love–no, ADORE–the book and 2. are waiting to see if Fox grabs hold of the spirit of the Narnian world in ways that Disney’s Caspian did not. The stakes are higher than ever after PC, both monetarily and fan-wise, and I sincerely think that Voyage has what it takes if it pleases the fans. If Voyage is successful, and I’d say December is a great time for it to BE successful, then we have a greater chance of seeing The Silver Chair, The Magician’s Nephew, The Last Battle and maybe even The Horse & His Boy (my personal fav) in THEATERS!!! 😀 Advertising the trailer on Toy Story 3 is a HUGE PLUS since THAT movie is so popular with people of ALL ages, not just kids. So far, so good Fox. Can’t wait to see more!

    • They are making ”the Silver Chair” and ”Horse and his boy” and ”last Battle”. Its is in that order to!!!! I cant wait. Im not shere how there going to do horse and his boy. But I am VARY excited!!!!!! lol:)

      • Thank the Lord!
        I don’t even care HOW they do HAHB, I just want them to do it! I just hope FOX does better than Disney accuracy-wise, but then again, it’s a movie! Sigh.

        • That’s what I was going to ask…Is there a link to this information? I haven’t heard a THING about making the rest of the series and this website would have said something I’m SURE. I sincerely HOPE they make all 7, but I still think it hinges on the success of Voyage.

        • Exactly!! There has to be a Magician’s Nephew movie!! It’s the beginning of Narnia!! They have to make it!! It’s my second favorite in the series!! (Dawn Treader being my first) I will be so sad if they don’t make it!! If Fox doesn’t, I hope another company does!!

  8. Entertainment Tonight showed almost all of the footage from the trailer (though they are shown in different a different order). We’re talking about the most-watched in entertainment news program, and the had nothing but wonderful things to say about it. This is definitely a big push in promotion now that the footage has been shown on TV. I don’t know what it is, but whenever Narnia is mentioned or shown on TV or anywhere else, my heart starts pounding. I get really excited and squeal really loud-just ask anyone who caught me watching the trailer at 3 AM on Thursday! Anyways, I’m really excited for the movie to come out and I think that it will be great. I will also say that I had the chance a couple of months ago to talk with Randy Testa, vice president of education and professional development at Walden Media, when he was teaching a session at the Festival of Faith and Writing in Grand Rapids. He really thinks that this will rival LWW, and after seeing the footage, I whole-heartedly agree with him.

    • I’m fairly certain there will be. The majority of movies have 2-3 trailers. With this being our teaser, I wouldn’t be surprised if a longer one will show up eventually.

  11. nice to hear some positivity about the trailer!! the negative know-it alls are a real downer- I’m THRILLED they got to make it after all!!! can’t wait!!

  12. What? The smaller budget shows? What the heck are they talking about? Haha… this absolutely captures the spirit of the book, and the trailer is brilliant. And, to me, some of these scenes (Britain, the sunlit islands, the lilies, the bayside city, just to name a few) captured more of the feel of Narnia than the previous two movies. I know that just because a trailer is good doesn’t mean that a movie will be good, but I’m getting the feeling this movie will be amazing.

  14. This trailer was so good. I didn’t have internet the day it came out so I had to use my dad’s phone. This trailer is such a great piece of what is to come. Can’t wait for the next trailer. Fox and Walden Media may have created the best Narnia movie so far…

  15. Paul,

    Do you have any idea what movie they’ll do IF they do SC next? My guess is that they’ll make The last Battle, becuase it follows the main storyline that they are following (Eustace & Jill and the Pevensies). Then they would make MN and HB.

    I mean I know that they are trying to go with the original publication order, but than that would mean breaking out of the storyline and introducing new characters that will not appear in the very last one. It may leave moviegoers confused because the major characters from the previous movies aren’t in them.

    So, will they make The Last Battle right after The Silver Chair, or cut to different time periods in Narnia history with brand new characters?

    ~Zack

    • All the characters, except Susan, have or can have at least cameos in The Last Battle…Well, Su can too, just not in Narnia. 😉 Remember the Garden? Further up and further in! 🙂 Though I do agree that plot-wise it would be good to do SC next, The Last Battle truly needs to be THE last Narnia film.

      • I agree. It would be nice to do HAHB and TMN after TSC then have TLB, characters from those could show up. I would LOVE to see Shasta/Cor and Aravis in the Last Battle!

    • Zack – Producer Mark Johnson wants Will Poulter to star in The Silver Chair, so he’s going to push to do that one as soon as possible.

      • any chance of urging these people to speed up releasing the movies? REMEMBER WHEN they were going to put out one a year? SO IT MUST BE POSSIBLE! People online are saying they had forgotten about the franchise and were surprised to hear of VDT being produced. this is taking FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ARGHHHHH!

      • Wait, maybe I stated that question wrongly. I meant, AFTER SC is made, would they make LB next? This way they get the major storyline out of the way, then cut to the other time periods. I just think that if they make MN or HB afte SC, people will get confused because they will think that MN follows SC directly, or that HB does. It will just get confusing, right?

        I really hope they make LB as the fifth film, then adapt the extra books that are in different timelines.

        ~Zack

        • As I said before, it really doesn’t make sense to have LB made BEFORE HAHB or MN. Narnia ENDS in LB, then we make movies about going back? Also, HAHB and MN use completely different characters, with the exception of Aslan, so it POSSIBLY could work to make them at the same time and put them out within a year of each other, making the span of time between SC and LB not nearly as long. As Peep and I both said, all main characters do or have the chance of showing up in LB, so it gives LB more meaning to truly be the LAST battle. This is my take on the order: LWW, PC, VOTDT, SC, MN, HAHB, LB.

