S.O.S. "Dawn Treader?"

Jim Hill Media reported that Disney's proposed third Chronicles of Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, may be delayed or scaled back as a result of Prince Caspian's disappointing box-office performance.

Disney and Walden Media are still reportedly moving forward with the third installment in the franchise, and director Michael Apted has been riding herd on Dawn Treader's development since June 2007, the site reported. Actors have been cast (Son of Rambow star Will Poulter has been hired to play Pevensie cousin Eustace Scrubb), and studio space has been lined up (at Baja Studios in Rosarito Beach) for a four-to-five month-long shoot, which is allegedly slated to begin in late January.

But Disney hasn't actually green-lighted production of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Given that Disney and Walden Media executives are concerned that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader may earn even less than Prince Caspian did, strict cost-control measures have now been put into place.

My Advice: Don’t rewrite the story this time.

Prince Caspian’s poor performance at the box office was due to its relative faithlessness to the book. (Read that multiple ways.) I liked the movie as just another story set in Narnia, but it wasn’t Lewis’ Prince Caspian. Lewis’ story was about restoring a country that had lost its faith. Andrew Adamson reduced it to merely a political battle for a throne. It therefore lacked inspiration, and the characters lacked passion.

I have high hopes for Voyage of the Dawn Treader because the director, Michael Apted, has experience with movies about faith, namely Amazing Grace. The strongest subplot in Dawn Treader is about Reepicheep’s deep desire to reach Aslan’s country. To bring that across, Apted will have to steal back Reepicheep from Adamson’s disappointing interpretation as a rude, sarcastic, wisecracking Shrek leftover. Reepicheep is noble, feisty, and devout – more knight than swashbuckler. More Gallahad, less Puss ‘n Boots.

I’ve often considered Dawn Treader my favorite of the Chronicles (though it’s hard to settle on one) because of its episodic adventures. There are many stories within the story, with two common threads tying it all together: Caspian’s search for the lost lords of Narnia, and Reepicheep’s quest for Aslan’s country. It’s a brilliantly designed book that could lend itself to more than one movie. But Dawn Treader is meaningless if viewed through secular, postmodernist glasses. In Caspian, where Lewis depicted faith, Adamson saw merely nationalism. Dawn Treader must do better at depicting Narnian faith. And most importantly, it must retain Aslan’s announcement that he lives also in our world, but here he is known by another name.