The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Blu-ray Review
The Film:
If Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films are the benchmarks in the fantasy genre recently, there doesn’t leave a lot of room for others trying to standout. There’s been many films since and many of those films have failed. Go to Barnes & Nobles and you can see a slew of fantasy books, filled with adventures, magic, dragons, you name, it has been written. Out of all of the adapted books to film, The Chronicles of Narnia has been the sweetest, but no less magical. After a stale second film in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has found a new home in Fox (as Disney dropped the franchise) and that new location seems to have helped restore so hope in Narnians.
I guess it didn’t take much. While Prince Caspian was everything right in terms of production scale, but out of all of the battles (and endless battles), CGI, and creatures, the film just felt like a lifeless imitator of Lord of the Rings, which is everything that a Narnia film shouldn’t be. It was too dark and violent. Narnia should be about magic and adventure, the foundation of any good fantasy film. C.S. Lewis has been a subject of interest. The books were written in the aftermath of WWII, and it’s apparent that the war and the devastation in England, seemed to fuel Lewis, into the subtext of Narnia: hope.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader picks up after Prince Caspian, as Aslan (Liam Neeson) has called upon the smaller Pevensie kids to once again help rid evil in the lands of Narnia. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what the actual evil was or why it was there in the first place, but if anything, it’s the catalyst that brings back the magic that was in abundance in The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe, with wondrous special effects and swirling adventures.
Isn’t that what we enjoy about fantasy films? Special effects and adventures? Michael Apted might not be the type of director I’d expect for such a film, but it works, even if everything is too calculating in its execution. Of course, the Christian subtext returns, but it’s not as overbearing as maybe one would expect, and at its core, it’s a good added layer for the clean, family adventure that is and should be, Narnia films. Dragons, swashbuckling mice (voiced by Simon Pegg!), endless spectacle, makes this third trip to the lands of Narnia, a welcomed diversion
The Blu-ray:
Audio/Video: Disney unleashed two stellar Narnia Blu-rays and I’m happy to report that Fox was up to the task here as well. First, there was some chatter of this disc’s aspect ratio. It differs from the theatrical presentation, but we do not lose any information. It’s like Avatar‘s Blu-ray where Cameron wanted to open ratio to fill our TV screen. Rumors of cropping or losing the image were said, but it’s not the case at all. The transfer is stellar. Shot digitally, where as the first two were shot on film, the clarity is astounding, as is the details. Only issue is it isn’t as lush looking.
The DTS track booms, with its deep bass from the WWII opening to the dragon sequence, and the sound field is always active. The surround elements are a lot of fun; the sound team uses each channel to immerse you into Narnia.
The packaging is kind of odd. It’s bigger than the Blu-ray case and made out of cardboard, where some promotional postcards are housed, as our the three discs in a fold-out keep case. Be careful, since these cardboard sleeves don’t house the discs tightly, so some might be or can be easily scratched.
Commentary: A thoughtful, insightful, somewhat reserved track is worth your time, especially if you wish to have more depth in the making-of the film, since the other extras aren’t as thorough.
The rest of the extras are in HD.
By clicking the “Extras” tab, we’re taken to a nautical map of Narnia, as the Dawn Treader is the icon. By using your remote, the icon will go to specific spots that will lead to different island. Here’s where the extras are housed. Too numerous to mention, but fans can expect a ton of short featurettes ranging from Deleted Scenes, VFX, ones on the water shoot, creating the third Narnia, an all-new Animated Short that acts like an epilogue, and other EPK materials. It seems numerous and vast, yet after cycling through them all – as they range from 60 seconds to 7 or so minutes, they’re decent and worth a quick watch, but little substance overall.
No 3D option available, but we get a few BD-Live Exclusives with Enchanted Tour of the Narnia Islands, that acts as our on-location guide to the sets and Return to Magic, which is an EPK promo.
The Film: Rating: 
The Blu-ray: Rating: 
Join Us On Facebook
Advertisement
