Michael Apted, Mark Johnson make 'Narnia' sequel magic with 'Dawn Treader'

This is a special report about the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," based on an advance screening (in New York City on September 27, 2010) of approximately 30 minutes of the film. In attendance at the screening were members of the media who were invited and various people associated with the film. There were no restrictions or embargoes placed on what could be reported about the screening. However, this article contains many spoilers (as indicated elsewhere in this article) about the plot of the film. People who have read the book on which this movie is based will already know about the film’s plot and how it ends. But for others who do not want to know until they see the movie, please do not read the content that is below the "spoiler alert" in this article.

Fear not, Narnia fans. If you think that "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is the most adventurous book in the beloved "Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis, then you’ll be happy to know that the movie adaptation of the "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (the third film in the "Narnia" series) looks like it fully delivers the magical excitement in that classic story. On September 27, I was among select members of the media who got to see sneak-preview footage and a soon-to-be released third trailer from "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" at a cocktail reception in New York City, with "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" director Michael Apted and producer Mark Johnson in attendance.

When "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" arrives in theaters on December 10, 2010, the film will be available in 3-D. The footage we saw at the screening was shown in 2-D, since the 3-D version of "Dawn Treader" is still being worked on in the post-production process. (The movie was filmed in Brisbane, Australia, and post-production is in London.) However, seeing the footage in 2-D did not diminish the impact or enjoyment of watching it, and neither will knowing in advance what happens in the film if you’ve already read the book. The fact that the "Dawn Treader" movie studio and filmmakers wanted to show so much of this movie in advance to the media (including the film’s ending) without an embargo indicates that there’s no need for "Inception"-like secrecy for a movie franchise that is already familiar to millions of people. The "Narnia" film series began with 2005’s "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and continued with 2008’s "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

What will get people to watch "Dawn Treader" is not so much to find out how the movie ends but rather to see a popular "Narnia" book come to life on screen — and no description of a movie can ever replace actually seeing the movie. After watching the footage (each clip was introduced by Apted with his wonderfully dry wit), I briefly chatted with Apted and Johnson in separate, one-on-one interviews. Those Q&As are at the very end of this article, after a lengthy description and my thoughts on the footage that I saw.

But first, here is a non-spoiler summary of the "Dawn Treader" movie plot. The film’s screenplay was written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Michael Petroni. In "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" movie, the four young Pevensie siblings (listed from oldest to youngest) — Peter (played by William Moseley), Susan (played by Anna Popplewell), Edmund (played by Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (played by Georgie Henley) — have returned from the magical land of Narnia back to their real life in 1940s England. Peter and Susan, although they do not appear in the "Dawn Treader" book, briefly appear in the "Dawn Treader" movie. While their parents are traveling with Susan, and Peter is away for university studies, Edmund and Lucy are temporarily living with an aunt and uncle, who have a bratty, mean-spirited son named Eustace Scrubb (played by Will Poulter), who resents having to share living space with his cousins Lucy and Edmund.

When Edmund, Lucy and Eustace discover a mysterious painting of a ship at sea, the painting comes to life, and the three kids find themselves drowning in sea water. They are rescued by King Caspian (played by Ben Barnes), who takes the kids with him and his crew, which includes feisty mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg), on his Dawn Treader ship (the ship that was in the painting) to find the seven swords that will release the magical power of Narnia in order to fight evil.

The third "Dawn Treader" trailer is a visual feast of the colorful Dawn Treader ship, massive tidal waves, Aslan (the all-powerful lion voiced by Liam Neeson), the Narnia heroes’ adventures on water and on land, and a brief glimpse of the epic final battle with a sea serpent. (The trailer shows Reepicheep getting into the fray.) And good news for fans of Barnes: Unlike the previous "Dawn Treader" trailers, which mostly showed Barnes with his back to the camera, this trailer actually has him facing the camera most of the time he is seen on screen.

We were then shown nine clips from "Dawn Treader," which are described below. (I took a lot of notes during the screening, which is why everything is so detailed.)

