Teacher Nicole Van Leeuwen took her class of 23 students, eight parents, a teacher's aide and another teacher on "the excursion of the year!"

"It was a bit hard to tell who was more excited, the kids or the adults, when the Minotaur came over to say hello," Ms Van Leeuwen said.

"The kids wanted him to put on his bull's head so they chanted, 'put it on', which is not what we adults would have done."

As well as the Minotaur, played by Shane Rangi, the group met one of the stars of the film, Will Poulter, who plays Cousin Eustace; one of the fawns; and a number of pirates.

The third Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, has been filming at Cleveland Point for nearly two weeks.

The production tells the tale of Lucy and Edmund Pevensie who return to the fantasy kingdom Narnia where they meet up with King Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader.

They encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

Even before meeting the fantastical cast, eight-year-old Jiringalli Gray said she was stunned by the size of the set, describing it as "nice, amazing and extraordinary!"

"The dragon's tail and head were much bigger than I was expecting, and the boat rocked better than I thought," she said.

Zane Jenner, 7, said he'd hoped the ship would be bigger after seeing every movie.

"Lucy is my favourite character because she brings all the characters alive with her medicine and she has a silver dagger," he said.

Mamindah Moreton-McDougall, 7, said her favourite part of the morning was when the boat began to rock and all the pirates on board fell over and Paris Prior-Dallas, 7, said the highlight was definitely meeting the Minotaur, whose costume "looked real!"

The excitement was almost too much for Lakaylah Turley, 7, who said she "nearly fainted" when she met one of the fawns, while classmates Camille Steinke, 7, and Kiara Mazzoni, 7, said seeing Lucy was the best.

Cleveland's Andy Greening secured a photo with popular actor Gary Sweet, who plays captain of the Dawn Treader, Lord Drinian.

Filming at Cleveland Point is set to wrap up by the end of next week.