A kinder, gentler family movie for the holidays

Everybody knows that all great fantasy adventure stories — especially ones for children –— have to come in several parts like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

The Harry Potter series is nearing its ultimate showdown so it’s good to see that the Walden Media film company is still chugging away at C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

The first instalment, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe., came out five years ago but then the whole thing seemed to stall. Maybe that’s why the second part, Prince Caspian, just slid under the radar in 2008. But there’s good news, as the fourth chapter, The Silver Chair, should be out in about a year.

Regardless, things look like they’re in full swing now as The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is now in theatres. Its release is comforting considering how family-friendly it is amid a sea of otherwise tumultuous ‘children’s’ adventure tales that venture out into increased scenes of action and violence.

Dawn Treader is the name of the first seafaring vessel that the mystical and strange land of Narnia has seen in a very long time. Caspian, now the king, built it as a way to find seven lords who were banished by his evil uncle Miraz after he was ousted from the throne of the kingdom. They are trapped on an island with dark and mysterious powers. They can only be freed by escaping a strange green mist that surrounds the island like a shark on the prowl. Naturally, the Pevensies join in on the fun and the peril at the end of the world.

This is one of those rare treats that take us back to the days of movies about sailors and swordfighters. It’s old fashioned but it sure beats the pants off of the insufferable Pirates of the Caribbean movies, now gearing up for a fourth outing. Groan.

It’s unlikely that the Narnia series will ever grab as much attention or box office success as either the Pirates or Harry Potter and it mostly has to do with pace. This is a slow movie. Not bad, just slow. It isn’t a festival of splashy computer generated effects but there is still lots to be had. In the beginning, it almost seemed like it was going to be a full performance capture feature like Beowulf.

If your child plays too many video games and doesn’t quite have a well-developed attention span then it might be tough for them to sit still while this plot develops. If they’re good readers, on the other hand, then they’ll be fine. This is a fantastic story that keeps getting better with age.

It still has fun and magical creatures like minotaurs and goatmen. Tilda Swinton is perfect as the White Witch. Children will certainly appreciate Reepicheep (voiced by Pegg), the wise and valiant mouse. It still has Aslan (voiced by Neeson), the great and stately lion who acts as the spiritual centre of the entire heptalogy.

There are many great lessons that children can learn just from listening to the characters talk and they don’t have to watch the bloodshed so common in other adventure movies in order to acquire them.