| Author | |
saintanneshs
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 15 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 591
|
| Posted: June 10 2007 at 5:19pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
I was wondering...do you all let your children watch movie versions of the books you read? Do you worry that the movie will take anything away from the book experience, especially if the movie reflects very little of the great story in the book? Or do you just watch it and not really worry about it? (assuming that the kids can make their own distinctions between the book and movie)
After listening to Mary Poppins (book on tape) with the kids over the last week, I couldn't believe how different the book is from the (Disney version) movie! The kids and I absolutely love the book (read by Sophie Thompson)... we've listened to the whole thing twice!  But the movie (for me) was a huge flop. I'm wondering if we shouldn't make any attempt to link the two (books and movies) unless we know for sure that the two are closely related.
What do you think?
__________________
Kristine
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SuzC
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 531
|
| Posted: June 10 2007 at 6:57pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oh, Kristine, I'm so jealous! I think you're doing absolutely the right thing...the opposite of what I've done. We started reading Mary Poppins after the girls had seen the movie and we we couldn't get into it. 
Most unfortunately, Winnie the Pooh has been almost as hard. The Disney voices are in our heads and I can't come close to capturing the personalities as well (I think) as the movie.
Keep reading!!!
Blessings ~
__________________
Suz in TX
dd~12, dd~9, ds~8, ds~6, ds~4, ds~1
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
jugglingpaynes
Forum Rookie
Joined: May 27 2007
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: June 10 2007 at 7:03pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I think it depends on the movie. And if you see the movie first or read the book first. Usually, I try to read the book first and see the movie with the kids, because it is a great way to open up conversation about how the two are different, what was left out, what worked, what didn't, etc. I think this makes them more discerning in picking movies to watch. They read the reviews to make sure their favorite books aren't messed with. For example, my daughter is a Nancy Drew fan. She isn't sure she wants to see the new movie since it leaves out Nancy's best friends, who she feels are vital to the stories.
Peace and Laughter,
__________________
Cristina
(mom of MayBabies dd15,ds12,dd6)
Home Spun Juggling
Comics, Coffee and Catches
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Becky Parker
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 23 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2582
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 6:35am | IP Logged
|
|
|
We've always tried to see the movie after the book has been read. The Lord of the Rings is a good example. My ds really wanted to see the movies but we stuck to it and he had to finish reading the books first. He always says, as much as he enjoys those movies, he's glad we made him read the books first. Mary Poppins is a different story. We've had that movie for years and it has always been a favorite for my dd. Currently she is reading the book and we are talking about how different it is from the movie. I have to keep reminding her that the book isn't wrong, that's what came first. It is the movie that changed things.
__________________
Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
guitarnan
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Maryland
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 10883
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 7:29am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Sometimes doing the book/movie comparison is a great way to get children to really watch a movie instead of allowing distractions to filter in. We did this with The Wizard of Oz; we actually compared two editions of the book, to see how the illustrators pictured the characters and to see which set of illustrations more closely matched my children's visualizations. Then, we watched the movie. My son quickly noticed the black-and-white early scenes and remembered that the author had described Kansas as gray.
I think it really depends on the movie, though; I loved the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but many movies don't do the books justice.
(Of course, there's always 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which the movie and book were created simultaneously by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. Now, that's a bizarre way to do things!)
__________________
Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Cay Gibson
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 16 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5193
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 9:38am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Kristine,
I think this is an excellent topic. 
I've realized in the last couple of years what big movie geeks we're turning into around here.
I don't watch TV. I do go to the movies with my children. And when we can't afford to go, we watch DVDs from the library until the movie comes out at the rental store.
I support movies.
For my own sake, the time period in "Pride and Prejudice" was greek to me and it took some probing by Chari and the BBC show to get me into that time warp enough for me to understand what was happening in the book and why these ladies were so obsessed about getting married.
Same thing with Phantom of the Opera. I never knew the story until I watched the beautiful movie which led me to read a version of the book which is saturated with informative footnotes and gave me a rabbit trail education on the opera, the time period, folklore and fairy tales, the virutes of compassion and understanding, the sensitive strands of human conditioning, and so much more.
As a family, we read "Bridge to Tereabitha" as a read-aloud and Oma bought the children the older version of the movie which we watched together. We still haven't seen the newer version. Missed it at the movies somehow.
"Lord of the Rings" I'm glad we watched the movies because it sparked a reading interest in my older dd and ds that bent them to picking up the books and reading them.
My 9 yr old and I watched BBC's "Jane Eyre". She loved the movie. I'm reading the book aloud with her.
I picked up one of those cheap little $1 movies of Dicken's "Old Curiosity Shop" and we watched it together. It's kind of like a bad "Speed Racer" cartoon where their mouths don't move when they talk. The older ones laughed but the younger girls loved it and have watched it over and over again. They know all about Little Nell and they love her.
My 9 yr old has the abridged version of Curiosity Shop. I hope one day they will both pick up Dickens on their own and read the real story.
They love "Nanny McPhee" but they know the real "Nurse Mathilda" cause we read the book first.
My 9 yr old is now gobbling up the Nancy Drew books. I told her she has to if she wants to see the movie. I said that before I saw previews to the movie. Now I regret that I ever said we'd go see it. I guess it'll just serve as pure, twaddly, summertime fun. For now, she's loving the books.
As far as Disney. We have too many Disney videos around here that were bought when the older three were young. We all know the songs too. And we loved DisneyWorld. Buuutttt, you gotta read the real fairy tales if you want your child well-read in this classical art.
