Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This movie was such a relief after Prince Caspian. No giant wars, much less violence. This was actually my favorite of the three films. It was fun to watch Eustace as a dragon. They changed a good portion of the book, but it seemed to me the same themes came through. In the movie, the crew had a mission - to find the 7 swords of the missing lords. In the movie the lords fled on their own; in the book the evil king had sent them on a seemingly-hopeless mission. The children do find the swords, and save some but not all of the lords.

Prince Caspian

This story is set "1000s of years" after Lucy, Peter, Susan, and Edmund's first journey into Narnia. They have become legends, and Narnia is now taken over by a race of humans. The "Old Narnians" are all in hiding. The current king has usurped the throne and is crueler than the entire line of Caspians.

Although the movie generally followed the storyline of the book, I felt that the uplifting nature was squashed. Caspian and Peter argue - this did not happen in the book. There is also a brutal scene at the castle. The "Old Narnians" never even attacked the castle in the novel.

I was glad that the end was left mostly alone - Peter and Miraz battle one-on-one, the Telmarines are shown mercy, and allowed to return back to their own world. I liked the romance between Caspian and Susan.