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Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 6:57:06 PM

barelynangel

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There was a book when i was a kid called where the wild things are, however, they have now made it into a movie. They have done the same with things like the jungle book etc.

I remember as a kid getting lost in books, my imagination taking control and catapulting me into a imaginary world. As i have grown older, i still can do the same only now i do so with books for adult level. In this day and age there is so little that seems to allow a child the freedom of imagination and now they are taking their books and making the imagination almost not needed.

So what is your take on children's books being made into movies. I don't care for it much. To me, there should be enough imagination in people to achieve movies without having to take the sacred concept of books and make them into movies.

Maybe i am just in a weird mood but this just seems not right for the children of the next generation.

angel

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 7:13:07 PM

Lockit

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Sometimes a movie will interest people in reading the book. Parent's have a lot to do with encouraging reading. I used to have a children's program and I would teach them often times like I would adults, but coming from a place they could understand. We would read a children's story book about a topic and then we would find it in an adult book... okay... the bible. We would discuss how the stories were different or how it applied to life. Then I would ask a topic they would like to discuss and find books and material for it. We did the same with any movies that were out, but few were back then.

The children felt respected and smart because we took things to a new level... an adult level in a sense and I had more requesting to join us than I could handle. I say, whatever it takes to get them interested in reading is a good thing. lol

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 7:14:33 PM

manxcat

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Well put. I was not able to voice that properly, although I have had such feelings as well. I recently ordered and re-read a book I was given when I was 8, which was written in the late 1800's. It had moral and social issues that are still relevant today, and in part gave me the idea that I could do anything. The funny part is, I didn't remember the drawings, or that it even had drawings, but I did remember most of the story.
You are correct, I believe that children need more time with books and toys that make them think. We are getting too much like the ancient Romans with their bread and circuses, and I fear we will become a world of sheep, servicing our rich masters if we do not regain our curiosity and ability to proudly say I did it myself.
Good topic.

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 9:59:44 PM

HatesParisHilton

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from a different perspective:

will the movie version be made by some hack-ass wankerous frat boy like Jan De Bont? who RUINS artful "original material" (as he did with "The Haunting" when he tackled re-making that film)?

will the film or TV version be given to some gormless "Paperless Generation" MTV visually plagiarist HACK merely using the film assignment (and resume redit) to hike up the career ladder to get assigned to "Iron Man 4" several years later, not giving a shit how maybe he disappoints the multitudes of children who get excitedf about a film version of their book?

These things are often concerns in ANY adaption from ANY source material, much less Children's Literature.

Would you want Zack Snyder doing the Sandman movie? "Re-Envisioning" Neil?

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 10:24:56 PM

DemonKia

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FR, after read thru

I love children's fiction. I have an especial fondness for reading aloud late 19th-century fiction to young people. I've read stacks of books aloud to my offspring, up into their teens (one of them would still have me read aloud to him, lol). I particularly adore reading Kipling's Just So stories out loud, the language is gorgeous . . . . .

I love children's movies . . . . . . I think the best children's films are amongst the great works of cinema . . . . .

In both cases, I like them when they're good. (A subjective matter all on its own . . . . )

Some children's lit is vastly over-rated & the movies are better (I'm staring hard at L. Frank Baum on that one, but your mileage may vary . .. .) Some it's the other way 'round . . . .

After I read thru the above posts (up to Manxy's) & had 'walked away' & done other stuff, I kept thinking of the rather marginal written material that has been transmuted into some of my favorite cinematic kiddie funfests, particularly 'Chittie Chittie Bang Bang'. The book is an 'eh' kinda thing, but the movie is a charming & bizarre piece of 'classic cinema' for me . . . . .

'Mary Poppins', too. The books didn't do much for me, but I love the movie . .. . .

On the other hand, I loved the Little House books & always felt the teevee show fell far short . . . . .

So. I guess I'm a mixed bag gal on this one. Sometimes they screw it up, sometimes they exceed specs . . . . . (&, yes, I do quake in my boots & avoid certain books-into-movies cuz I jus' know they're gonna make it all 'Hollywood' & 'commercial product' . . . . . . But I also wish that certain books I love would get the decent filmic treatment they deserve, too . . . . . They would be wondrous movies, done right . . .. . )

The 'Where the Wild Things Are' movie has been a bit of a puzzle in that direction. Sendak is one of the really good modern children's authors, & that book is a treasured bit of the offsprings' childhoods. (The two male offspring are looking forward to seeing the flick . . . .) I'm both kinda hesitant (the trailers, especially the first one, were less than impressive), & kinda hopeful (the director has made at least one of my all time favorite movies -- 'Being John Malkovich') . . . . . . . But I keep my expectations on a very short leash with regard to mainstream Hollywood entertainment product: the pleasant surprises are the exceptions & much of what gets chucked out is drek . . . . . . .