SPOILER ALERT! Do not read any further if you do not want to know about key "Dawn Treader" plot points or how the movie ends.

Clip #1

The first 10 minutes of the film were shown in this clip. Edmund tries to sign up for the military, but he is rejected because he is too young. Lucy reminds Edmund that he is a king in Narnia, not where they live now. Back at the Scrubb home, Eustace is shown writing in his diary: "Dear diary, it is now day 253 since my wretched cousins Lucy and Edmund invaded our house … If only one could treat relatives like one could treat insects, my problem would be solved. I could simply put them in a jar and pin them to a wall." Lucy and Edmund arrive at the Scrubb house. Edmund’s uncle is reading a newspaper, and Edmund sticks his tongue out at his unsuspecting uncle. Eustace is shown to be a tattletale by blabbing, "Father, Edmund’s making faces at you!"

Susan is seen at a far-away location, and she writing a letter to Edmund and Lucy. Susan mentions that she was invited to a tea party by a handsome naval officer. Susan then tells Edmund and Lucy in the letter that the Germans have made it difficult to cross the border, so they won’t see each other for another few months — clearly an indication that the story is set during World War II. Upon reading that part of the letter, Lucy looks dismayed and wails, "Another few months! How will we survive?"

Still in the Scrubb home, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace discover the magical Dawn Treader painting, which comes to life. The three children nearly drown, and they end up on the ship, having been saved by King Caspian and his crew. Lucy is ecstatic to see Caspian again. He tells her that he didn’t call for the Pevensies this time, as he did in the "Prince Caspian" story.

Eustace, who is unconscious, is revived by Reepicheep, and he immediately clashes with the mouse. Eustace angrily accuses Reepicheep of trying to "claw my face off." Reepicheep defends himself by saying he was just trying to expel the water from Eustace’s lungs. Eustace, who doesn’t believe that Narnia is real, immediately faints when he sees a talking minotaur on the ship. Caspian then proudly introduces Edmund and Lucy to his crew as king and queen of Narnia.

Clip #2

During the Dawn Treader voyage at sea, there’s a shortage of food (and tempers) on the ship. Reepicheep catches Eustace stealing an orange. Eustace denies it. Eustace grabs Reepicheep by the tail, and Reepicheep tells Eustace in no uncertain terms, "No one touches the tail!" Reepicheep challenges Eustace to a sword duel. During the fight, Reepicheep uses his sword to pluck the orange out from Eustace’s clothes, where he was hiding it.

Clip #3

While the Dawn Treader passengers are sleeping on a beach, Caspian wakes up and discovers that Lucy has disappeared. He alerts everyone, and they begin searching for her. It appears that Lucy has been kidnapped by two invisible giants that take her to a strange-looking garden and to an invisible house, where she finds the Book of Incantations. She has to read the spell that makes the unseen visible. Reciting the magical commands in the book, Lucy makes it snow inside the room. And after reciting the incantation to "be the beauty you always wanted to be," Lucy looks in a mirror and sees that her reflection has turned into Susan’s face.

Clip #4

Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Eustace meet a magician named Coriakin (played by Bille Brown), who tells them about Dark Island: "a place where evil lurks" and which "can make your darkest dreams come true." Coriakin says that the only way to stop the evil is to break its spell by finding seven swords. Coriakin then rolls out a map and tells them to follow the blue star to Ramandu’s Island, where the seven swords must be laid at Aslan’s table. "Only then," Coriakin says, "the true magical power will be released. But beware, you’re all about to be tested. Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you. Don’t fall to temptation. To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."

Clip #5

Eustace has been turned into a dragon as punishment for stealing gold. In this clip, Eustace (looking depressed, with a tear rolling down his face) and Reepicheep are gathered at a campfire. Reepicheep tries to comfort Eustace by telling him stories about other dragons that Reepicheep has encountered.

