The Voyage Begins in One Month…
Reflections: One Month to Go…
by GlumPuddle
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader releases on Friday December 10… just one month away. The anticipation for this film has been an interesting journey.
Before Prince Caspian even finished shooting, it was announced that Michael Apted would take the reins from Andrew Adamson and direct The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I think this was the beginning of fans starting to view the film as a fresh start.
Prince Caspian hit theaters on May 16, 2008. Fans were divided, and its box office numbers were disappointing. The DVD release included pre-viz from Dawn Treader, and fans started getting excited. But, just a few weeks later, after several production delays and release date changes, Disney announced that they were dropping out. For five weeks, fans waited anxiously and pondered if the series was already over. Finally, Walden Media was joined by Fox. The final release date was announced as December 10, 2010.
As production began in Australia, the first pictures of the Dawn Treader herself started popping up. But instead of the big “ta-da!” revelation I think fans were waiting for, we slowly watched the ship evolve before our eyes and start to take shape. Spy videos of the filming started appearing on YouTube, and a few were controversial.
After production was complete, it was announced that the film would be converted to 3D. The reactions to this were mixed. I personally don’t love 3D, but I think it is safe to say that Walden is putting a lot of effort into making the 3D in this film as good as possible. This will not be Clash of the Titans where Warner Bros had to rush to convert it at the last minute.
Fox has taken a different approach to the marketing than Disney. The first trailer revealed very little about the plot, and there was not much advertising in the months that followed. But now, with the release just around the corner, Fox seems to have started really pulling back the curtain.
And that brings us to today.
I think, from the beginning, many fans have viewed this film as a chance for redemption. Prince Caspian‘s box office was disappointing, but the book is also generally considered the least-favorite in the series. Dawn Treader, on the other hand, is generally at the top. Was Prince Caspian‘s disappointing box office just a one-time fluke due to a poor release date and difficult source material? Or have audiences really lost interest in the series? Can Dawn Treader, with its better release date and more popular source material, get the series back on track? The answers are coming… in one month.
But even if Dawn Treader is a hit, the future of the series is still uncertain. The discussion and anticipation continues…
Further up and further in!
(When will you see the film? Vote in our poll, located on the bottom-right side of the homepage)
Interesting to look back and think about all we've been through with regards to this film… I still remember the anxiety of not knowing whether Disney's drop would kill the series or not! Now we've one month to go… wow. =D
wow, one month!
finally the long awaited movie will be here! yay! 😀
Well said, gP! Like it or not, this movie is a deciding factor in the future of the franchise. And despite the changes, my view is generally positive. Here's hoping for the movie to do well and for SC to be greenlit!
Here we go! Further up, and further in!
I wish I could see it in a month, but my family doesn't go to theaters, so I'll wait to buy the DVD. I try to be patient…but it's so hard to wait! However, I managed fine on the other two movies, so I guess I can handle this one. Go Dawn Treader! Here's to hoping it's the best movie of the holiday season! 🙂
Thank goodness. After all the changes and all the tensions and all the waiting… we are nearly there.
Wow…It's great going back now and then to see the roots of how VDT started its voyage. I didn't start really reading the news until it was June 2010 (although I remember reading about Will Poulter cast as Eustace and watching one of the spy videos), so when I learn more of what's gone on before, I can't help but feeling amazed at what all the NarniaWebbers experienced. I'm ready to finish the anticipated ride of insanity and spoilers, and if I'm lucky, I can be a full-time watcher on the next movie(SC, I hope!). Thank you glumPuddle for posting this, and further up and further in! 😉
Somewhere along the way, I won 3 free movie tickets. I'll use one for the 3D showing, one for when I go with my family, & one to maybe go a third time. Who knows? I cannot wait.
Yes, I can't believe this.
Hurray! I'm seeing it the 11th! And… then I'm seeing it again with people from our church. If it's SUPPER good, I might go a third time 😀 'Who knows? Only time…'
Yeah, Apted felt like a fresh start, and I'm glad he took the helm of Dawn Treader. I was ready for Adamson to go! 🙂 Though I have to hand it to him for chosing good Pevensie kids. Otherwise, I was ready for a new director 🙂
This is awesome! this movie has been one of the most things I've been waiting for all year! I can't believe(but then I can) that its one month till! Im SOOO EXCITED!!!
I remember doing all this same stuff back when PC was coming out too…I wish I'd been around back when LWW was just coming out too. But I'm planning to be back for all the rest!
For Narnia and for Aslan!
~Danieljofficial
P.S. For all of you on Twitter, use the #DawnTreader hashtag for anything you write about Narnia. Help make it a trending topic!!
You guys are way to excited. It's just a movie, chill out.
IM SO HAPPY! i get to see it on december 6!
It's about time! I feel like I've seen the whole movie already from trailers and stills, but I know that there is a lot more to come 🙂
What can I say? I get excited easily…
One Month!!! That's totally crazy! The time passed so much more quickly than I thought it would! I absolutely cannot wait!!!
NO WAY! IN ONE MONTH?!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!
WOW! ONE MONTH TO GO!!! CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S JUST AROUND THE CORNER:)
Only one month???? Exciting! But that means it's also only one month till finals week. Ahhh!
I'm with you there, haha.
Only one month. It's time to read the book again. 🙂
Just a movie? No. It's a movie based on what might be the greatest work of fiction ever written. It's a book about the longing for one's true home and ultimately the joy of finding it. It's a book that changed my life.
…And now they're making a movie out of it! Ahhh! They have to get it right.
AMEN!
Awesome, One Month!! I can't believe it. It is crazy how fast time goes by…. I just can't wait!!
What Might have Happened
Very interesting.
How, friend of a friend? Just curious.
