THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: "The Voyage of the Dawn Trader" (Rated PG for some sequences of fantasy action, some frightening images):  The title, to enlighten you, refers to the ship headed by Prince Caspian on a mission.  He is accompanied by Lucy and her brother Edmund, who earlier have waited out the war at their uncle's place, which is also, unfortunately, the home of their cousin, the bratty, squawking Eustace, who doesn't try to suppress his dislike for their intrusion.  That's when a watery painting overflows and takes the three of them off to the real waters of Narnia, where they encounter the prince on his way to reaching the end of the world.  A little confusing?  Yeah.

Meanwhile, magic things occur.  Eustace is changed into a fire-breathing dragon, while brother & sister discover their dark sides and wage war against them.  There's a lengthy bit of swashbuckling aboard the prince's ship, with good warring with evil forces.  Tilda Swinton appears in a cameo bit, still attempting as the white witch to lure them over to her side; but they learn instead to appreciate what they have and love themselves for who they are - and that's enough (oh, with some guidance by the gentle lion Aslan) to bring this, the third of C.S.Lewis's remarkable series on the ever constant battle between good & evil, to a visually brilliant if overly lengthy conclusion.  Still plenty of room for the series to continueŠ

After the Disney studios relinquished distribution (disappointed with box office returns) this sequence was bound over to 20th Century Fox, who stepped in with Michael Apted directing the British cast and guiding the film to a shorter length (just under two hours) through less pontificating and more action in the best action flick style.  As before, the visuals provided by a mix of animatronics, FX techniques, & gorgeously created cinematography (Don Spinotti with cameras) is stunning.  Rick Shane's editing is also an improvement - sharply clipping to avoid long passages of diatribe as he concentrates on zipping us into the action that shoves adventurous Errol Flynn's capers far into the background.    

Is it necessary to check out the original tales or review the other two films to fully appreciate this one?  Well, yes, but there's enough entertainment in just going with the flow and enjoying all the efforts made to still offer a lot of magical fun.  The concluding sequence might be a bit overdone, but, hey, the production crew had to have some share in the fun, too.  (Grade:  B)