I read some of these books before seeing the movie, and some of
them after. Some of the movies resemble the books closely,
some less closely.
| The Golden Compass
(Fantasy) |
[X] |
in theaters 2007 |
| The Dark is Rising
(Fantasy) I still have the books
I read in elementary school. |
[X] |
in theaters 2007 |
| Eragon
(Fantasy) The book contains a
good fantasy story, though it is true that it feels somewhat
derivative to readers of, say, Tolkien and Anne McCaffrey. Not a
horribly bad movie overall. A couple things bothered me a lot:
1. Saphira hatched and grew *really* fast. 2. The Varden's cave
wasn't a cave. It was more like a valley or something. 3. Arya's
character got totally flattened and cheapened. 4. That last
fight scene was totally different than it should have been. |
[X] |
[do not want!] |
| Rebecca
(genre) |
[X] |
[X] |
| My Fair Lady
(genre) An adaptation of George
Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. |
Not sure I own the play. |
[X] |
| Disney Animated Features
These are loosely based on actual books!
- Aladdin
- Beauty and the Beast
- The Sword in the Stone
- Tarzan
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- The Little Mermaid
From popular fairy tales
- Sleeping Beauty
- Snow White
- Cinderella
|
|
|
| The Phantom of the Opera
(genre) |
[X] |
[X] |
| The Wizard of Oz
(genre) |
[X] |
[X] |
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy (Science-Fiction/Comedy)
I have the 2005 movie and the older miniseries. |
[X] |
[X] |
| Pride and Prejudice
(Literature) |
[X] |
[X] |
| A Little Princess
(Literature) |
[X] |
[X][X] |
| The Phoenix and the Carpet
(Fantasy) The movie is actually
titled The Phoenix and the Magic Carpet. Because
Americans can't be expected to figure out what kind of carpet
Nesbit is talking about, I guess! Okay, there are several
glaring problems with this movie, starting with the lameness of
the animatronic phoenix, continuing with the fact that "ABC
Video" appears at the bottom of the screen every so often, and
ending with the fact that the story has been transported at
least a hundred years forward and foisted on an American family.
But to the extent that the original story is conveyed, it was
good. |
[X] |
[X] |
| That Darn Cat
(genre) |
[X] |
|
| The Parent Trap
(genre) It seems almost cruel
that this movie exists; isn't it the dream of every kid with
(non-criminal) divorced parents that the parents get back
together? It's a good movie, but it seems too good to be true. |
[X] |
[1961 original]
[1998 remake] |
| Titan A.E.
(Science Fiction) Dude, finally a
sci-fi movie where the gravity machine breaks! (It has annoyed
me to no end how space ships can lose all systems, lights,
power, etc, and yet the gravity never shuts off.) The visual
effects were cool. The menace of the ice crystals was almost
tangible, and so was the joy of flying with the wake angels. The
premise was a good one. The energy aliens & their ships were
pretty inventive. Likewise the planet with the Hydrogen trees
and the bat-beings. The soundtrack was fun, I thought. Well,
what would you name a planet? |
[X] |
[X] |
| Ever After
(genre) A nice version of the
Cinderella story. The dose of modern egalitarian politics was a
bit strong, (a bit like it was in Ella Enchanted,) but I can
live with that. I loved it that Da Vinci was a major character.
He was a sort-of substitute for the fairy godmother, since there
was no magic in this version.
I liked the role that the younger stepsister played in the
story. Beats the heck out of Gregory Maguire's non-magical
Cinderella story! |
[X] |
[X] |
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton
Juster
(Fantasy)
I love this story, both versions. |
 |
[X] |
Starship Troopers by Robert A.
Heinlein (Science Fiction)
The book and the movie share a premise and then completely
diverge. The basic premise is that the only people who can
vote are soldiers. The book goes on at length about
political philosophy, and although the premise is very
un-American, the alternative society Heinlein presents is very
well thought out. Heinlein also describes some powerful
hi-tech armor in great detail. The movie details the
adventures of some soldiers (who do not have the spiffy armor)
who are fighting some really gross bug-like aliens. Sex,
bugs, and violence. |
 |
I don't really want to own this movie. |
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
(Fantasy)
|
 |
 |
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.
Tolkien (Fantasy)
I own Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings (pictured at right)
A Critique of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings
A Review of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings
I do not own the Rankin-Bass Return of the King.
A Review of Rankin-Bass Return of the KingI do own the
Peter Jackson trilogy (not pictured). |
 |
[LOTR I]
[LOTR II]
[LOTR III] |
Star Wars by George Lucas
(Sci-Fi)
The original Star Wars trilogy is available as a book.
George Lucas wrote A New Hope, Donald F. Glut wrote
The Empire Strikes Back, and James Kahn wrote Return of
the Jedi. BTW: My VHS box set tapes are the
un-enhanced version, which I much prefer. |
 |
 |
Tron by Brian Daley
(Juvenile Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
"Complete with a fabulous full-color photo insert [which is
falling out]! - a novel by Brian Daley based on a
Screenplay by Steven Lisberger - Story by Steven Lisberger and
Bonnie MacBird - A Futuristic Adventure Motion Picture From Walt
Disney Productions"
This is a really amazing movie book. It includes a lot
of narration which makes the plot and characters make more
sense. The book can't contain the strange visual world,
but the movie doesn't contain quite the whole psychology of the
thing. I wouldn't recommend watching the movie over
reading the book, or vice versa: I think that the best way to
know this story is to do both! |
 |
|
October Sky [aka Rocket Boys]
by Homer H. Hickam ("Novel-Memoir")
The book was called Rocket Boys before the movie
was made. The movie was called October Sky for two
reasons: it's an anagram, meaning, both titles use the same
letters, just in different places; and also, Sputnik, the first
artificial satellite, was launched in October in 1957. |
 |
 |
The Cat from Outer
Space by Ted Key (Juvenile
Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
An old Disney movie I liked when I was a kid. I was
always fascinated by movies that included magical abilities like
flying or telekinesis. And this one had a cat, too.
