Blogmas #3 | Ranking Book to Movie/TV Adaptations (with lots & lots of polls)
Hello everyone!! βοΈ How are you guys doing? Are you feeling the winter/Christmas spirit yet π? I definitely feel festive, but not as much as past years, which is completely understandable. Still, I’m listening to lots of Christmas music and watching films, trying to psyche myself up. Anyways, for today’s post I thought it would be super fun to share and discuss our opinions of Book to Movie/TV adaptations π We are all different and enjoy different things, so obviously we don’t all like or dislike the same movies and books. Because of that, besides giving you guys my personal preferences, I will be including polls so that we can see the general consensus! I love this type of thing so I really hope you guys enjoy it as much as me π
Before we start, I just want to clear up that I will obviously be including only SOME of the most popular ones and there are many that I’m forgetting. But, if you guys like it then we can do this again some other time βΊοΈ
#12. Thirteen Reasons Why
So I haven’t seen the entire show, which means I’m not really one to judge π However, the few episodes that I did watch, I didn’t like. I thought the book was ok and because of that I thought it would make a good TV show. I’m not saying that it’s bad, but it’s definitely not my style π€·π½ββοΈ I would’ve preferred if they had been more loyal to the original story.
#11. Percy Jackson
Who’s excited for the Disney+ adaptation? ππ½ββοΈ I definitely am because, like most people, I do not like the movies. Before I read the books, I thought they were pretty good. And as movies they are. But, as adaptations, they are horrible π¬ The characters were completely off, Camp Half-Blood was not a camp, and the plot… Why couldn’t they just stick to the story?? I really hope that the new show doesn’t disappoint me.
#10. The Darkest Minds
When this movie was announced I immediately read the book, and I was very excited. As we all know, there was a huge boom in dystopians back in the day, but it had been a while since one of them was adapted. Besides, the trailer looked awesome. So, as not a huge fan of the books, I thought the movie was ok. Definitely not as good as I hoped, but it was fine π I think that one of their biggest mistakes were the powers, cause they are extremely important in the story (obviously). To make them more visual so that those who hadn’t read the books could understand them, they made the characters’ eyes shine, which completely writes off the uncertainty of who belongs to each color π
#9. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
#8. Shadowhunters
I think there are a lot of mixed feelings regarding the adaptations for the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I thought the movie was good, and it wasn’t its fault that it wasn’t successful. Personally, I place ALL of the blame on the first book, because it isn’t very good π I think that if they’d done an adaptation for the second installment as well, more people would’ve liked it.
Still, I do prefer the TV show ONLY because it was longer and it had an ending. If we judge it by its faithfulness to the storyline… It is awful π€¦π½ββοΈ I know that the writers need to take some liberties in the storytelling so that it’s more compelling to TV audiences, but they changed it SO MUCH and most of it was completely unnecessary.
#7. Twilight
I’ll be honest with you, I LOVE Twilight and I LOVE the movie adaptations. I am fan and I’m trash for this series π Now, the only reason I placed them this low on the list is because of quality. As much as I enjoy them and watch them all of the time, they’re definitely not the best movies out there π Though, as adaptations they are pretty good. They were faithful to the books, the character descriptions were respected and the storyline remained the same in almost everything. Also, the only one of the movies that I think is actually BAD is the first one, and part of that is because they had a low budget. But then, when they became so famous, they improved (not a lot but they did π).
#6. The Lord of the Rings
No, I haven’t read the books π¬ I’m sorry, but I promise I’ll get to them eventually. But the movies were really good. I don’t think The Lord of the Rings is the type of story that I usually love, but I really do appreciate it and recognize that it’s amazing. A bit long for me though… π₯ But as I’ve said before it’s just cause I prefer shorter movies. Still, I would love to know if you guys have read the books and your opinions on the movies!
