From an English teacher's point of view, I immediately
think of one good reason for and against adapting children's literature into other
mediums such as plays and movies. First, let me say that anything that gets kids to
read, I am supportive of it...including the Captain Underpants
series. Having said that, it brings me to the biggest disadvantage of producing
alternates to the actual books: If the child can watch it on TV, on stage, or in the
movie theatre instead of reading it, most kids today will opt for that. It is instant
gratification and doesn't take as much time as the actual reading. So, they get the
story, but they don't get the discipline, the language, the sentence structure, and the
overall benefits that reading brings. Research proves that the more you read, the
better you write (hence the exposure to more words and the correct sentence structure on
the page), and the smarter you are in general.
On the
other hand, seeing the story on film might inspire kids to actually read the book. Or,
the movie/play could be used as an incentive to get kids to read first then go see the
film, etc. as a reward. It is always good to compare the two afterward, since kids will
almost always see that the film can never be as good as the book. Take, for example,
the Harry Potter stories. The films are excellent in terms of special effects, etc.,
however, you can not effectively mash 300-500 pages of material into a 2-hour film.
Something pivotal will be left out, rearranged, or otherwise destroyed or altered. The
book allows time for readers to consider what they would do in the character's shoes,
and it allows for the character's thoughts and motives to be played out in a way the
stage and screen are lacking. In addition, seeing the film/play through a director's
eyes does take away from the imagination side of it. I can't tell you how many times I
have been disappointed that the main character on film looks completely different than
how I pictured him or her.
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