Celebrate Read Across America with These Top 3 Children’s Movies
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
March 2nd is Read Across America Day, which celebrates reading and raises awareness of resources available for children to learn. This is near and dear to us, as we've always loved reading just as much as we love movies. To commemorate the day, we'll be reviewing how the movie adaptations of some of our favorite children's books measure up to their source material. Here's our take on the top 3 children's book to film adaptations.
1) The Wizard of Oz (1939)
There's so much to love about both The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and its film adaptation, directed by Victor Fleming. After Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) proved that movie adaptations of children's books could be a box office success, other film studios wanted to follow suit and cash in. Once Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the rights to Fleming's book, however, the studio was concerned that it was too fantastical for their target viewers. The book is a true fantasy (none of that "it was all a dream" stuff) and is surprisingly grisly. The Wicked Witch of the West is out for blood, and Dorothy's motley crew shows far more brains, heart, and courage than in the film adaptation. Dorothy is a lot less timid, the flying monkeys are very complex, and the Wizard has even more secrets. The movie, of course, is also a masterpiece in its own right. It was nominated for five Academy Awards (winning two) and received widespread acclaim for its three-strip Technicolor, musical score, and lovable performances. Almost 90 years later, the Technicolor is still impressive. Filmmakers knew the color alone would capture audiences, so they packed in as much as possible--including changing Dorothy's famous shoes from their original silver to the bright ruby slippers we think of today.
2) Matilda (1996)
Matilda is another book-to-movie adaptation we've always loved. After a contentious bidding war and extensive budgetary concerns, TriStar Pictures eventually won the rights to pick up the adaptation of Roald Dahl's book. With Danny DeVito as director, there were no doubts the spirit of the source material would be maintained and celebrated. While we agree that the Dahl/DeVito pairing here is fantastic, we have to admit that there's nothing like the magic of the original book. In fact, in 2012, Time magazine included Matilda in its list of 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Readers learn more about Matilda's brainpower, telekinesis, and tenacity, as well as getting to dive deeper into the relationship between Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull. Audiences still get to keep our happy ending, just with a little twist. Plus, we honestly have a lot of fun contrasting and comparing the original British details to the American counterparts in the film. For the adaptation, Matilda and her family are transplanted from a small Buckinghamshire village to a town outside of Passadena, California. DeVito was able to make this adaptation unique while still establishing Dahl's storybook world.
3) Coraline (2009)
I remember my sister and I checking Coraline out at our school library. We loved it so much that my sister immediately set out to typing up a film script (yes, in grade school). Little did we know, author Neil Gaiman had his eye on filmmaker Henry Selick before the novella was even released. Upon their first chance meeting, Gaiman invited Selick to develop an adaptation to his novella. Pretty shortly after, they got to work. In this way, this book/movie pairing is unique from the others on this list--both the original author and the filmmakers collaborated during the adaptation process. Primary deviations from the novella itself (such as the film's character Wybie) were developed to flesh out a feature-length film, while still feeling authentic to Gaiman's world. It's clear why the author wanted to work with Selick; Coraline's dark and fantastical writing is reflected perfectly by the filmmaker's stop-motion art style. The end result is visually stunning, earning a Best Animated Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. There is no replacement, however, for Gaiman's writing itself, and how vividly the novella alone brings us into Coraline's world of curiosity, horror, and bravery.
Angela Wolf Video offers corporate video production services near Philadelphia, PA. Do you have a specific video question? Schedule a free video analysis call at bit.ly/callawv
