I have been a silent blogging partner for the past week or so due to craziness at work, but I’m back in action now, with lots of stored up Things To Say, which will trickle out as soon as I can type them up.
For starters, two beloved classic picture books are apparently being made into movies. Of course, there are the obvious issues with making books into movies, and how the movies are not as good 98% of the time.* But I think there’s specific difficulty in making a picture book into a feature length movie, b/c inevitably you have to add in all kinds of extra stuff that’s left unsaid, only implied, or just absolutely not there in the book, and in doing so I think you really change the whole nature of the thing. I guess its actually similar to the overall problem of adapting any book to a movie, but the length issue with picture books adds a layer to me.
But, there’s money to be made, so we got HORTON HEARS A WHO (which I didn’t see, although I suppose in the interest of the blog I should add it to my netflix list), and now there’s a movie version of Maurice Sendak’s WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is in the works. 100 Scope Notes (and various others, but I saw it there first) has the trailer.
I will say that the trailer looks promising visually. But I’m still anxious about what they might do to this book that’s so dear to my heart. Frankly, I don’t want there to be a WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE movie – even if its a good movie. In all these years, I’ve never felt like “man, they should make a movie of that.” For me, this one just is a book, down to its very core, quintessential self. And if they’re making it into a full-length movie, they’re bound to add in all kinds
There’s also a trailer out for a movie version of CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, by Judi Barrett. I think it looks a lot like every other children’s animated movie that’s come out lately. Which is not to say it won’t be an enjoyable movie. But if I ruled the world, I don’t think it would get made.
*My only personal exceptions to the rule are: The Princess Bride; Lord of the Rings; Wind in the Willows. What are yours?
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March 30, 2009 at 11:16 am
I liked Fight Club the movie better, but I also saw it first. Other than that, I’m wary. And I really don’t like the look of the WTWTA trailer, I don’t! I just want it to be a book. I don’t want to know about Max’s mom’s divorce/affair–I don’t want there to be extraneous angst. I just want him to be a little boy who’s got a bit of the beast in him, like all little boys.
March 30, 2009 at 11:33 am
I’m sure I could come up with some kids’ books examples if I thought really, really hard, but only the travesties are coming to mind. But I’d say Rosemary’s Baby, almost anything by Stephen King, and… let’s see… Meet Me In St. Louis.
March 31, 2009 at 8:55 am
While in no way as awesome as the books, I really enjoy and look forward to the Harry Potter movies. The biggest downside to the movies is the inevitable loss of information, but it would admittedly be impossible to take everything from a 600+ page book and make a 2+ hour movie. However, I think the main ideas persist and there is very little new story line as there is in something like WTWTA.
March 31, 2009 at 11:32 am
New story line doesn’t bother me. I think this is because I tend to think of books and movies as such utterly different media that I never expect faithfulness. I go to a movie based on a book I love hoping it will capture the same feelings for me, but I kind of think of it as a different story.
It’s a bit like bands who have totally different acoustic or live versions of their songs, and both are good. It’s just a different experience.
I must say, though, that as a compulsive mental cataloguer (as I have posted about a time or two before), it took me a while to reach this place of Zen. Part of my early adolescence was spent in angst along the lines of, “The acoustic version of Born in the USA is so good!” “But it’s so different from the original!” “That’s the point and it’s awesome!” “But the original is so good!” Which one is better???
(A lot of the arguments in my head are very heated. Only violent in exceptional circumstances.)
March 31, 2009 at 11:34 am
And speaking of different stories in different media, my favorite TV blog recently asked an interesting question about the difference between successful movie heroes and successful video game heroes.
March 31, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Olivia: its an interesting point about the Harry Potter movies, because I look forward to them, and I watch them over and over, but every time I’m upset at the changes. Its less the cutting of plot elements, because obviously they have to do it, and often I think they make the right choices on what to cut and what to keep. Its the character changes – Dumbledore is totally wrong, IMO, and that’s so crucial, the Weasly twins are also totally off, and the movies really shortchange developing the James, Lupin, Sirius, Peter friendship back when they were at school.
In general, though, you’re right there’s a difference in cutting down & re-arranging, vs. adding in whole new stories, which is why I think picture book adaptations are specifically problematic.
March 31, 2009 at 8:52 pm
I agree about the twins. One of my all-time favorite moments is when the twins quit Hogwarts (and all the antics leading up to that moment as well). It’s just not well done in the movie. The movies also leave out the bad sides to the good characters, or treats those bad sides as funny. One of the best aspects of the characters in HP is that they aren’t all good. Harry’s father really was a jerk. Harry himself starts to act that way. In the previews for the new movie, Hermione smacks him and it’s supposed to be a cute/funny scene. That scene may be, but the underlying emotion isn’t fleshed out correctly. (Although I haven’t seen the whole movie obviously, so maybe they do get more into that, but it hasn’t been shown very well so far
.)
That said, I am completely eager to see the next movie and then own it on dvd and watch it endlessly.
April 1, 2009 at 8:35 am
I enjoyed the film version of Bridge to Terabithia. Also, the BBC’s miniseries of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth) was excellent!
April 1, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I never saw the Bridge to Terabithia film, because I didn’t really like the book. But maybe in that case I’d feel better about the film..ok, adding to netflix queue.
April 1, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I agree about the Bridge to Terabithia film – I was skeptical after I saw previews, but it was completely absorbing AND had me sobbing. So something worked.
I love movie version of Anne of Green Gables (and Anne of Avonlea, even though it committed what ought to be an unforgivable sin – combining plots and characters from several books). It gets the spirit right, even when it changes the details.
April 17, 2009 at 10:28 am
[...] already mentioned how THE PRINCESS BRIDE is one of the few kids’ books to have been made into a genuinely good [...]
May 6, 2009 at 9:19 pm
I wouldn’t say The Princess Bride is a kid’s book–it’s way longer than any kid’s book I’ve ever seen. I read it when I was 16.
July 16, 2009 at 9:52 am
I just seen the trailer to Where the Wild Things Are… I realize that from the dawn of movie making they have been taking books and making them into a movie…that’s a given; but it seems lately that is ALL hollywood is doing… taking books and making into movies…. an original kids movie would be nice.
Also, it upsets me that they are making Where the Wild Things Are and I agree with one of your other bloggers saying “it’s just good as a book”… I feel like there was a sellout.
To me, Hollywood is making it EASY for kids to NOT pick up a book and read it. “Oh, I’ll just see the movie, why read the book”… and then everyone complains when our literacy rates are so low in this country.
It’s also a scape-goat for parents to NOT read to their children. “Just go see the movie”..
It’s just a little upsetting to me. I don’t mind so much the adult books, because adults make can make the choice of reading or going to see the movie; but kids movies are soooo tempting and they market the crap out of them.
There will be Where the Wild Things are dolls, movie posters, T-shirts, folders for school… everything… and I guess that’s what makes america great that we can do that stuff, but still it takes a classic childrens book and commercializes it until its just some sad out-dated fad.