coracle-- I really like postcard idea!

Adeona-- I also like the idea of establishing Eustace right from the start. Either the way you described it, or with a scene with the Pevensie's complaining about him.

Whatziznehm-- I think the only reason Susan's character would be important at the beginning of VDT is because of her 'thing' with Caspian (as much as that makes me cring to say that... ) and Caspian and RD in VDT.

And VDT's opening sequence should not be 'action'. It sets the tone for the entire movie. If you have action in the beginning, the audience will be hungry for it later, which is NOT what VDT is.

Ok,here's my two cents.

I would start with a black-and-white scene of Eustace sorting his bug collection or something(making sure not to show his face yet) and a narrator saying," There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb." And then a dramatic close up of his face(which would be wearing a scowl and looking beyin the camera) "And he almost deserved it." Then the narrator would tell more about Eustace and then when he got to the part about Ed and Lu coming to stay with him,the film would change to color and the narrator would shut up for the rest of the movie.

But that's just me. I like drama.

Oooh I like that idea Lark, I'm just not sure how I feel about a narrator in the movie...

I think what would be a really cool opening would be for the really epic splashing of waves against the edge of a ship. The music would be booming and everyone expects that the ship is the Dawn Treader from the trailers. However, it pulls out to show that it's simply an English Ocean liner coming in to dock to pick up Susan for America or any of the other Penvesies besides Ed or Lucy. The music cuts back drastically to a more ordinary but optimistic tone. The basic eplanation of what's going on and Peter is shown to have really come into his own and been able to mature outside of Narnia. Finally as they load the boat and head out there is the customary fairwell and everything is very cheerful as the title logo is shown. Everything takes a much more dull color and tone as they ride over to the Scrubbs.

Okay, here is how I imagine the VotDT opening scene. There is a short goodbye scene with all of the Pevensies, where you can see Susan's character. Then Ed and Lu go on a train to the Scrubbs, and Su and Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie go on a ship to America. Maybe Peter isn't in it, actually. If they had a line about where Peter is in the goodbye scene that would explain it. Anyway, Ed and Lu arrive at a train station and Mrs. Scrubb is there to pick them up. She takes them to a big, forbidding house. Lucy is housed in a deserted maid's bedroom upstairs (where the picture is). Ed goes to Eustace's room to put his stuff away, but Eustace isn't there. He then goes over to Lucy's room to check on her, and finds her staring at the picture. Take the scene in the book from there. (Eustace sneaks up on them- it'll add mystery to his character!) I don't know how the dinner scene would work, although it is a marvelous idea! To show how much Ed and Lu have grown up and how immature Eustace is and how oblivious his parents are to his rudeness- you know, scolding Lucy for reaching across her plate to get her glass of water and ignoring the fact that Eustace just leaned right into Edmund to get the salt in his (Ed's) hand. Or maybe something with napkins or silverware.

^^cool idea. I imagine them doing something like that...lol the more we discuss this the more anxious I become for the movie to come out!