          • Of course we would make movies about going back, even after Narnia ends. What do you think prequels are? They tell what happened BEFORE the major plot. Prequels are made all the time…The Hobbit is going to be a movie soon, but LOTR already ended. Why would they make a film about going back as you say? Becuase it is a prequel.

            This is why they should get the chronalogical story out first, then cut to the different time periods in Narnian history.

            ~Zack

        • And it shouldn’t be confusing if marketed correctly. MN is more like a PREQUEL to the Narnia series, like The Hobbit is to LOTR and HAHB can be marketed as a glimpse back to The Golden Age…Which is why I think its the best choice for the 6th movie and MN for the 5th. HAHB is the hardest to explain, but it definitely can be done in a way that excites fans–cause the movie fans should be as crazy as the book fans by then–and not confuse them.

          • I just feel that going back to the past in movies will braek the series–financially. It could definately work for MN, but NOT for HAHB…

            I understand about the characters being introduced in LB, but with the direction they are taking with these movies are following ONE HUGE STORYLINE! They should end this plot with the Pevensies and Eustace/Jill, then continue on with the prequels even though Narnia is over.

            Just my opinion, as for the STORYLINE/PLOT, it makes sense. I’m not saying that this is how’ll they’ll do it, but that is makes sense because it’s chronalogical.

            ~Zack

          • Actually, Zack, the direction they’re taking is in following the original publication order of the books. However, that being said, I see what you mean about HHB and MN. They both, however, feature prominent characters that also appear in The Last Battle. Plus, doing those books would allow them to have the cast members and they’d be near the correct age for the roles they play in the final chapter.

          • Zach, if you want chrono-plot, then MN should have been made first and HAHB following LWW (cause it happens “during”). And the big difference between MN being a prequel to the rest and The Hobbit being made after LOTR is 1. The Hobbit can stand on its own, MN cannot. 2. Narnia actually officially ENDS, Middle Earth does not. I definitely see your point, however it probably bears mentioning that if movie-goers just want chrono-storyline, why bother making MN and HAHB at all? The reason? Narnia is incomplete without them and there are special characters–Polly and Digory being primary–that play very important roles in The Last Battle. It simply does not make logical sense to introduce Digory and Polly being at the creation of Narnia AFTER movie-goers have already seen them at the END of Narnia…Especially with the number of “significant looks”, lines, and characters from MN that appear in TLB, connecting it all together.

          • Concerning breaking the series financially, I actually believe that making MN and HAHB before making TLB will create excitement among the fans, strengthen the fan base, and INCREASE MOMENTUM so that TLB is the HUGE finale on film that it is as a book. 😀

  16. They would have to do SC next, then MN, before doing LB. Otherwise no one who hasn’t read the books will know who the Professor and Polly are when the Seven Friends of Narnia are approached by Tirian. And if they don’t do HAHB somewhere before LB, the full impact of it being Calormans in Narnia won’t really sink in.

  17. I am very apprehensive, but his being my fave along with Silver Chair, I’m terrifically excited to see it (if not that much more apprehensive). Caspian was such a catastrophe. I don’t remember Jadis making an appearance in the book of Caspian and it looks like they’re bringing her back to screw with a perfect story in the Dawn Treader. They’ll probably cast TLOTGK as someone else, but I would not put it past these jokers to make Jadis the ongoing arch enemy throughout the saga. It’s what I call Spiderman 3 Syndrome; too many villians and no focus. Iron Man 2 did it. They can’t help themselves for some reason. Fingers crossed.

    • Caspian wasn’t a catastrophe… Jadis didn’t make an appearance in the book, but she ALMOST did. The film just took it about 2 minutes further than the book had. How perfect Dawn Treader’s story is as a book is inconsequential to how it would play out in movie form. They’re not bringing her back to screw with anything. She’s in the book. I trust you can find her appearance. You just have to look harder.

      And calling the filmmakers ‘jokers’ isn’t going to go very far. They are doing what they feel is best for the film versions. I’m sure if you made it yourself, your version would not be the same as anyone elses. You want to call adding one character to a movie “Spider-Man 3 Syndrome,” that’s your prerogative. You have to understand why she’s there, though, and you just might like it. This is a case where you need to calm down, take a deep breath, and realize that you’ve only seen 2 minutes of the movie.

  18. disney did great with lion the witch but with caspian it wasnt all that great. im glad disney did pick up the franchise because idt anyone could have captured the magic like they have. disney is all about being classic as well and thats what narnia is but when they changed stuff in caspian it didnt connect at all. i hope that these new ppl can capture the magic and classical elements the way disney did. i wish disney would have stuck with it because narnia has a huge huge fan base. i just think they made huge mistakes when they took stuff out and changed things in caspian that shouldnt have been done. but this aslan looks creepo in this 3rd instalment i like disneys aslan better

  19. I really hope that they get it right this time around, I was truly disappointed in Prince Caspian. I hope they can redeemed themselves with book 3. I have read The Chronicles of Narnia at least once a year since I was 12 years old and I get something out of it every time. I really hope they get it right this time around.

    And stick to the order that C.S. Lewis wrote the series.

  20. I cant wait for it to come out!!!:)
    BUT JUST 1 QUESTION
    WHY ARE PETER AND SUSAN IN THE TRAILER THEY CANT BE THERE TILL LB

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