Books With Good Film Adaptations

Books With Good Film Adaptations

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First of all, apologies for not posting on Wednesday! I had an essay to write which took me longer than expected. I'm going to take this as an opportunity to get ahead with my schedule so that (hopefully) it doesn't happen again, and a review will be posted as normal this Wednesday. I will also be posting my book of the month tomorrow! You might also have noticed that the theme of the blog has changed- a good friend of mine pointed out that my comments weren't working, so I've changed my theme to solve the problem. 

Now, tonight the Oscars are happening in America! I thought this was a good opportunity to showcase books I think have had good film adaptations, because the good ones are rare enough that they deserve to be credited. Plus, I've found that I can enjoy good movies as much as the books they're based on, and it's more material to enjoy. So here are my favourite film adaptations!

1. This one won't surprise any of the people who read this article last month, but I think The Chronicles of Narnia are some of the best book adaptations out there. Narnia as a land is beautifully realised on the big screen, and they stick as close as they can to the books. They're not just good adaptations, but some of my favourite escapist films.

2. Stardust is very different to Neil Gaiman's book, but it is one of the few fantasy films I've seen that also balance well as comedies. The scene with Captain Shakespeare dancing is still one of my favourite moments in any film, and I am never not going to be scared of Michelle Pfeiffer again. 

3. When I say Peter Pan, I know a lot of you will think of the 1953 Disney version, but I actually prefer the one from 2003 with Jason Isaac (Lucius Malfoy!) as Captain Hook. It doesn't ignore as many of the darker points of the original book, and the music. The music! It's got one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. This is the film I watch when I just need to smile.

4. How To Train Your Dragon goes a very long way from its source material- even its characters are barely recognisable. It's made more of an impression on me, though- I would do anything to have a dragon like the film Toothless, and I loved how dorky Hiccup was even after he grew up. It's a rare example of an adaptation where the changes make for an equally good film as its source.

5. Of these films, the very first I watched is Matilda. I'm sure I'm not the only bookworm who has identified with Matilda and her fight against the awful adults in her life over the years, and I still smirk at the thought of the Trunchbull's last scene. Roald Dahl would have been proud to see it, I think, which is a huge badge of honour. 

I could have added more to this list- it physically pained me not to add Les Miserables 2012, although that was technically an adaptation of the musical, and to choose between Matilda and The BFG. And that doesn't even take into account the books that have had good TV series based on them- I'm thinking about A Series of Unfortunate Events. So feel free to ad your own favourites in the comments, or tell me what you think of my choices above!