Clip #6

The Dawn Treader group arrives at Ramandu’s Island. Lilliandil (played by Laura Brent) appears to them as a star and then in human form. She welcomes the Dawn Treader people, introduces herself as the daughter of Ramandu, and tells them that she is their guide. Caspian remarks, with an awestruck expression, "You are most beautiful!" Lilliandil answers, "If it is a distraction for you, I can change forms." Caspian and Edmund both answer at the same time: "No!" Caspian and Edmund then give each other annoyed glances as they realize that they are both attracted to Lilliandil. Lucy looks slightly exasperated, as if she’s thinking, "Boys will be boys."

Lilliandil then invites everyone to eat a lavish feast. Edmund sees what appear to be lifeless bodies of men, scattered on the ground nearby. He asks Lilliandil about them, and she says that they were men that arrived at Ramandu’s Island "half-mad" and ready to kill each other, so they were "sent to sleep" since "violence is forbidden at the table of Aslan." Lucy asks when the men will wake up. Lilliandil replies, "When all is put right."

Clip #7

This clip was a brief part of the epic battle scene between an evil sea serpent and the Dawn Treader group. This part of the footage showed Eustace (in dragon form) getting the brunt of the attack. The sea serpent is much larger than Eustace, and it is by far the most fearsome creature seen in a "Narnia" movie so far. Note to parents and guardians: Although this sea serpent may frighten some children under the age of 9, most kids who are ages 9 or older should be able to handle seeing this monster on screen.

Clip #8

Before introducing this clip, Apted said at this point in the movie, the Dawn Treader group has found the seven swords, and the serpent and witch (presumably he was referring to the White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton, since she was shown in the first "Dawn Treader" trailer) have been defeated. Caspian is rowing a boat carrying himself, Lucy, Eustace (now back in human form), Edmund and Reepicheep on the Sea of Lilies. Edmund asks Eustace what it felt like when Aslan changed Eustace back into a human. Eustace says it "sort of hurt" but "it was good pain." Eustace then apologizes for his bad behavior. Edmund replies, "It’s OK, Eustace. You were a pretty good dragon." The five Dawn Treader victors end up on a beach where Aslan suddenly appears and congratulates them. Lucy asks, "Is this your country?" Aslan replies, "No, my country lies beyond."

Clip #9

Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, Caspian and Reepicheep are still on the beach with Aslan. After being told that if they go to Aslan’s Country, there is no going back, the children decide to go home to their families. Reepicheep asks Aslan if he can go to Aslan’s Country. Aslan says yes. Lucy asks to hug Reepicheep, and he consents with mock reluctance. Eustace is crying silently, and Reepicheep says to him, "Don’t cry. What a magnificent puzzle you are and a true hero." Reepicheep goes in a miniature row boat, rows out on a tidal wave and disappears into the sea. There’s sweeping end-of-the-movie farewell music throughout this whole scene. It’s the kind of scene that is supposed to make viewers shed a few tears.

Now for my impressions of the main "Dawn Treader" characters and how they are portrayed in the movie, based on the footage that I’ve seen so far: My sense is that Lucy, as played by Henley, has evolved as the human character who might outshine all the other people in this movie. At the screening, Apted hinted as much to the audience when he said that "Dawn Treader" will have more appeal to girls than the previous "Narnia" films have appealed to girls. Edmund, as played by Keynes, is staying faithful to how his character was written in the books: Edmund is capable of greatness but still shows his flaws of selfishness, pride and impatience. It should come as no surprise to Narnia fans that Edmund has vastly matured from the first "Narnia" film.

Caspian, as played by Barnes, appears more confident and amiable then he was in 2008’s "Prince Caspian" movie, where Caspian was battling his own Telmarine people (including his evil uncle Miraz who wanted to kill Caspian) for control of Narnia, as well as having a brief power struggle/rivalry with Peter Pevensie. (Caspian definitely smiles a lot more in "Dawn Treader.") That character evolution is consistent with the "Dawn Treader" story taking place years after Caspian has made the transition from refugee prince to triumphant king, thereby becoming more comfortable with his leadership position. As previously reported in several media outlets, Caspian no longer has the Mediterranean accent. Instead, Caspian now has an English accent, for reasons further explained by Apted when I interviewed him.