I agree with you glumPuddle, it is exciting. But some people make way to much of a deal over this. Yes I'm very excited, but after seeing it 20 times, I won't be so excited. I think what CM means to say is that characters (that are not really real) should not affect your life.
One more month! I Can't Wait! What a ride we fans have been on! God Willing its on to SC next! Happy Birthday Douglas Gresham!
Why do people keep targeting Pepper for nasty comments? For the record, Pepper, I think you're very nice and don't deserve such rudeness. 🙂 Hopefully the comment will get deleted.
Never mind. The mods deleted it even before I posted. They're really on the ball today! 🙂
I live in Bolivia so I have no idea when I will be able to see the movie 🙁 so I can't really do the poll, maybe you should put an option like "as soon as I can"
Quoted by the beloved Enya, perhaps? LOL 🙂
I agree with you, glumPuddle, well said.
With all due respect Queen Elizabeth and CM, I'd like to ask- why not? Books have shaped who I am as a person since I was 4 years old. I understand other people much better than many of them understand anyone else. This understanding I've learned from the characters who live in books and then found to be true by observation.
Book characters have affected my life in <em>drastic</em> ways, and I believe that to be a very good thing. As a matter of fact, I don't understand why anyone needs to chill out over this film. But, that's an opinion, and everyone's entitled to their own opinion of course. 😛 Especially here. 🙂
No, I'm not a dancing, screaming, maniacal fan, but that's not exactly my personality either. 😛 However, I will be very affected if this film does not turn out in a way that is true to the spirit of the book and C.S. Lewis' vision. I was very upset over PC, and still shudder with dread over certain *ahem* events that were added. They were not true to the spirit of the book.
When books stop teaching me about life, stop giving me lifetime friends and stop filling me with passion, then I'll stop getting hyped up about a movie made from a book. 😉
Hopefully, we´ll know international release dates very soon 🙂
While I'm not a 'purist', the CoN books mean the world to me. I agree with glumPuddle.
This is just awesome. Only one month away. It's come so far, from getting our first look at the color of he sail and the un-constructed ship, to now. Fox is doing great at advertising. And I am SO excited for this movie. I believe it's going to be very, very good.
Apted has certainly proved himself. 😀
Tell me about it…
that's also why I can't see it 'til the 19th or the 20th… oh college…
Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will take me to a local theater on the tenth, but I can only hope.
SOOOOO freakin excited! But I am also very nervous cause my Black Belt Test is the same day. I keep telling myself; survive your black belt test then you get to go to narnia!
I thought about doing that, but as I can't fully remember the book (just big ideas since I read it so long ago), I figured that I was probably doing myself a favor. I'm kind of a recovering book purist and if I don't the remember the book as well, I'll probably enjoy the movie more. =D
You should have seen me when I found out that they were making a movie with Steve Irwin (RIP)
And I agree with glumPuddle's comment below as well, although for me the attachment to Narnia is for multiple reasons…
It has been a seemingly shorter wait for me because I did not become a serious fan until about Feb./March. But still, I am very thankful the movie's life was rescued by 20th Century Fox. I remember back in 2005 when I was eight my family went to LWW. I was very fascinated. In December 2008, we rented Prince Caspian for the first time. I, sadly, did not think it was as cool or fascinating as the first movie. After that I read the books for the first time and deeply enjoyed them. They became seven of my favorite books. And in December 2009 I found out the third was being made, but I didn't start following sites like this until February or March. Even though some spoilers made me cringe , I never completely lost hope. May your journey go well in a month, Dawn Treader.
Well, what does that say about the movie as an adaptation if forgetting the book makes you enjoy it more?
interesting read. Brings back so many memories!
I think you misunderstood what I meant. I agree with all of you. What I meant to say to glumPuddle is that it is okay for the movies and books to influence you, just like they do my paintings. But it is not real, and if you live thinking like it is real then you could live your whole life without seeing what is right in front of you. I am a huge fan, more than you know. But don't let it consume you.
So my final statement is… DECEMBER 10th! 3D! Me, The Movie, and an Ultra Large Popcorn!!! 🙂
Great way of writing this news. I actually remembered for a second how upset and anxious I felt without knowing it the series would continue.
Those five weeks were agonizing! So glad Fox stepped up. *whew*
i've been checking narniaweb.com DAILY for the past year.and to be honest when the rumors of LWW started…i remember back then..oh my time has gone by! yay for NarniaWeb! thank you for EVERYTHING that you've done NarniaWEb for us fellow Narnians.
can,t wait and see if this third movie will bering narnia back from its slup
One month to go. I remember when I first read this masterpiece. I said to myself, they have to make this into a movie. I was not impressed with BBC version at all. I am so looking forward to this movie, one month away!
The fact that I will not be able to see it in theatres is torture to me! 😛 Wish I could go see it on opening night.
I hope "Dawn Treader" stokes a new interest in the series and that they'll make "The Silver Chair" SOON!!!
I have been waiting for this ever since I first saw PC! I still remember how disappointed and anxious I was when I found out Disney 'dropped out' : P Hopefully the series may continue, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will be a smashing success!!!!!
I'm definetly going to watch it at least three times :]
I'm going to see it at midnight!! I gonna see it for my 15th birthday party, and I'm going to see it with my awesome pastor!!!
Me too
Having read The Chronicles of Narnia almost 50 years ago and re-read them several times since I have always thought the book The voyage of the Dawn Treader to be one of the better story line's of the series. From the preview it looks like it is going to be fun movie I have been promising all year to take all my kids and grandkids to see it. I do hope that they continue making the rest of the books although I am not so sure about The Horse and His Boy
GOOD for you Warrior of Narnia I know it will be a wonderfull time for you and all your freinds
Me Three