A Novel Experiment

11 August 2010 | Filed Under Books vs. Movies 

VS.

When I say Howl’s Moving Castle, do you think of Diana Wynne Jones’ book or Hayao Miyazaki’s movie?

Even though the latter was based on the former, they are completely different. Pretty much the only things that are the same are the names (mostly) and Sophie’s curse.

I saw the movie and fell in love. I just had to read the book now. I asked one of my friends if he’d seen the movie or read the book. He hadn’t, but he was interested. And I was far enough into the book to realize there were major differences.

Thus was born the Novel Experiment.

I thought, faced with two similar-yet-different tellings, would people favor one over the other, or would it depend on which you had encountered first? Since my order had been movie -> book, I told him to read the book first, then we’d watch the movie after.

The book was good. It was quirky and charming. But my favorite scenes from the movie were all missing. I decided I liked the movie better.

After watching the movie, my friend decided he liked the book better.

Any science-minded person would tell you this isn’t nearly enough data to prove my hypothesis. But I think it’s a good start.

Have you done any similar experiments?

Comments

6 Responses to “A Novel Experiment”

  1. Kailer on August 11th, 2010 8:27 pm

    Can’t say that I’ve ever run any experiments like that, but I usually prefer whichever I experience first. I read the Howl’s Moving Castle novel first, for instance, and definitely preferred it to the movie. There are exceptions, though…like when I see a great movie, want to read the book it’s based off of, and the book ends up being mindblowingly amazing. Though I can’t think of an example of that off the top of my head.

  2. Jenn on August 12th, 2010 9:37 pm

    I saw Ella Enchanted before I read it, but I like both versions for different reasons. Like Howl’s Moving Castle, it’s a pretty different storyline. You can use that as your example ;)

  3. Kim on August 13th, 2010 5:20 pm

    Howl’s Moving Castle is quite possibly my favorite movie – LOVE Miyazaki!!! Haven’t done any similar experiments, but I think I agree with you about the movie kicking the book’s butt :D

  4. Jenn on August 13th, 2010 5:23 pm

    I’d agree, but Spirited Away is pretty amazing. Might be a toss up to which is my favorite, depending on my mood.

  5. Howl’s Moving Castle Music | A Single Bell on September 17th, 2010 2:52 am

    [...] the main theme for Howl’s Moving Castle. As I said earlier, I love this [...]

  6. Ellas Enchanted | A Single Bell on January 21st, 2011 12:06 am

    [...] Similar to the Howl’s Moving Castle duo, the similarities between the Ella Enchanted novel and movie are few and far between. Although they [...]

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