The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The epic third installment of The Chronicles of Narnia sails into theaters on 9 December.
With Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, and Ben Barnes reprising their roles as Lucy, Edmund, and Prince Caspian respectively, the film will be a treat for moviegoers in time for the Christmas season.
Most of the film takes place on the mystical ship the Dawn Treader. For years audiences have adored movies filmed on boats; all the fun without the seasickness! To celebrate the release of the newest Narnia movie, here are the top 10 ships on film.
1. Dawn Treader
Captained by Lord Drinian, the Dawn Treader is the first boat cast off Narnia in many, many centuries. Accompanied by Pevensie siblings Edmund and Lucy and their cousin Eustace, King Caspian sails off to find the seven lords, noble souls who were banished from Narnia by Caspian’s evil uncle.
The magical ship takes our heroes to mysterious islands, the Silver Sea, and a river that has the Midas touch.
2. Black Pearl
Trademarked by its black hulls and sails, the Black Pearl is known for being an uncatchable ship. Legend has it that the ship is crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out.
She preys on ships and settlements and never leaves any survivors. She can travel to places that are not on maps. Captain Jack Sparrow originally helmed the Black Pearl, until his crew mutinied, marooning our hero on an island, leaving him for dead.
His first mate, Captain Barbossa, commanded her for years until Captain Jack recovered back his beloved ship.
3. Titanic
This doomed ship’s legacy will never be forgotten thanks to James Cameron’s romantic disaster flick. Recreating the submergence of the biggest ocean liner in the world was no easy task; no wonder it was the most expensive film of the 20th century.
Cameron and his crew rebuilt a full-scale model of the vessel. The model was 775 ft long, 99 ft tall, and rested in a 17-million-gallon water tank, specifically built for the movie itself.
4. Orca
Named for shark’s natural enemy, the Orca is Quint’s fishing boat that the three main characters board to kill the beast.
The fishing boat puts up a decent fight against the fearsome creature, although it gets completely destroyed in the process. Brody foreshadows this destruction earlier in the film; after spotting the giant great white, he utters the classic line, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
5. Caspartine
Captain Shakespeare, played by the effortlessly cool Robert De Niro, leads his crew of pirates on the Caspartine. The flying boat maneuvers with ease around storm clouds between the earth and the stars. In the film Capt.
Shakespeare and his pirates capture the film’s protagonists. After initially fearing for their lives, the captain reveals that they are kind-hearted pirates. He teaches the hero, Tristan, how to fence and fight on the decks of his beautiful floating boat.
6. Gondola/Hovercraft
James Bond investigates the mysterious theft of a spaceship, and his clues lead him to Venice. However, once he spots one of the scientists who works for the shuttle-manufacturing corporation, assassins begin shooting at him. Bond hops in his gondola to escape, which sounds like a poor idea at the time.
However, his gondola moonlights as a hovercraft, and Bond blasts through the canals, riding up onto the street and through the pigeon-infested Pizza San Marco.
After watching Moonraker, it is official; all gondolas MUST be equipped with hovercraft capabilities.
7. Poseidon
On its final voyage before being sent to the junkyard, the ocean liner the Poseidon is overturned by a tsunami on its way from New York City to Athens.
The lone survivors band together for survival. The Poseidon is an ode to the golden age of cruise ships. It’s too bad its final voyage couldn’t happen at a more convenient time.
8. Andrea Gail
The only ship on film able to perform acrobatics, the Andrea Gail was the star of Wolfgang Peterson’s disaster movie The Perfect Storm, based on a true story.
The sturdy swordfishing boat’s ice machine fails, which means the catch of the day will soon spoil. Captain Billy Tyne (a bearded George Clooney) decides to head home.
However, he underestimates the convergence of two powerful weather fronts and a hurricane. The vessel wrestles 100 ft tall waves and wind gusts up to 150 km/h.
9. Hispaniola
The Muppets concoct an entertaining twist on the original Robert Louis Stevenson classic in Muppet Treasure Island.
The Hispaniola, led by the noble Capt. Smollett (played by Kermit the Frog), is crewed by repulsive scoundrels. When his cook, Long John Silver (Tim Curry) plans a mutiny, Smollett is forced to overturn his beloved ship to the pirates.
This version of the Hispaniola is much cooler than in the novel; rats use it as a honeymoon cruise liner. In addition, the sea is not so nice to the wicked sailors; cabin fever easily overtakes the crew in a catchy big musical number.
10. Pequod
Gregory Peck’s turn as the Captain Ahab is memorable. He stomps around his ship on a peg leg, a consequence of his first run-in with the great white whale, Moby Dick.
He is obsessed with hunting the creature, willing to sacrifice his life, his ship, and the lives of his crewmembers. Interestingly, in the film the Pequod is played by the Moby Dick.
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