Adaptation

I, like every other fan of literature out there, watch with interest when a book I love is made into a movie. If you look at my profile, you'll notice that my favorite books are the Harry Potter series, the Anne of Green Gables series, the Chronicles of Narnia, and The Princess Bride. Incidentally, these all happen to be movies, as well. Because I love these books so dearly, I have a vested interest in how these stories are treated on the big screen. Treat them well, and I will pay good money to see the movie in the theater and buy them on DVD or Blu-ray. Treat them poorly, and I will rake you over the coals on my blog.

Some movies I like better than the books: Twilight, The Hunger Games (so far), and, forgive me, The Lord of the Rings. My preferences in the first two instances are due to the authors' writing styles--I didn't care for them all that much. The last one is because, although I recognize that Tolkien was a literary genius, I just don't like to read him, mainly because his descriptions go on for pages. Yes, there's a tower and a mountain and it's dark and scary, GET ON WITH THE ACTION.

I've been mostly pleased with the Harry Potter movies; the Narnia movies, on the other hand, have (except for the first one) really irritated me. I was re-watching the Anne movies this weekend, and my love and devotion to them is almost equal with that to the books. The Princess Bride is also a wash. So why is that? Why, with these books that I love so much, do I have such varying reactions to the movies?

I have a couple of theories.

First, with PB and Anne, I saw the movies before I ever read the books. Long before, and often. Perhaps my loyalties lie with what I consume first?

But I don't think that's entirely it. With those franchises, I am able to take the books as one thing and the movies as another. But why? Why do changes in Anne--and there are many, many changes--not bother me, but changes in Voyage of the Dawn Treader drive me crazy?

I think it goes beyond which medium I consumed first. I think it has more to do with the essence of the story, and more importantly, the essence of the characters.

For example, it does not bother me one whit that Tom Bombadil is not in the LOTR movies (again, my apologies). But it infuriates me that Faramir takes the ring. This is not just a change of events for the sake of action; this is a change that goes against the very essence of Faramir's character. He would NOT take the ring; he was the foil to his brother, Boromir, who nearly lost himself because of his desire for the ring. Heresy! Blasphemy!

The same goes for HP. I'm not all that upset that Dobby was removed from most of the movies (except it made his return in HP7I a little weird), because when Dobby was around, he acted very Dobby-ish. I'm not bothered by scenes that are added for action and drama, such as when The Burrow burns. But I am saddened when Dumbledore flies at Harry in Goblet of Fire to ask him if he put his name in the fire. Why? Because Dumbledore would never yell at Harry like that; it goes against the very nature of Dumbledore.

The same goes for all of Prince Caspian, where the movie has changed the heart and soul of Peter and Caspian so drastically--and for the worse--that I saw the movie once and will not watch it again.

And that's where PB and Anne get things right. Sure, much of the action is changed. In Anne, the changes are sweeping and dramatic. BUT! When reading the books, I can see how the characters and events in the movie were cobbled together from the characters and events in the books. I see the essence of the book and its inhabitants in the movies, and no changes are made that go against any one character's essence. (It should be noted that I have not seen, and nigh on refuse to acknowledge the existence of, the Continuing Story. Bleh. They hijacked characters I love to make a random story [read: profit], and it is not the story that belongs to those characters. Anne and Gilbert have a story, and it is not the story that is presented in that movie. They should have made House of Dreams instead, and that is all I have to say on that matter.)

But there it is! I love these characters dearly, and I don't like to see them maligned or altered in any way.


So add a fight where there isn't one! Change Harry's eye color (this drives Halle insane, but that's a completely different post)! Let Miss Stacy give Anne a job in Kingsport! But don't make Peter an egomaniacal jerk. Don't make Faramir take the ring, and for all that is good and holy, do not create a love story between Caspian and Susan!


I--and all lovers of literature--love books for a reason. It's not just the plot points that capture my heart and mind and allegiance. It is the people, the friends that dwell in those pages.  ("Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?") If you want my movie-going business, then leave my people be.