As for Eustace, Poulter is so good at playing an irritating, whiny pest that if there is a prize somewhere for the most annoying child character to ever appear on screen, Eustace Scrubb would be a top contender. Seriously, if you want a sure-fire way to torture people, just record Eustace’s voice on a never-ending loop and force people to listen to it — and then induce hair-pulling insanity by turning up the volume to full blast. As most Narnia fans know, Eustace finds redemption and goes through a personality change at the end of the "Dawn Treader" story, but that still doesn’t dilute how maddening Eustace is during a great deal of "Dawn Treader." Some people might prefer to hear fingernails on a chalkboard rather than experience someone like the "bad" Eustace in real life.

Reepicheep, as voiced by Pegg, brings a less mischievous, calmer tone to Reepicheep than Eddie Izzard did. (Izzard voiced Reepicheep in the "Prince Caspian" movie.) I realize there are a lot of people who, after they have seen "Prince Caspian" and "Dawn Treader," will have no idea that a different actor voiced Reepicheep in each film. (These are usually people who think all English accents sound the same.) But for those who want to know about the difference between Pegg’s and Izzard’s characterizations of Reepicheep, my opinion is that Izzard’s take on Reepicheep was slightly more manic, while Pegg’s take is more subtle — just like each actor’s comedic style in real life. Whichever style is better is just a matter of opinion.

And finally, Aslan, as voiced by Neeson, is still the Aslan we know and love.

For anyone who cares about some of the behind-the-scenes industry happenings in "Narnia" movie land, it should be noted that Fox 2000 Pictures (a unit of 20th Century Fox) is now the company name that appears next to Walden Media on the third "Dawn Treader" movie trailer. Fox 2000 Pictures (which is a spinoff mini-studio of 20th Century Fox) was created to handle mainstream movies with the global marketing push and distribution that it gets from 20th Century Fox but without the same pressure that 20th Century Fox has to deliver a certain number of blockbuster hits per year. Movies like the "X-Men" series and "Avatar" were released by 20th Century Fox. Movies like "Marley & Me" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks" were released by Fox 2000 Pictures. All of those movie examples have been hits — just on different scales. In addition to "Dawn Treader," other movies released by Fox 2000 Pictures in the year 2010 include "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," "Ramona and Beezus" and "Love and Other Drugs."

At the "Dawn Treader" sneak-preview screening I attended, Fox 2000 President Elizabeth Gabler gave a brief introduction saying that back in 2003, she and the Fox 2000 team desperately wanted to get the movie rights to the "Narnia" franchise, but had lost out to Walden Media, which partnered with Walt Disney Pictures to release the first two "Narnia" films. After Disney and Walden Media parted ways at the end of 2008, Fox entered the picture, and the rest is history. Gabler is clearly excited about being part of the "Narnia" franchise. Having lost out on getting the franchise before, there is a sense that she has a unique appreciation of having the franchise now, and because of that appreciation, she and her team will probably work harder than executives at other movie studios would to make "Dawn Treader" a success.

That’s enough of my thoughts on "Dawn Treader" for now. Here is what director Apted and producer Johnson had to say in my exclusive interviews with them at the sneak-preview cocktail reception.

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL APTED

"The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is director Apted’s first "Narnia" movie. The previous two "Narnia" films were directed and co-written by Andrew Adamson, who is a producer of "Dawn Treader" and "Prince Caspian," as well as an executive producer of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Apted’s other directorial film credits include 1980’s "Coal Miner’s Daughter," 1994’s "Nell" and 1999’s "The World Is Not Enough."

What’s the story behind making "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" a 3-D movie?

