Literary adaptations are always a tricky thing, especially for those of us who love the source material. Beloved books can be ruined forever by a film version gone wrong. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy wasn’t even all that bad of a movie in and of itself, but it was obviously nothing as good as the book, and ever since, my warm memories of the book (which I read several times as a teen and listened to in the BBC radio version many times more) have been discolored by the movie.

And that’s hardly the worst literary adaptation there has been. When things look especially unpromising, I make it a point not to see even the trailer.

But when everything goes perfectly, from casting to art direction to all the important details of story and theme—very rarely, in other words—a film version can equal and even in some ways exceed the book. Such is the case with this third in the Chronicles of Narnia series, a breathtakingly beautiful and thrilling envisioning of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley return as Edmund and Lucy, and Keynes in particular has grown into his own as the courageous and clear-eyed warrior king. Ben Barnes is even hunkier than before, as Prince-turned-King Caspian should be. He makes a puffy shirt look desirable, and that isn’t easy.

Liam Neeson voices an Aslan whose CGI being is incredibly convincing and impressive, down to the mane rustling in the wind and the mysterious, majestic eyes. Tilda Swinton must have put in all of four hours on set, as she appears for a total of 45 seconds, and that only as a misty green vision in the green mist. Simon Pegg takes over from Eddie Izzard as the voice of Reepicheep, the valiant little mouse who will be a clear favorite for the under-13 crowd.

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Now that the Harry Potter film franchise is coming to an end, it’s time for another fantasy franchise to try and keep the momentum going. That seems to be the plan for Fox’s Chronicles of Narnia films. There was a bit of doubt as to whether the franchise would continue, but the trailer for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader looks like it could mean just that. Here’s the official synopsis.

While Lucy and Edmund Pevensie are visiting their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, they encounter a magical painting that transports them back into the land of Narnia. Once there, they reunite with King Caspian aboard the “Dawn Treader,” the first ship to exist in Narnia for hundreds of years. King Caspian takes them on a perilous journey to find seven banished lords. Along the way they reunite with the lion Aslan, undertake a series of enchanting and terrifying adventures, and once again face the White Witch.

We’re about a month away from the release of the film, and the marketing is finally starting to ramp up with a brand new trailer. 2008′s Prince Caspian may not have been enough of a success to make this film a record-breaker, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get some good old-fashioned fantasy out of the deal.

Check out the new trailer after the jump (courtesy of Yahoo) and see The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader in theaters on December 10.

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