Genre: Of the ten genres that Blake Snyder outlines in Save the Cat! I have classified this as a Golden Fleece, the same as the first Narnia movie. The three distinguishing characteristics of the genre are listed below.
- A ‘road’ – This time they sail across the ocean, rather than trek across the frozen wastes of Narnia. Again, they grow and change as they overcome obstacles on their journey.
- A ‘team’ – Caspian and the crew of the Dawn Treader team up with Lucy, Edmund and their cousin, Eustace Scrubb.
- A ‘prize’ – The prize they seek is to track down the seven lords and their seven swords, so that they can defeat an evil mist that threatens to destroy Narnia.
Now, on with the beatsheet.
Opening Image: Our opening image is off recruitment posters appealing to the men of England to join the army. Edmund uses a fake ID to try and enlist, but is sent away in humiliation when his ruse is discovered.
Theme Stated: “Why are we here?” Lucy and Edmund wonder after arriving in Narnia. The children are not happy with their situation in England, and the events portrayed in the movie will help them learn to be happy where they are, and with their lot in life.
Set-up: Peter and Susan have moved to America, leaving Edmund and Lucy in England, where they are forced to stay with their horrible cousin, Eustace Scrubb. While bemoaning their fate, they notice a painting which seems to have a Narnian ship in it. Eustace denies that the ship can be Narnian, as he refuses to believe that Narnia is real.
Catalyst: This occurs about 5 minutes into the movie when the painting of the Narnian ship floods the room with water and the children find themselves in an ocean with a huge ship bearing down on them. They are rescued by Caspian, who has embarked on a search mission in his ship, the Dawn Treader. Edmund and Lucy are delighted to see Caspian, but Eustace demands his ‘kidnappers’ take him to see the British Consul. This is a little early, but it fits the requirements of the beat, as the questions in the debate section flow on from this event.
Debate: Lucy and Edmund wonder why they have been summoned to Narnia. Caspian informs them there is no war, no disaster of which he is aware. He seeks seven lords who set out some time ago, to see what has become of them.
Is everything alright in Narnia? Do Edmund, Lucy and Eustace have something they need to learn about themselves in Narnia? These questions form the core of the debate beat.
Fifteen minutes in, an island is sighted. They land to investigate. The island seems strangely deserted – An advance party goes in to investigate.
Break into Two: Pirates attack and capture the advance party! The pirates row some of the locals they have captured out into the bay. A strange green mist descends on the boat. When the mist disperses, the boat has vanished. Something is indeed amiss in Narnia. The captives are rescued and Caspian and the others realise they uncover the mystery of the green mist, seek out the seven lost lords and retrieve their magical swords if they are to rescue those lost to the mist.
B-Story: One of the locals, whose wife was taken by the mist, volunteers to go with the crew of the Dawn Treader. His daughter stows away. Lucy takes her under wing.
Fun and Games: The Dawn Treader arrives at another island. Here, Lucy is abducted by invisible tribe of strange creatures. They force her to venture into a wizards house to undo an invisibility spell. In the house, Lucy stumbles onto a spell to make her just like Susan. She rips that page out of the book and then casts the reversal spell. They meet the magician, who gives them insight into the mist and directs them to sail towards a blue star.
Eustace jots down notes in his diary. He and Reepicheep cross blades. Eustace remains stuck-up and a nuisance on board the Dawn Treader. They battle the elements, as a fierce storm whips up.
Lucy is overcome by temptation and casts the spell on herself to make her like Susan. Lucy sees a vision of what life would be like if she were Susan. There would be no Lucy, and she wouldn’t know about Narnia. A voice brings her back to herself and tells her not to run from who she is.
Meanwhile, Edmund face his own temptation in the form of an apparition of the White Witch. He finds himself dissatisfied with playing second fiddle to Caspian.
Mid-point: The crew arrive at another island. Caspian, Lucy and Edmund go exploring. They find a grotto with a statue of a man at the bottom. Edmund discovers that the pool turns whatever touches it into gold. The statue is actually one of the lost lords. They retrieve his sword but Edmund is tempted by the wealth that the pool represents. Edmund and Caspian duel, before Lucy brings them back to their senses.
Bad Guys Close In: Eustace goes exploring, and finds a hoard of treasure. He is overcome by greed. The others search for Eustace, but he is nowhere to be seen. They are attacked by a dragon, which plucks Edmund up in its giant claws and flies him to the interior of the island. There, in burning letters, the dragon reveals that he is Eustace.
All is Lost: The Dawn Treader seeks to find the blue star, but it is cloudy. Worse still, they are stuck in the doldrums. Dragon-Eustace, however, proves his worth and drags them through the doldrums.
Dark Night of the Soul: They find the blue star and land at Ramadu’s Island. There, they find two more of the lost lords. But, they only have six of the swords. To obtain the last sword they will have to venture into the very heart of darkness. The outcome is grim – how will they overcome the mist? Eustace fears he will never be returned to his real form.
Break into Three: The Dawn Treader arrives at Dark Island. They venture into the mist.
Finale: They find the last of the lost lords. He warns them that the island will bring their worst fears to life. Edmund trembles, “Oh, no.” He just imagined a sea-serpent. A giant sea-serpent attack the Dawn Treader. The entire crew work together and utilise their diverse strengths to overcome the sea-serpent. They retrieve the last of the swords and return to Aslan’s table. The power of the seven swords stops the mist. Those lost to the mist are rescued.
Closing Image: On the shore near Aslan’s country, Aslan turns Eustace back. Reepicheep sets off in his coracle. This is his destiny, and he embraces it. Aslan reveals to the Lucy and Edmund that their time in Narnia has come to an end. They accept that their place is in England.
The children find themselves back in the room. The water recedes back into the painting, and the ship disappears behind a wave. All is as it was at the beginning, except the children now get along. They have made perhaps the most challenging decision of their lives – to accept themselves for who they are.
Conclusion: This is a little scrambled, perhaps, as I scribbled down notes while watching the movie in the cinema and simply noted the events without trying to classify the beats. Unfortunately, I waited for several weeks after watching it before completing this analysis, so some of my hastily scribbled notes have proved too cryptic for me to decipher 🙂
It definitely didn’t seem to hit the timing of the catalyst, at least, and I’ll go through the implications of that in a separate article.