Apted: We didn’t find out until after we’d shot it. We’d discussed shooting it in 3-D early on, but it was pooh-poohed as too expensive. And then this whole 3-D phenomenon came out with "Avatar." It’s very exciting. I’d never done it [made a 3-D movie], but it’s exciting to be doing it. And it does add a dimension to it, and you sort of wish that we’d shot it in 3-D, it’d be something different. But it is exciting, that’s for sure.

Some of the 3-D movies that have been released this year have been criticized for having low-quality 3-D, because the 3-D was added in after the movie was filmed (post-production) — as opposed to a movie like "Avatar," which was filmed in 3-D. How would you allay any fears or suspicions that people may have about the 3-D for "Dawn Treader," since the 3-D for the movie is being done in post-production?

Apted: Well, the thing about us is that we have a long time. We decided in February [2010 to make "Dawn Treader" a 3-D movie], so we had nine months to do it. Some of these other [3-D] films put [3-D] in very quickly. I believe something like "Clash of the Titans" had about eight weeks. So we have had time to think about it, so it hasn’t been a rush. I think we’ll get very good value out of it. They won’t see anything cheap or nasty. Rest assured on that.

It took about a year for the Pevensie kids to be cast for the first "Narnia" movie. How long did it take before you decided to cast Will Poulter as Eustace? And what was that process like for you?

Apted: It was bizarre, because he kind of walked in. I’d seen him in one film he’d done before called "Son of Rambow." He came in, and I knew that was it. I had to do due diligence and see lots of other people, but he was clearly outstanding. And then we had this great big delay, because they ran into a bit of trouble with "Caspian," and "Caspian" took a long time.

And I was just terrified that they [the kids in the "Narnia" movies] would all just grow up. And of course, they didn’t. I think some of them will [tower] over us. In the last five months, I think Will has grown seven inches. He’s unrecognizable now. And his voice has broken, so I couldn’t do any more looping with him or any more shooting with him. If that [puberty change] had happened a few months earlier, I would’ve been in deep trouble. There was never any doubt that he was the man. I cast him when Disney was on board, and when Disney left, and Fox came, they didn’t even question [the decision to cast Will Poulter as Eustace]. He’s very clever.

I had a lot of time on my hands, because ["Dawn Treader"] was postponed. We really put him through it. We couldn’t really offer him the part, because there was nothing to offer. We didn’t even know whether we were going to make the film or not at one point. And then, how long was it going to be before we make it? And then would his voice break or something like that? So he really was put through torture. I think we had him signed up for about a year before we started. When someone walks in, you sort of know it. You get them to read a bit, and then you can see how skillful they are.

What’s the real story on re-casting the voice of Reepicheep for "Dawn Treader"? At first Bill Nighy was supposed to do the voice, and then Simon Pegg got the role.

Apted: Well, I did it with Bill, first of all, but it turned out that he was perhaps a little too old for it. He was great. I loved it. I did record him, but then we looked at it very carefully, and thought, "Well, it doesn’t quite have that energy." He has more drollness of a slightly older man. And he was very disappointed, and I was upset. But you know, Simon came in, and we auditioned a lot of people. Simon was very good. He came in and just nailed it.

Can you clear up any rumors about why Eddie Izzard was not asked to reprise the role of Reepicheep?

Apted: I wanted to make some changes. I changed Caspian’s accent. And I wanted to change [the voice of Reepicheep], because I thought we’d get more humor out of it. It was just my choice, really.

I think I know what your answer is going to be for this question, but what scene in "Dawn Treader" was the most challenging for you?

Apted: The battle [with the sea serpent] was ridiculously difficult. Even for a film that is fairly conventional, going in the water, it was a little hair-raising. It was kind of dangerous. It was one of those films where you didn’t really have a quiet day. Every day there was some magic or something. It wasn’t like, "Oh, two people are going to sit down and have a cup of tea for three pages, so I could have a little rest." You could never sit down.

