So, you have two minutes to get people interested in spending $12 per person (plus treats) for a couple hours' entertainment. How do you do it? The movie industry does it with trailers—a brief glimpse of the film which does not necessarily let you know what the movie is about, but is designed to give an impression of what you have to look forward to. Sounds like most automobile commercials, doesn't it?

I think when Walden Media and Fox look back on June, 2010 in the coming months, they will find that the first teaser trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader did what they wanted—spark interest among fans of the previous Narnia movies and create a little buzz. Some of that buzz will be due to the fact that some of what has been revealed by the trailer is a bit controversial.

I don't think directors and producers sit around dreaming up ideas on how to stir the ire of their fan base. Hopefully they are principally concerned with making a good film. But I think filmmakers (and their studios) generally find quite a bit of truth in the adage "There is no such thing as bad publicity," and are delighted when their upcoming films are being talked about.

That's where I come in.

As promised, here are my impressions and analysis of the first Dawn Treader teaser trailer. If you haven't seen it, you can view it right here on Hollywood Jesus. Click here now.

I have been following the news and rumors about the film since before Prince Caspian came out, so much of what I will say is based on what has been confirmed or reasonably assumed from known facts. For lesser-known information, I will try to include hyperlinks to relevant web pages.

World War 2 Setting

As was the case with the previous two films, the setting for the story (in England) is World War 2. As we saw with Peter in Prince Caspian, Edmund's life as a King of Narnia affects how he lives in England. Peter fought with bullies; Edmund has more altruistic ideas about fighting for his homeland in this world—although he is not old enough.

Studio Logos

If you have not been following news reports about the movies, you may not know that last December Disney dropped out as a partner for the Narnia franchise. 20th Century Fox is now the distributor.

Picture of the Ship

I was rather disappointed by the quality of the picture hanging on the wall in the bedroom. In the book, Lucy comments on how real the painting looked. I did like how they have worked out how to do the transfer between worlds, even though Lewis did not write it this way. In the book the children are pulled into the picture. In the trailer, the water from the picture is pulled into the room.

The Rescue

When the Pevensies are hoisted into the ship, notice that they are still wearing their shoes. Lewis stresses the fact that smart swimmers kick off their shoes when they fall into the water.

Aslan & Reepicheep

Is it my imagination, or is Aslan somewhat less impressive standing next to Lucy than he was in the previous films? However, Reepicheep's new voice (Eddie Izzard was replaced by Bill Nighy), although sounding very familiar, has a bit more serious tone.

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