#5. The Chronicles of Narnia
Even though I haven’t read these either, I LOVE LOVE LOOOVE the movies π I watch them all the time and they’re probably among my favorite films ever. I think it’s a wonderful story and the cast was on point π I haven’t read the books because I’ve heard many mixed reviews about them, so I’m scared that if I read them, they’ll taint my opinion of the films π
#4. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
This is an amazing adaptation π€© For a classic (and kind of a long book), they were able to fit in all of the important points of the story, and the actors did a great job of bringing the characters to life. I do think there were some things that were rushed, and also some scenes were deleted and I would’ve liked to see them, but still π€·π½ββοΈ, they outdid themselves. And the music… BEAUTIFUL π₯°
#3. Harry Potter
Yes, unsurprisingly I’m one of those many millions of people that love the Harry Potter films and books βΊοΈ I don’t mention them much on my blog because of all the controversy with J.K. Rowling–what she stands for and what she’s done. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like the story anymore, cause I do. Obviously there are many things that were cut out that would’ve been AMAZING to see, and some things that were changed were disappointing. Still, they were pretty faithful to the books and I will always think they’re one of the best adaptations out there π (though I know of some people that definitely disagree with me. Yes, I’m looking at you Naemi…π).
#2. The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games movies are… WOW π± They are proof that you can stick to the books and come out with a wonderful film series. Even though Mockingjay took some liberties that I don’t agree with π, overall they are great. They portrayed the characters beautifully, the plot was respected, and they captured the vibes PERFECTLY. I love them all.
#1. Emma (2020)
This year I was fortunate enough to watch the 2020 movie adaptation of Emma and it is officially one of the best movies I have ever seen. I even prefer some of the changes that they made when compared to what happened in the book π³ (it wasn’t much though). If you haven’t seen it, please do. And if you have, let me know what you think of it cause I haven’t been able to talk with anyone about it π Don’t worry, I won’t be mad or offended if you didn’t love it. I might cry a bit π’, but I’ll be fine
Did you guys like the polls? What are some of your favorite adaptations? Let me know in the comments!
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you.
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you.
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
I prefer the Darkest Mind books as well. The movies were okay but if you hadn’t read the books you would have no real idea of what was going on half the time.
The only book that I can see having worked out really well with the way the movies went is the last one that was added a few years ago to the series. It was less about powers and more about just fighting with weapons and stuff like that.
You’re completely right! I remember I watched the movie with my mom and she was very confused throughout most of it π¬
This was so much fun, I loved the polls!! π Though yes, you’re very right about me disagreeing with your Harry Potter movie opinions π
Also – in my opinion, The Narnia books that got movie adaptations are all great! And apart from Prince Caspian, the adaptations are very true to the books, which is one reason why I think they turned out so well π However, I will admit that I was never the biggest fan of some of the later Narnia books that don’t have adaptations. The Last Battle was utterly crappy, if you ask me π But The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe especially is wonderful, and a great Christmas read π So I’d say they’re worth a try!
And I need to watch that new Emma movie! I can’t believe that Emma is my favorite Jane Austen book and I still haven’t seen it…
Iβve always thought that the thing about them not being able to go back to Narnia after they grow up is part of what mightβve made the books less enjoyable (and partly the third movie, but that one is pretty good too) π I know I havenβt read the books so I can be totally wrong, but what I like so much about the first two is the dynamic between Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. I think that if I do read the books, I might only read the first three π π¬
And yes!! Watch the Emma movie, I LOVED it ππ I really liked how they changed a few things with Emma and Harrietβs relationship. I though it was really nice. And the clothes and scenery were wonderful as well βΊοΈ
Yes! I love the sibling relationships in the Narnia books, which is why The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (which is actually book 2 in the series) is also my favorite. But Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy actually do also show up again later, especially in the last book! But I still don’t really like the turn that one took… π So yeah, being selective might not be a bad idea π
And that sounds really promising! π€
That would be a bit difficult for me
Part come from watching the movies first- that happened with HP, Narnia, among others.
Well, I did read and watch Lord of the Rings- loved all of them. Last year, for Christmas I was given the complete The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movie collection- those are just perfect for a rainy days. I actually think HP fans will love Lord of the Rings- I think Rowling got inspired by Tolkien
Yeah that makes sense. I really liked the movies and I own the books. I guess Iβm just a little intimidated π¬ But thanks for your input! Iβll definitely take it into account βΊοΈ