Ellie Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 In our home, "waterhorse" is now a verb meaning to turn a wonderful book into a horrible movie. Usage: I think we'll skip Despereaux. It looks like they waterhorsed it. :tongue_smilie: "Waterhorse" was a book??? How did I not notice that when I saw the credits??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pooh bear Posted May 24, 2009 Author Share Posted May 24, 2009 "Waterhorse" was a book??? How did I not notice that when I saw the credits??? The Waterhorse, is written by Dick King-Smith Wonderful book, horrible movie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 :iagree: I'm currently listening to the second book (don't ask me why--I don't have a good reason). It's like I have an episode of MST3K running in my head. :lol: We had to warn older dd sometimes, while watching random movies on TV, that we were NOT channeling MST.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Q Posted May 24, 2009 Share Posted May 24, 2009 My vote for worst remake of a children's classic is "The Dark is Rising". The book is wonderful, the movie is just plain bad. Not only did they totally change it, but it no longer made any sense. :iagree: I knew it would be bad when they turned Will and his family into Americans living in England. And the twist at the end...?? Where in the world did they pull that one out of? :001_huh: I saw that they're coming out with an animated version of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs this year. ~Rabia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 (made Harlequin Romance look like great literature).<<shudder>> Are you implying that Harlequin Romances are not great literature??? :svengo: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I'd completely repressed those. I can't think of a picture books that's made a good movie yet. What about Shrek? I love that movie (and the book.) They really just took the concept from the book, though- obviously a picture book doesn't have enough content to fill a whole movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Here's an odd bit of trivia for y'all: The Disney movies of The Parent Trap are based on an old German book called Lisa and Lottie. The book is really cute and worth hunting up. In some ways the newer one is closer, because the girls were around ten, but in most ways, they are just completely different. But it's in the credits if you read them closely. Astrid Lindgren has some interesting books into movies, one called The Land of Faraway based on Mio, My Son. I haven't read the book so not sure how it compares, but it's pretty good as a movie. The Princess Diaries ... that movie was way better than the one book of the series I read. So one point for Disney there. Swallows and Amazons... not bad but they cut the ending (the big storm) out of the movie. No idea why. The Railway Children by Nesbit came out okay, but The Treasure-Seekers was dreadful. What do y'all think of Ballet Shoes? I felt it missed a lot of the nuances of the book and made the girls look a lot more selfish, and Garnie lots more dippy than she is in the book. Murder She Purred ... totally different from the Rita Mae Brown book it's based on (the second or third of the series, I forget which). I actually like the movie, but the characters are completely different people. Her books are good ... I got annoyed and stopped reading at one point, but she sure can develop characters. Oh, they made a Mrs. Pollifax movie starring Angela Lansbury ... she did a great job as the character, but they butchered the plot (and they butchered a few characters who were supposed to be recurring in the series ...oops!). It was a TV movie, and I can see why it must never have made it to DVD. LOL. Madeline wasn't too bad for an amalgamation of several picture books. Matilda by Dahl was pretty awful as a movie. (I've been glancing over my shelves to see what we've got, and wracking my memory too. I'll stop rambling now.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I am Legend, great book, bad Will Smith movie. Another changed ending! Loved the movie, though it spooked me to no end. I have heard that the book is very different. How does the book end? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I'd completely repressed those. I can't think of a picture books that's made a good movie yet. That said, doesn't the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are look fantastic? *fingers crossed* Oh, yes! "Polar Express" went on FOREVER! I try to get out of watching that one with my family at Christmas time because I don't like it much. Here's an odd bit of trivia for y'all: The Disney movies of The Parent Trap are based on an old German book called Lisa and Lottie. The book is really cute and worth hunting up. In some ways the newer one is closer, because the girls were around ten, but in most ways, they are just completely different. But it's in the credits if you read them closely. The Princess Diaries ... that movie was way better than the one book of the series I read. So one point for Disney there. I love the book Lisa and Lottie and just read the original German last summer "Das doppelte Löttchen". Oh, and I wholeheartedly agree about the Princess Diaries!!! I knew there was another movie I liked better than the book! I read the first two books, thinking my dds might like them. One paragraph into the first book, I knew that I would NOT allow them to read the books. The movie is so cute and sweet, and I even like the sequel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I lost my first post, which was way more witty than I can come up with now, so...anyways... I have been avoiding certain movies until we read the books. Enlighten me because I have not read all the pages of this thread... Holes Secret Garden Little Princess Caddie Woodlawn Winn Dixie Tuck Everlasting Anne of Green Gables - I think I saw "no" Sarah, Plain and Tall Christy Black Beauty Just this week we got the original Wizard of Oz and hope to read all the ones in the series...worth the time, right? Not too weird for an 8 year old, or should I wait. And I got to show them Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang for the first time this week too. Oh. The. Memories. :blush: (Oh, and my dh has ALL episodes of MST3K recorded on VHS and we are in the process of recording them to DVD now. Hundreds of episodes that he laughs HYSTERICALLY at. Me, notsomuch.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 A Little Princess - they flinched from letting the dad die, which really changed the nature of Sarah's character showing through Starship Troopers - I guess they could afford the right armor or good bugs and went with bugs. But what a horrible movie. Another vote for The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahli Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Oh, yes! "Polar Express" went on FOREVER! I try to get out of watching that one with my family at Christmas time because I don't like it much. I saw Polar Express at a 3D Imax theater. Absolutely amazing. I thought it was even better than being on a real rollercoaster because I felt like I was going to die several times :lol:. I won't see the movie again on a regular screen because I don't want to ruin that experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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