Caspian had a Mediterranean accent in the "Prince Caspian" movie, so why did you decide that Caspian should have an English accent in "Dawn Treader"? Will that accent change be explained in the "Dawn Treader" movie?

Apted: I don’t think people will question it. I just said, "Forget it." I think he was more relaxed in the English accent. All the lords, which I cast in Australia, weren’t going to be Mediterranean. I didn’t want everybody doing bogus European accents. So it was a no-brainer for me.

Susan and Peter Pevensie, as well as the White Witch, are in the first "Dawn Treader" trailer, even though they don’t appear in the "Dawn Treader" book. Is it fair to assume that these characters will factor into a new aspect to the movie version of the story, instead of being incidental cameos?

Apted: Oh yeah.

INTERVIEW WITH MARK JOHNSON

Johnson is a producer of all the movies in the "Narnia" series. His list of credits as a film producer includes 1988’s Oscar-winning "Rain Man," 1991’s "Bugsy" and 2004’s "The Notebook."

Why did you want to make "Dawn Treader" a 3-D movie?

Johnson: [Three weeks] before we open is the new "Harry Potter" movie ["Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1"] in 3-D. A week after we open is "Yogi Bear" in 3-D and "Tron: Legacy" in 3-D. Right now, if you want to be part of a big family franchise, it’s kind of expected. And then on top of that, our movie really lends itself to it. And hopefully, you can tell from some of the footage.

What lessons did you learn from working on "Prince Caspian" that you took with you in working on "Dawn Treader"?

Johnson: It’s really the books. People almost want us to apologize that "Prince Caspian" took us away from the world of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." It’s in the books. We had to that one next because of the kids, or we would never have been able to do it. I did learn that it’s very important, this whole notion of Narnia and Narnia creatures and being back there, as opposed to being more earth-bound. We learned to embrace the magic and the wonder of Narnia, as opposed to being more concrete, I think. And this ["Dawn Treader"] book really leant that to us.

Did you want "Dawn Treader" to be released in December because you think the end-of-the-year holiday season would be better box office for the "Narnia" franchise than the summer season, which was when "Prince Caspian" was released?

Johnson: Yes. We got a little cocky [with "Prince Caspian"]. We said, "We got the family audience. Let’s see if we can get a younger, teenage audience." We went with the release in the summer, with the hope of running all summer long, and it didn’t go exactly like we expected.

I know you get asked this question a lot, but I’ll ask anyway: Will there be a fourth "Narnia" movie?

Johnson: Keep in mind that the two youngest Pevensie kids, Lucy and Edmund, don’t come back, so the next movie will have Eustace. We could do "The Silver Chair" or we could do "The Magician’s Nephew."

Which book do you think fans want to see more as the fourth "Narnia" movie: "The Silver Chair" or "The Magician’s Nephew"?

Johnson: That’s a really good question. I couldn’t tell you. We should put it to the fans [to decide]. I know we have to do "The Magician’s Nephew." I love that book! The question is: "Do we do it now and let our Eustace grow older? Or do we do ‘The Silver Chair’ and then do ‘The Magician’s Nephew’?"

You went through a lot to get "Dawn Treader" made, including changing filming locations and changing film-studio partners — which caused considerable delays in the movie’s production. What advice would you have for any filmmaker who goes through a similar experience?

Johnson: If you really believe in what you do, you have to be resilient. You get "no" all the time. When I’m developing movies, people say, "Oh, people don’t want to see that movie or that movie." You just hear "no," and you go to the next person and the next person. Same thing with this ["Dawn Treader" movie]. I wasn’t going to let this go. The franchise is too important. I enjoy it too much. And quite frankly, I think the messages are too important. So OK, Disney’s not going to do it. We found a great partner in Fox.

What do you think about how Fox is marketing "Dawn Treader" so far with the trailers?

Johnson: I think we’re just getting there. This teaser, this trailer, whatever it is we just saw [this evening], I think it’s definitely in the right direction. It just shows how big and colorful the movie is.

For more info: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" website

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