Writer's Block: Book based
Apr. 27th, 2010 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Most people would probably think me the weirdest person on the planet for actually preferring the movie versions in general. There are very few occasions where I think the book is overall better. I dunno, I love seeing how the characters and scenes come to life on the screen, I love movie music, and the changes they make usually make things better.
I approve of almost every change made to the LOTR movies, for instance. There's just a couple of things I detest, one of which is the way Sam leaves Frodo in Return of the King after the Shelob fiasco. In the book, he had a long debate with himself, and he certainly didn't leave when he heard Orcs coming! There were no Orcs in the book until he was already going and couldn't go back.
I also don't really care for the friction between Frodo and Sam in general in the movie. That was not in the book. Frodo was being corrupted by the Ring, but Gollum never succeeded in turning Frodo against Sam because of it.
Other than that, however, you name it and I probably loved it, including Arwen's bigger role. It was just plain disappointing that she was hardly around in the books, especially when she was Aragorn's love interest. (Yes, before you ask, I have read the appendixes.)
However! One movie I could not stand compared to the book was Pollyanna. I thought the changes made were terrible, particularly the way she got injured. They apparently didn't want her to be as sweet of a girl in the movie, so among other changes, they had her injuries happen when she's disobeying her aunt. Granted, I think the aunt was being too strict, but that doesn't mean I liked seeing Pollyanna flat-out disobey her like that, sneak out to the bazaar, and then be hurt upon falling from a tree while trying to return to her upstairs room. In the book, she's hit by a car (and was not disobeying her aunt). There's no reason why they couldn't have kept that. Just don't show the actual impact. They didn't actually show her falling from the tree as it was.
There's at least one other book I was very disappointed in as a movie, but right now I can't think of it. Oh, I don't like Disney's White Fang either, but that isn't the one I'm thinking of. The book ending was so, so much better. White Fang going with the guy back to his family and later protecting them all from a madman? YES PLEASE. It was so awesome and intense and squeeable. And even though he was badly hurt, he got better.
I don't think Nancy Drew has ever translated well to movies, when I think of it. Her best portrayal was the Pamela girl in the seventies TV show. Nancy is a very difficult character to portray right. Bonita Granville made her far too bubbly in the thirties movies, and I remember not being pleased with the girl in the Canadian nineties TV show, either. And didn't she have brown hair in that one? What the heck?
I haven't even tried seeing the Nancy Drew movie from a couple of years ago. I'm highly displeased at having them move and not having Bess and George around because of that.
I do really like the nineties version of The Hardy Boys, however. Paul Popowich as Joe? Yesssss.
Most people would probably think me the weirdest person on the planet for actually preferring the movie versions in general. There are very few occasions where I think the book is overall better. I dunno, I love seeing how the characters and scenes come to life on the screen, I love movie music, and the changes they make usually make things better.
I approve of almost every change made to the LOTR movies, for instance. There's just a couple of things I detest, one of which is the way Sam leaves Frodo in Return of the King after the Shelob fiasco. In the book, he had a long debate with himself, and he certainly didn't leave when he heard Orcs coming! There were no Orcs in the book until he was already going and couldn't go back.
I also don't really care for the friction between Frodo and Sam in general in the movie. That was not in the book. Frodo was being corrupted by the Ring, but Gollum never succeeded in turning Frodo against Sam because of it.
Other than that, however, you name it and I probably loved it, including Arwen's bigger role. It was just plain disappointing that she was hardly around in the books, especially when she was Aragorn's love interest. (Yes, before you ask, I have read the appendixes.)
However! One movie I could not stand compared to the book was Pollyanna. I thought the changes made were terrible, particularly the way she got injured. They apparently didn't want her to be as sweet of a girl in the movie, so among other changes, they had her injuries happen when she's disobeying her aunt. Granted, I think the aunt was being too strict, but that doesn't mean I liked seeing Pollyanna flat-out disobey her like that, sneak out to the bazaar, and then be hurt upon falling from a tree while trying to return to her upstairs room. In the book, she's hit by a car (and was not disobeying her aunt). There's no reason why they couldn't have kept that. Just don't show the actual impact. They didn't actually show her falling from the tree as it was.
There's at least one other book I was very disappointed in as a movie, but right now I can't think of it. Oh, I don't like Disney's White Fang either, but that isn't the one I'm thinking of. The book ending was so, so much better. White Fang going with the guy back to his family and later protecting them all from a madman? YES PLEASE. It was so awesome and intense and squeeable. And even though he was badly hurt, he got better.
I don't think Nancy Drew has ever translated well to movies, when I think of it. Her best portrayal was the Pamela girl in the seventies TV show. Nancy is a very difficult character to portray right. Bonita Granville made her far too bubbly in the thirties movies, and I remember not being pleased with the girl in the Canadian nineties TV show, either. And didn't she have brown hair in that one? What the heck?
I haven't even tried seeing the Nancy Drew movie from a couple of years ago. I'm highly displeased at having them move and not having Bess and George around because of that.
I do really like the nineties version of The Hardy Boys, however. Paul Popowich as Joe? Yesssss.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 03:23 am (UTC)True, I usually don't hate the books or anything, but if I have to pick just one I'll choose the movies, and sometimes I won't bother with owning the books (if I didn't already have them). I prefer the animated 101 Dalmatians over the book, too. Live-action one, not sure what to think there, but I detested the sequel. XD;
I've only seen the first Harry Potter movie, but I definitely enjoyed it over the book. I thought they adapted it extremely well.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 09:21 pm (UTC)**pets LOTR** Aside from Sam fleeing from the Orcs and Frodo turning on him, the other thing that annoyed me was that they took out my favorite part from the book-- Fog on the Barrow-Downs. That would have been an incredible scene.
Yay for Arwen's bigger role! ^o^
I haven't seen Pollyanna, but the book ending of White Fang was indeed awesome.
...A Nancy Drew movie without Bess and George? Sacrilege!
Ooh, I've always wanted to see the 90s version of the Hardy Boys, but never got a chance...
no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 03:27 am (UTC)They're only seen at the beginning, saying goodbye to her as she moves or something. FAIL.
I wonder if it would be on YouTube? I was lucky enough to get the episodes from someone.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 03:22 am (UTC)Man, I need to get off my butt and read/see LotR. Sam and Frodo are friends and that's about all I know XD; But yeesh at changing the circumstances of Sam's leaving for the worse! I guess it's harder to show self-debate in a movie, but man.
It's always weird when characters like that are left out for no adequately explained reason.
Odd changes to character/changes in events that don't correspond to a character's character ftl D:
no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 03:31 am (UTC)Yeah, they really mangled that scene. And yes, definitely read and watch LOTR! You need to do both to get the whole story. X3
With Arwen, I'm not sure why Tolkien didn't want to include more of her after he started developing Aragorn's character more. I'm so glad Peter Jackson took that into consideration when he made the films.
Totally! Major thumbs down.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 02:12 am (UTC)I think the only thing where I really prefer the books to the movie is Harry Potter. XD; I always get so excited for the movies but am inevitably really disappointed by at least some things they do.
You know what Nancy Drew translates well into? PC GAMES. XP Those games are amazing.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-29 03:03 am (UTC)**nods.** It's been so long since I've even read any of the books that I probably wouldn't notice the changes if I saw the rest of the movies. LOL. I was surprised to hear that the last book would become two movies, though. I wonder where they'll break it off.
Buwahaha! Yes, Nancy Drew PC games are love. I've gotta get me more of them.