Books, Not Movies

I don't know why I do it to myself. Perhaps I'm into torture. Or maybe curiousity simply got the best of me. Whatever the reason, I simply have to stop seeing movies that started their careers as books. At least for the books that I have read. I had resolved in the past to do just that, but last night, I had a lapse. I rented "Ella Enchanted." It is a wonderful book that I've read several times. When I taught, I read it to my kids. They liked it too, even the boys. The book is charming of its own accord. What could they have done to it? Ruined it, I say. The plot lines and characters are loosely based on the story and characters developed by the author. Other than the bare minimum required to assume the same title as the novel, nothing matches. After the first scene in the movie, I knew it would be a disaster. It didnt' even take the first scene in its entirety, perhaps only half of it. I cannot imagine why the executives would change such a charming book into a mediocre movie. It isn't like the Potter series where the majority of the world has read it already and plays to those readers. No, they tried to make it into something it wasn't. It may have been a good movie. My opinion is too biased in favor of the book to even see if the movie was good. I didn't care for the fan-club-obsessed teenage girls. It was too modern for the time frame, even if it is a fairy-tale. I will have to settle for reading the book and completely ignoring the movie. I was tempted to watch "Tuck Everlasting" too. I'll probably skip it now.