Ellas Enchanted

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Similar to the Howl’s Moving Castle duo, the similarities between the Ella Enchanted novel and movie are few and far between. Although they only share the names and Ella’s curse to be obedient, I enjoy both versions.

In the book, the relationship between Ella and Char is adorable to watch, from their first meeting, to their written correspondence, to the three classic balls. Ella has a lot of spunk, and it shows in the narrative as well as in her actions. I enjoy Ella’s subterfuge during the balls, and her mastery of other languages, both of which don’t exist in the movie.

I love the movie for its own brand of humor. It’s very tongue-in-cheek, with the Prince Char fanclub and medieval versions of modern technology (man-powered escalators, bat-ox, etc.). It has a more political tone than the book (stop ogrecide!), but I actually prefer the political subplot, where the king uses Ella’s powers to try to kill Char. Ella dreads this happening in the book, but the movie actually puts it into play. This makes Ella’s need to break the curse more poignant – and more exciting.

I’m sure many people think the movie ruined the book, as they do with many other movie/book combos. How do you treat movie adaptations of books you love?

A Farewell to Narnia’s Best

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It’s true this is the last time any of the Pevensies will set foot in Narnia, but that’s not quite what I meant by Narnia’s best.

It’s no secret that I greatly prefer the Narnia movies to the books. They have more character development and depth, and aren’t nearly so black and white.

Unfortunately, Andrew Adamson’s absence is greatly felt in the latest installment, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The script was much weaker than those of the first two movies. You may remember my rant on Edmund’s sudden greedy nature. The inner demons of the main characters were also overdone. (Yes, Lucy is jealous of Susan. We get it.)

In the first movie, I didn’t mind the similarity between Aslan’s sacrifice and Jesus’. But here, the over-bearing message of Christianity was unbearable. There’s a white bird flying down into the darkness with a ray of light. There’s Aslan’s table, all set for some Last Supper. And then there is Aslan’s very obvious “In your world I am known by another name.” Apparently Jesus likes to spend his time as a lion.

Granted, I never read Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I love the Pevensies, and the end of Caspian made it seem like none of them would ever return. I couldn’t bear a book without them. Plus, the writing in the first chapter was terrible.

I probably won’t see the next Narnia movie; at least, not in theaters. But I welcome different opinions on Dawn Treader, either book or movie. For those who finished both, is there one you prefer?

The Lightning Thieves

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I just saw the movie adaptation of Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief. It had good special effects, and I’m sure if you hadn’t read the books, it was a good movie. But they didn’t have to completely change the storyline. Spoilers Ahead.

The movie gets off to a good start, only condensing the book for timing issues. They condense roles too, like making Annabeth more antagonistic to fill Aries’ daughter’s shoes, which I also understand. And maybe it didn’t matter that everyone instantly knew Percy’s father was Poseidon, or that important series information like Kronos and Thalia and the prophecy were left out.

But changing the quest? Really?

Instead of being given a quest to find the lightning bolt, Percy is given an offer by Hades. Instead of stumbling across America, Luke (now the main villain) gives them a nifty map and some story about Persephone’s pearls. Instead of using the adventures in the book, the screenwriters invented a few of their own, like visiting the Parthenon in Nashville and Persephone’s betrayal of Hades.

What was so bad about the original storyline? Why couldn’t Percy set off on a quest and battle monsters and annoy Ares and fail at Hades’ doorstep like he’s supposed to?

Despite the special effects, the final battle was boring. All I could think was “Percy can’t fly, Zeus is going to zap him out of the sky.” And what, Zeus didn’t notice his master bolt was at the base of Olympus? You can’t radically change the rules just because you think it’ll look better on the big screen.

Or add rules, come to think of it. Zeus’ ban on gods contacting their children was unnecessary. The gods’ bending of that rule by talking to their children when in danger, even more so.

It was funny. It was exciting.

But it was only an okay adaptation.

A Novel Experiment

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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?

Life Imitating Art

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I bought The Jane Austen Book Club for my mom for Mother’s Day. If you haven’t seen it (or read the book it’s based on), it follows five women whose lives parallel those of Jane Austen’s characters.

That got me thinking:

Does my life parallel any fictional character’s?

I’m not sure.

I was talking with my mom, and we agreed that Anna and Camron – the newlyweds I gave a shout-out to on Friday, who went on to have a gorgeous wedding – are Jane and Mr. Bingley. To quote a certain father:

“I have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income.”

We’re as close as sisters, so mom insists that makes me Lizzy. I believe this means I should start looking for guys who insult me!

But if I’m to resemble a Jane Austen character, right now I feel more like Emma:

“I have no idea that she has yet ever seen a man she cared for…there is nobody hereabouts to attach her.”

I definitely have to think about this some more.

In the meantime, do you think your life resembles a fictional character’s? Whose?

Narnian Media

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I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m a terrible bookworm. I judge books by their covers, I’m super picky about what I read, and – and -

I liked the Narnia movies so much more than the books!

There. Now you know my dark secret. I could just leave it at that, but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t justify my outrageous claims?

First, to give credit where credit is due, they did a great job of casting. They didn’t sell out and get Dakota Fanning or whoever to be Lucy. They went out and found perfect matches for the characters. If you don’t believe me, watch the actors’ commentary. And Liam Neeson as Aslan? Genius. Already you’re on the road to a good movie, because you’re not snickering at the actors and their phony and/or pompous acting.

But casting doesn’t in and of itself make a movie better than a book. (It’s just a sweet bonus.)

What really makes it stand out is the screenplay. Director Andrew Adamson did an amazing job with the adaptations of both books. The story is moving and the characters are lovable (even traitorous Edmund).

And how is this different from the books, you ask? Same moving story, same lovable characters, right?

Wrong.

C. S. Lewis’ works were simplistic. I mean, of course they have to be on some level, they are children’s books. But man. I’d like to think children are intelligent enough to understand some complexity. The characters were too black and white.

Thankfully, Adamson wrote in some gray areas. He gave us character development, a trait seriously lacking in the books. And hey, who’s going to pass up juicy drama?

Think I’m exaggerating about the lack of character development and overall simplicity? Here’s two examples:

1. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children don’t believe Lucy discovered a new world. And why would they? They give her grief, and are soon proved wrong. Fast forward to Prince Caspian. In the book, Lucy sees Aslan, but the other Pevensies don’t believe her. Sounds familiar, right? And it makes absolutely no sense.

Adamson keeps the plot point, but he at least gives us a good[-ish] reason why Lucy’s siblings so quickly discount her. They’re hurt because they don’t know why they couldn’t see Aslan too.

2. When the Pevensies arrive in Narnia hundreds of years after their original sojourn, they discover all the friends they’d made were dead. Do the book Pevensies react? No, cold-blooded jerks that they are. They don’t care one whit. But the movie Pevensies do.

I have to admit, I never finished the Narnia books. They were too frustrating after watching the first movie. I think I made it through the first chapter or so of the fifth book (counting chronologically Narnia-time) before I gave up completely. But I am looking forward to the next Narnia movie!

My work here is done. Okay Narnia fans. Challenge me, if you dare!

  • Welcome

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    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

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  • Official Progress


    4/21 segments

    A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.

    Status: Second revision



    1,639/70,000 words
    A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.

    Status: First draft



    1,087/70,000 words
    When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?

    Status: First draft





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    Jennifer Johnson © 2010