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I was pleased to find out from blog readers earlier this month that I’m not the only person whose favorite Narnia book is Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The official trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation has been released this week. Fellow Dawn Treader fans, what do you think?

Does this trailer make you more or less confident that the film will be faithful to the book? Do you see any red flags? I, for one, was pleasantly surprised to see the monopods hopping around—that was probably my favorite of the Dawn Treader’s many adventures (although I look forward to seeing Eustace’s unfortunate “transformation,” with its moving allegory of sin and forgiveness, on the big screen as well).

The third Narnia film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is due out later this year. Are you excited about it?

It’s been years since I last read it, but Dawn Treader is my favorite of the Narnia books. Its episodic island-hopping plot means that there’s always a strange new encounter waiting in the next chapter, and although some of the island adventures teach obvious Biblical principles, the Christian allegory is more subtle than that of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. If the plot is looser than many of the other Narnia stories, Dawn Treader compensates by simply narrating a series of good old-fashioned imaginative adventures.

And it doesn’t hurt that one of the main characters is a brave, swashbuckling mouse.

So I’m certainly looking forward to the Dawn Treader film, although with the usual concerns about how the “Hollywood treatment” will change the story and characters. If you want to keep up with news and developments related to the film (and stress out about whether or not they’ll be faithful to the novel), NarniaWeb and NarniaFans are both posting regular movie updates as details emerge.

How about you? Are you excited about this movie? Does anybody else count Dawn Treader as their favorite Narnia book, and if so, what makes it so special to you?

Last year, while looking through my local bookstore for a particular book by C.S. Lewis, I stumbled across several books of his that I wasn’t at all familiar with. I’d venture to say that most English-speaking Christians (and no doubt many non-English speaking ones as well) know Lewis’ Narnia books quite well. And some of his more overtly theological books, like Mere Christianity or The Great Divorce, are well-known and easy to find.

But the subject of Lewis’ lesser-known works came to mind again today when I came across a lengthy analysis of one of Lewis’ more obscure works of social commentary. It sounds fascinating—and it makes me wonder what other Lewis books are worth tracking down. A check of Wikipedia confirms that Lewis authored a truly huge number of books and essays.

What’s your favorite C.S. Lewis book? Is it one of his Narnia classics, or a work that has so far passed under the radar of mainstream notice? If you’re a Lewis expert, what books of his would you recommend to someone who has read his well-known works and wants to explore his ideas further?

Share your thoughts!

Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.

This time of year, the big summer blockbusters take over thousands of screens each week, pushing the struggling smaller films out the door… and who wants to compete with Iron Man or Prince Caspian? So the field is left almost entirely to the Big Boys.

So when you’re looking to see what’s new on the marquee, and you only find one title, you’re likely to think, “Well, this had better be good!” (more…)