An indispensable book regarding this is Tending the Heart of Virtue by Vigen Guroian.
Generally the rule around here is to read the book then see the movie. But sometimes the movie is the flint that starts the fire and the book is the wood that feeds it.
__________________
Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
saintanneshs
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 15 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 591
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 1:41pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you, ladies, for sharing your perspectives!
And thank you, Cay, for sharing your experiences of how different movies have inspired your understanding of certain books. I agree with you. I think some books which would normally be off-putting to us (because of our literature preferences) can be brought to life via movies and therefore can actually encourage more reading. ...Hadn't thought of that  !!
So I guess you all are right-depends on the movies.
My dh doesn't really mind the kids watching the movies so long as we read the books first, but I (on the other hand) have had life-long issues  with movies that don't stick to the story! I take it so personally when a director/producer whatever, doesn't stay true to the plot or characters. I feel like they're misleading the people who haven't read the book yet and will now never know the true beauty of the literature...like I'm watching them just ruin a piece of art, a treasure. So silly.
Do your dh's have opinions on books vs. movies?
My dh says it's my call to either expose the boys to the movies after the book or to pass on the movie altogether. Makes no difference to him.
I think though, that around here we're moving into that dangerous Disney-Love realm where I'm feeling sucked into the twaddle end of things before we can get our hands on the great literature which inspired some nice "family" movies. (i.e Swiss Family Robinson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robin Hood, etc...lots of "boy" flicks )
__________________
Kristine
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Marjorie
Forum Pro
Joined: June 15 2006
Location: Georgia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 230
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 2:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I vote to read the book first in most cases. We have seen the movies of several of our book club favorites and come away shaking our heads. We can't understand why they didn't stick to the real story. More often than not we would never choose to read the book afterwards either because we thought it would not hold our interest since we knew the ending or because we so disliked the movie. While there are several good versions of The Secret Garden, the movie of Where the Red Fern Grows lost all literary beauty and scarcely resembled the book. Pinochio and Babe were good movies, but the books were totally different in theme and purpose. If you haven't read these, put them on your summer reading list. I remember liking the movie of My Side of the Mountain, but the book is much better. I concur that the LOTR movies were very well done, but if you don't read them you will miss SO much of the magic of language and myth. If reading them is too heavy, try an unabridged recording. We listened to The Fellowship of the Rings last year and would have hated to miss Old Man Willow, Tom Bombadill and countless other scenes not to mention the poetry and songs! One last group - Shakespeare. Watching a good production (video) will help readers to follow the story when reading. Great topic! What are some of your favorite movie versions?
__________________
Yours in Christ,
Marjorie
Lettres de mon Moulin
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
saintanneshs
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 15 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 591
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 2:52pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Marjorie wrote:
| What are some of your favorite movie versions? |
|
|
I thought the recent Charlotte's Web was actually a really good presentation of book-turned-movie. Can't stand the cartoon version of CW ...or Stuart Little (too much potty humor)...
It's been the first for me in a long time though. I know at least one other movie where I commented to dh that it was refreshing to find how closely it stuck to the book, but I'm not sure what it was now. Can I still claim postpartum brain cell loss?
__________________
Kristine
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
jugglingpaynes
Forum Rookie
Joined: May 27 2007
Location: New York
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 3:11pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
saintanneshs wrote:
| Do your dh's have opinions on books vs. movies? |
|
|
My hubby was a struggling actor when we met, so he's a movie hound Our love of movies and animation has rubbed off on the kids. I think the key is active watching. I don't think any of us has the ability to quietly watch a movie. We are very opinionated and like to offer the characters advice. Even the Disney films can offer an opportunity for learning. I would never have read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" if the Disney movie hadn't made me curious. We just watch Disney with a healthy dose of cynicism. Something along the lines of "Oh look! Disney is making ___! I wonder how they'll change it?"
Having taught storytelling to a group of kids for 5 years, I know how important it is for the storyteller (in this case the screenwriter) to insert something of himself into a tale. The trick is to hold on to the essence of the story. That's why adaptations such as "The Princess Bride" were so true to the book--because the author wrote the screenplay.
Marjorie--I love Tom Bombadill! It's always been frustrating to see him left out of the movie adaptations!
Peace and Laughter
__________________
Cristina
(mom of MayBabies dd15,ds12,dd6)
Home Spun Juggling
Comics, Coffee and Catches
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Erin
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 23 2005
Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5814
|
| Posted: June 11 2007 at 4:07pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
saintanneshs wrote:
My dh doesn't really mind the kids watching the movies so long as we read the books first, but I (on the other hand) have had life-long issues with movies that don't stick to the story! I take it so personally when a director/producer whatever, doesn't stay true to the plot or characters. I feel like they're misleading the people who haven't read the book yet and will now never know the true beauty of the literature...like I'm watching them just ruin a piece of art, a treasure. So silly.
Do your dh's have opinions on books vs. movies?
|
|
|
I also get soo disappointed when movies aren't as good as the book, so do the children. Dh does have an opinion as do I and that is that the book is read first and then the movie is watched after (in the case of Mary Poppins movie was first )
By reading the book first it often gives a far better understanding of the movie plot. Take LOTR dc and dh read the book first and understood what was happening far better than I, who needed to take a third viewing before I 'got it' and I must admit got a lot of tsking from my dc for 'breaking the rules' (I have to admit in my defence that I couldn't 'get into the book either' )
Although it is often disappointing when you read the book and then the movie isn't true to the book. It is far harder to watch the movie and then read the book. It is not as satisfying.
__________________
Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: books versus movies: Mary Poppins
