He's an uppity, precocious, intolerant English schoolboy! He's a fierce, quixotic, swashbuckling talking rat! Together, they travel the land seeking treasure, adventure and excitement wherever it may be! Eustace and Reepicheep! Muppet and Mouse! Runt and Rodent! Faffer and the Gay(ly clad) Mouse!
I'll tell you my about favourite scene in
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It's the duel between Reepicheep and Eustace Scrubb. It was a battle of wits and a tussle of egos as an arrogant, snotty braggart of a child is challenged by a cavalier talking mouse. The fight was energetic, fun, endearing, and engaging: two characters were having it out not just physically, but mentally. On one side Eustace, one of those insufferable children who claim to have absolute insight and cannot conceive of any reality outside the ones they deign to recognize; on the other, Reepicheep, a romantic, adventurous, wild-hearted swashbuckler ever eager to find new wonders and experiences, constantly challenging himself. Two archetypes at odds with each other in a whimsical miniaturization of the heart of the Narnia story: the juxtaposition of reality with fantasy, and the conflict which arises within and without.
If Michael Apted could've just taken that scene and figured out how to apply it to the rest of the film, as well as take hints from the best parts of the previous films,
Dawn Treader could've been great. As it is, it's just ok: not bad, but man, just a bit more boldness and daring...
