Introduction: I’m blogging about one chapter of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (& the relevant tv spots/trailers/reports etc.) every one of the 16 days until the movie comes out.
P.S. If you notice any typos or grammatical errors, let me know so I can fix them. I use commas in all the wrong places and like long sentences, so I’m sure there’s some here.

Chapter 1: The Picture In The Bedroom.
“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
Lewis starts VDT off with what is quite possibly the best character description in the series. Not just the first sentence, but the next 3 paragraphs are dedicated to talking about Eustace’s family, lack of friends, likes, and dislikes. You know without even seeing him interact with others that this kid is messed up, especially once you find out that he doesn’t like his cousins, our returning heroes, the Pevensies.
Only two of the Pevensies are present in Dawn Treader. Peter is studying for an exam with Professor Kirke, and Susan is in America, leaving Edmund and Lucy to stay with the Scrubbs. To brighten up an otherwise dull summer, Edmund and Lucy find themselves back in Narnia via a picture of a Narnian ship. The problem is that Eustace manages to come along, becoming nearly as miserable as everyone who has to put up with him.
Most of this post of just thoughts on the cast & characters because there isn't much that happens in this chapter. The transition from England to Narnia seems to have been done well (besides the cheesy "Edmund, the painting!" line.) This clip has been cut down and edited as well, so it'll be longer in the film.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1650777079860
Characters/Cast:
Lucy Pevensie - Georgie Henley
I’m going to be honest; I never loved Georgie. For that matter, I’m not terribly fond of Lucy either. She doesn’t annoy me like Aravis or Susan, but she’s definitely no Jill. I tolerate her since she’s the one who led everyone to Narnia in the first place, otherwise I could deal without.
Georgie was good in the first film, but I kind of lost her in Caspian. That’s partly because of the material she was given. Lucy has some downright cheesy lines, and Georgie did better than most would have. But something was still missing. I don’t know what, but based on the clips we’ve seen so far, she figured out it for VDT. She’s much more believable.
Edmund Pevensie - Skandar Keynes
I forgave Skandar for having dark hair within the first half hour of Wardrobe. He played my beloved Edmund, my favorite character, well enough that I didn’t care that he looked all wrong for the part. I still don’t. One of my biggest problems with PC was that Edmund had a grand total of about 5 lines. He’s only there to put Peter in his place once and then trash-talk Miraz. However, they got those 5 lines right - they’re perfectly in character for Edmund in a movie where 3 of the 5 main characters aren’t. (Peter, Susan, and Caspian, if you were wondering.)
I’m slightly terrified of what they’ve done to the character this time. Bringing back the White Witch again (more on this in a couple days) means there’s definitely going to be at least SOME Edmund-centric material. In fact, it seems like part of the plot depends on him. “The sword you carry must be laid at Aslan’s Table,” and all that. I’m just not sure if it’s accurate. The first trailer had a Peterly line about “Squirt? I’m a king!” I’m afraid his entire character arc in this film is going to be all proving himself and resisting the Witch (who’s practically dead…but hey, who ever heard of a witch that really died?)
…yeah, there WILL be more about this. I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
King Caspian X - Ben Barnes
Ben ditched the accent & the greasy hair, grew a beard, and dressed up like a Jedi to play Caspian in VDT. I like it. I liked him in PC, actually. The fake accent annoyed me quite a bit, but I thought the acting and characterization was pretty good. He gets the job done - he isn’t perfect for the role, but as far as PC was from the book, Ben did well. I don’t have anything else to say about him in VDT. It’ll be a passable adaptation of the character and I don’t expect to hate him.
Ramandu’s Daughter (LILLIANDIL ARGH) - Laura Brent
Minus the name, I like her. She isn’t exactly how I pictured the her, but I think she’ll be like Ben Barnes - good, not great and not awful. I still don’t like the fact that they named her or that her father seems to be non-existent or that she seems to be a star and not a star’s daughter. But whatever.
Drinian --Gary Sweet
I have a feeling that Gary Sweet is going to be this film’s Pierfrancisco Favino (General Glozelle.) The one character that I don’t give much thought to that is given depth with a good performance. I just expected him to be a little less…old, honestly. I always pictured him closer to 25-ish.
Reepicheep - Simon Pegg.
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.
…yep.
I loved Eddie Izzard as well. I didn’t think anyone could do Reep better.
Oh, hi there, Simon Pegg! I was wrong! What?!?!?!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1415925568612&oid=124949960873825&comments
See? He's perfect.
Aslan - Liam Neeson
Perfect, IMO. Nothing else needs to be said.
Eustace Clarence Scrubb - Will Poulter
Saving the best for last.
I didn’t like Will first time I saw the picture of him. I fact, I believe I made some comment about him looking like a fish. I watched the trailer for Son of Rambow and hated him. Yet again, I appear to have been wrong. He seems spot-on perfect in every clip, trailer, and tv spot. Dragon!Eustace looks just as good. I think they nailed this one. Every line I’ve seen is perfectly delivered, every gesture is perfectly timed, and every expression is perfectly dramatic.
Oh, and he acknowledged that his hair color is wrong for the part, because Eustace is supposed to have dark hair. Excellent.
Tomorrow: Chapter 2, more about Reep and Eustace, and the Dawn Treader herself.
All videos belong to 21st Century Fox and Walden Media
All quotations and page photographs taken from the 2009 edition of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) published by Barnes & Noble, Inc,. by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers (ISBN: 978-1-4351-1715-0)