Ah. As to the literacy thing. Yeah. Kids aren't gonna pick up reading-for-pleasure if the people around them don't read for pleasure, & I have noted that many homes lack books. Magazines. Newspapers. Homes where no one reads -- jus' cuz -- are homes where no one reads . . . . . .

I don't feel particularly alarmist about this, tho', as I know how illiterate populations were, historically speaking, & with the advent of the internet (a largely text driven place) I feel pretty confident that literacy is spreading rather than retreating. When I was a kid none of my peers wrote outside of the classroom setting; now, kids blog & email & text . . . . People can fuss that texting's not 'really' writing, but not writing was not really writing. That whole debate reminds me of the mid-20th century alarums about the evils of comic books & how they were gonna render whole swathes of youth zomboid, brain dead, & illiterate. But instead comic books are just another tool in the kit to get people reading . . . . . . Literacy isn't a zero-sum game, the more tools available to exercise written communication, the more literacy . . . . .

& there's way too many books & periodicals & webpages on the planet to expect any one person to read but a fraction of all that . . . .. Well, that, & have a life . . . . . . . So I don't expect 'most people' to have read any given set of books.

In my world view, at least . . . . .

< Message edited by DemonKia -- 9/21/2009 10:32:39 PM >

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 10:31:35 PM

HatesParisHilton

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"But instead comic books are just another tool in the kit to get people reading "

Two Words:

"Image Comics".

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 10:35:42 PM

DemonKia

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You like to argue.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, people can avoid reading . . . . . But they miss out on all the fun . . . . . .

Anyways, what I was thinking about specifically was all those institutions (military, etc) who've integrated 'educational comics' into their training curricula. I'm sure you know what I mean, Hiltie . . . . . .

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/21/2009 11:11:43 PM

HatesParisHilton

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yes, and THAT I agree with. It's just that RE comics I have worked for more than several companies (all the big ones, in fact) and almost all of them are development shills for films now. Few care about " a single neuron firing across the universe" and of those, Image (being the ultimate Frat Boy piece of shit publisher apart from McFarlane) is the worst "offender".

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/22/2009 3:44:35 AM

Aileen1968

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I love the quality of the movies being made lately. Harry Potter movies are fantastic. Tim Burton is doing Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp and it looks creepy and surreal. That being said, I also stress reading big time at home. My girls enjoy reading and usually won't see the movie until they've read the book.

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/22/2009 4:18:15 AM

Louve00

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I was watching public television this weekend and Wayne Dyer was on talking about his latest endeavor....Excuses Begone. During his presentation he said something that made me stop and think then...and again now, with this question. He said that there was a chinese proverb that read "Let me read something, I'll forget it, let me see something, I'll remember it, let me do something and I'll understand it." He went on to say that everyone learns better thru different venues....be it watching a movie, singing it in song, or reading in a book.

I have a teenage daughter. Of course, not for a moment, do I discourage reading. And I also make sure she is reading all her required reading, which I've never had a problem getting her to do. But, I find myself agreeing with Wayne Dyers philosophy. If the movie is used as a learning tool, I don't really see anything wrong with it. And, I suppose a child who does not like to read will not exert as much imagination and effort into it as a child who does like to read. I suppose that could be why some kids suffer thru the learning process in school. Maybe they aren't being taught thru "their" optimal venue...or approach.

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/22/2009 5:09:59 AM

sirsholly

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Books sell themselves...fueled by the awesome imagination of a child.

Once they are made into movies that awesome imagination is kicked to the curb and the movie must be made to hold the interest. I see this as generally being done with violence of some sort and this is not acceptable to me as a parent.

I will read to the kid at every opportunity, but his movie watching is rare, and always previewed by a very critical mom.

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/22/2009 5:15:00 AM

HatesParisHilton

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I feel lucky that my Mum read the Hobbit to me as a child, before the animated TV show even surfaced.

That show was WAY less violent than Hollywood does with a lot of "Under 13" material.

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RE: Making childrens books into movies - 9/22/2009 5:16:11 AM

slaveluci

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quote:

ORIGINAL: barelynangel
So what is your take on children's books being made into movies.

My take on this is the same as it is with making ANY book into a movie. It's never going to be as good because the makers are never going to be able to read my mind and copy my own imagination. Therefore, it can never possibly live up to what I had already imagined when I initially read it.

This is why I sometimes watch the movies and sometimes do not and I never go into them thinking it's going to be the same or as good as the movie I've already made in my head

(Although, "The Green Mile" almost proved this theory of mine wrong. I was amazed because I really thought they'd screw that one up).

That being said, I've really enjoyed lots of movies based on books. To me, it's sometimes like when various and diverse artists cut the same song. There's usually something good about all the versions though they may be very different.............luci

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