I liked cats a lot when I was younger, but now I think they make
me sneeze sometimes. This book reads like a movie. |
|
 |
Escape to Witch
Mountain by Alexander Key (Juvenile
Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Another old Disney movie (by another guy named Key!) I
liked when I was a kid because I was always fascinated by movies
that included magical abilities like flying or telekinesis. |
|
 |
Return from Witch
Mountain by Alexander Key (Juvenile
Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Sequel to Escape to Witch Mountain. Key wrote
the book based on the screenplay by someone else who was just
using Key's original characters. So this book reads like a
movie. |
 |
I don't really want
to own this movie. |
The Last Unicorn by Peter S.
Beagle (Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
This is one of several books which I came to know first as
movies. The movie is an animated family movie by the same name
(1982). The book was definitely intended for an older audience
than the movie was. I own the movie on DVD now. |
 |
 |
The Talking Parcel by Gerald
Durrell (Juvenile Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
This book drove me nuts for years, because I remembered the
story but couldn't think of its title. Finally, I did an online
search and came up with The Battle for Castle Cockatrice,
the American title. I remembered the story from years ago. I'd
seen an animated film version of The Talking Parcel on a
public television program. I liked the show and then read the
book, incorporating some of its images into my own personal
imagined paradise: unicorns, phoenixes, and the like. Throw in a
talking parrot, a magician, a sea serpent, werewolves, and three
children on a quest, and you've got a magical tale that would
make an impression on anybody. The book appealed more to me for
its fantastic setting than for its plot: the actual battle for
which the American version of the book is named left me
decidedly luke-warm. Perhaps this book, or parts of it, anyway,
are aimed at the young male audience, and therefore somewhat
passed me by. I do genuinely value the book, particularly the
British version, which I think has a better title and dust
jacket illustration, and I also own the film (1984). |
 |
 |
The Neverending story by Michael
Ende (Juvenile Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
I have a complex relationship with this book. I came to know it
years ago as a movie, also called The Neverending Story
(1984). I didn't find out until much later that the plot of the
movie actually leaves off halfway through the book. The book
does split nicely into two halves: the first is the exciting,
lighthearted adventure story most people are familiar with, and
the second half is a much darker coming-of-age tale. The
reading-level of the book is more advanced than most of the
books in my collection. The book was definitely intended for an
older audience than the movie was. I would like to own the movie
as well as the book, someday. (Someone tried to make the second
half of the book into a movie, and, in my opinion, utterly
failed.)
Strangely enough, I first read the story in Italian while
studying abroad in Pisa, Italy. (Ironically, it was originally
written not in English or Italian, but in German.) When
my family came to visit me, I read the English version out loud
to my little brother during our vacation. Our favorite part is
the scene in the first half of the book where the protagonist
meets Morla, an ancient turtle who speaks v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y,
uses the royal we, and remains utterly indifferent to
everything, including the imminent destruction of her world. My
brother and I thought this was really and truly very funny. For
weeks afterwards, whenever I mimicked her somber statement,
"It's all the same to us," we would both fall into spasms of
laughter. The book itself is interesting in that each chapter
begins with a different letter of the Alphabet, starting with A
and going all the way to Z. This feature is somewhat
problematic, given that Italian doesn't really have a 26
letter alphabet. I am left to wonder what the original German
version was like. Someday I'll probably track down a copy and
find out. |
 |
 |
The Princess Bride by William
Goldman (Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
This is another book which I came to know first as a movie. The
title of the movie is also The Princess Bride (1987). The
saying "Never Judge a Book by its Movie" usually means
that it wouldn't be fair to the book, since the movie is usually
worse, but in the case of The Princess Bride, the saying
could be turned on its head. I own the movie and have seen it
over and over again: often enough to have memorized large chunks
of it. But of course, how many 80's kids are there who didn't
run around the playground yelling: "Hello! My name is Inigo
Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die!" Everyone has
that bit memorized. |
 |
 |
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson
Levine (Juvenile Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
This book reminds me of The Ordinary Princess and also a
little of Robin McKinley's Beauty. It is a charming story
that adds depth and personality to the Cinderella fairytale.
Ella has been cursed by a well-meaning but obnoxious fairy with
a magic obedience which hampers her life. She meets the prince
to the accompaniment of pumpkins and magic finery, but there are
details to the story that are wholly new. It encompasses not
only the themes of romance and family, but also freedom,
friendship, and maturity. Young girls will enjoy this book and
admire its heroine. |
 |
[X] |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone by J. K. Rowling (Juvenile
Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
In the wake of Rowling's amazing success, I'm not sure I have
much to add in praise of these charming books. I must say I
deplore the reactionist tendency to disparage these books and
even avoid reading them just because they gained such mass
popularity. I believe that Rowling's popularity reflects the
quality of books she has produced, and is mostly, if not wholly,
deserved. |
 |
 |
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
(Fiction)
Good book, having a slightly different set of main characters
than the movie. However, the ending of the movie was definitive,
whereas I was a little confused at how the book ended. |
 |
 |
