In a modern age where reading books has become a hobby shared by fewer people and film equipment is more advanced than ever, movie adaptations of popular books feel like the logical next step to help stories reach a broader audience. Unfortunately, there are many aspects of a novel which films just can’t seem to encompass, leaving avid readers cautious when the announcement for a new book-to-movie adaptation is announced.
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
Known for being popular among teenage girls, the Twilight books became an almost immediate smash hit when they reached the shelves in 2005. The series follows teenage Bella Swan navigating a new life in small town Forks, Washington where she bumps into her childhood-friend-turned-werewolf Jacob and meets the mysterious Cullen family of vampires. Whilst attempting to adapt to her new surroundings, Bella finds herself caught in a love triangle with Edward and Jacob, now entangled in centuries old rivalries, drama and danger.
Today, the movie adaptation of this once beloved book series has been mocked by twi-hards and haters alike. To those who enjoyed the books, the movies turned the main characters from witty introverts into cringey cardboard cutouts of themselves. Many special effects and props, such as the sparkles on Edward’s skin and the terrifying Renesmee doll were not only distracting, but also spoke to the low-quality budget for the films, giving the movies the laughable reputation that they have today.
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Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan
When the first Percy Jackson book was released in 2005, Rick Riordan’s intriguing characters and humorous writing style captivated millions of readers around the world. The books follow a preteen boy that learns his estranged father is an ancient Greek god, as he now ventures on quests of mythic proportions, mixing aspects of Greek mythology into the modern day.
Unfortunately, fans found themselves disappointed in theatres, when faced with characters that were five or more years older than their book counterparts and a plotline that hardly resembled that of the books. In 2018, Rick Riordan also released screenshots of several emails he’d sent to the movie producers detailing his dissatisfaction with the direction and content of the movie. A silver lining was found in the Percy Jackson television series, which was released in 2023 and was seen as a much better adaptation in the eyes of fans.
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Divergent - Veronica Roth
In the 2010s, bookworms were obsessed with the dystopian tropes in Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”, making the Divergent series’ later release an almost immediate smash hit. Set in a world where everyone has been divided into five “factions” based on personality, the books follow Tris Prior, a girl who grew up in the Abnegation faction, as she leaves her family and moves to the dangerous Dauntless faction. Readers watch as Tris makes her way through a series of deadly initiation challenges, all while trying to hide the fact that she has been classified as “divergent.”
When the movie adaptation was released in 2011, critics were upset by the seemingly useless changes to the plot and characters. Many of the hard-hitting emotional moments from the book now felt flat and unimportant, with viewers leaving the theaters confused and upset. The cherry on top came with the release of the third and final movie, in which the ending of the series drastically deviated from the ending of the books, leaving those who hadn’t read the books confused and unfulfilled, cementing the movie’s reputation as one of the worst book to movie adaptations.
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Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Published in 2001, the Artemis Fowl books are far less known than many of the other fantasy/dystopian book-to-movies on this list. Taking place in present day Ireland, Eoin Colfer intertwines the age-old ideas of magic and fairies with modern technology. The series follows 12-year-old-billionaire-genius, Artemis Fowl, as he kidnaps a fairy in an effort to restore his family’s fortune after his father mysteriously goes missing.
When the Artemis Fowl movie was announced by Disney, fans of the series were beyond excited, hoping that the film would bring more attention to the more niche books. Unfortunately, the transition to the big screen was not a smooth one. Most of the characters’ personalities underwent extreme butchering, making them almost foreign to existing fans. Most notably, the titular main character went from the complex manipulative villain he was in the books to an empathetic and likable antihero. These character assassinations, when paired with an almost entirely new plot, left fans disappointed and angry by the end of the movie.
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The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Published only a year before the beginning of World War II, J.R.R. Tolkien quickly captured readers' hearts with the now renowned and beloved story of Bilbo Baggins. This novel follows Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who is taken out of his comfortable life in Hobbiton by Gandalf, an old wizard who pushes him to go on a quest with a group of rowdy dwarves and retrieve treasure from a dragon. Bilbo’s story is a classic tale of bravery, friendship and personal growth which still resonates with readers today.
Tolkien’s classic has been a hit since its release in 1937, so a movie adaptation seemed like the logical next step to help this classic story reach even more hearts. However, going into the films, audiences are almost immediately hit with new plots that ultimately changed the overall theme and feel of the book. The novel’s popularity partially stemmed from the wholesome, lighthearted, cozy atmosphere of the adventure and the deeper messages about war, friendships and personal growth. On the big screen though, fans were almost immediately hit with an intense, dark action film that focused more on tying into the fantastical elements of Middle Earth and Lord of the Rings than demonstrating the hardships of war and importance of friendships.
Photo Credits: Joshua Bayliss on Unsplash, Marco Ianna from Pixabay
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