I got this link off the Child_Lit list: Best movies adapted from children's books
Not sure I agree with all of them (I like the Johnny Depp Wonka better than the Gene Wilder one, and frankly Snow White would have improved that whole movie 1000% if she'd just jumped in the dumb wishing well) but it's something to think about. I do agree with most of the honorable mentions.
What are some of your favorite adaptations?
I agree with you on both: Snow White is too scary in parts for kids anyway. And who doesn't like Johnny Depp better?!!! Good calls on the critique!!!
ReplyDeleteI think the new Wonka is waaay creepier than the old one - he creaks! and all those dentist nightmares! Shudder. Plus, I like Gene Wilder. Can't say I agree with Iron Giant - I thought it was rather boring and never made it through the whole thing. I was surprised not to see Matilda - it doesn't have quite the Dahlesque flavor of the story, but still a good adaptation imo. My personal favorite adaptations are the stop-motion animation of Wind in the Willows (Cosgrove Hall) and the original Lindgren films, especially Emil, Children of Noisy Village, and Pippi. But I don't think they've all been translated into English, so I suppose they don't count.
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ReplyDeleteRe-posting to correct grammar: I was surprised Coppola's "Black Beauty" wasn't on the list. It's perfect. I saw it when I was in college and pretended my bike was The Black all the way home =).
ReplyDeleteThough I wholeheartedly agree about "Oz," "The Princess Bride," "Babe" and "Azkaban," I think Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" was a disaster. The whole crux of the story is that he LOOKED like a beast but behaved like a gentleman.
And for the record? Gene Wilder rules.
Ooh, yeah what about Black Stallion? And I hated the new Charlotte's Web, btw. Didn't really like the old animated one either.
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