Three Book-to-Movie Adaptations I saw this season
I saw three movies during this holiday season and all three of them were (sort of) adaptations. Which is only to say, none of them were direct adaptations, and I think that’s really fascinating.
First up was WONKA, a prequel1 to the Gene Wilder movie WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, which was itself an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.
WONKA uses a lot of musical bits and design from the Willy Wonka movie. It’s silly, funny, and sweet. I enjoyed it a lot… it felt like some of those fun middle grade novels where many of the adults are over-the-top terrible but also sad and pitiable, and the “good” adults are the most child-like. I could have done without some of the fat jokes, but overall it was a fun and enjoyable movie that had very little to do with the original novel and which used its connection to the Gene Wilder movie largely to connect to fans of that film (including the lady behind me, who decided to sing along to one song while keeping time by kicking my chair).
Next was Hayao Miyazaki’s THE BOY AND THE HERON, a story set in World War II Japan, as a young boy deals with the loss of his mother and his father’s remarriage. It’s “based on” the famous Japanese novel HOW DO YOU LIVE by Genzaburō Yoshino… the story of a young boy and his uncle and how he wrestles with philosophical questions related to his everyday life as he deals with the loss of his father, bullies at school, and so on.
THE BOY AND THE HERON is about a boy who discovers a magical tower in which man-eating parakeets and flying marshmallow souls live along with an old lady who is quite young and a wizard who is creating entire worlds.
Is it an *adaptation* of HOW DO YOU LIVE? I don’t think so… except in the sense that you get the feeling that Miyazaki deeply loves Yoshino’s work (the movie is titled HOW DO YOU LIVE? in Japan, and Miyazaki has often said it’s his favorite novel from his childhood), and that he wants it to function in a similar way: it’s meant to be a philosophical piece, an invitation to his grandson to reflect on life and how one should live it. The man-eating parakeets are symbolic extras.
Lastly, I watched AMERICAN FICTION, an adaptation of Percival Everett’s ERASURE.
Here we come at last to a movie that is an actual adaptation of the book it’s connected to… even though it’s undoubtedly its own thing.
ERASURE is the story of a Black professor whose novels keep getting shelved in “African American fiction” no matter the topic. His latest book isn’t being picked up by publishers despite “critical acclaim for previous works.” To his frustration, a novel that seems to pander to certain expectations of Black life called We’s Lives in Da Ghetto is selling enormous amounts of books. In a pique of rage he writes a terrible novel called MY PAFOLOGY which turns the “Black experience” into all the worst stereotypes and — to his horror — becomes a critical and financial success.
AMERICAN FICTION is more or less the same idea.
Both the novel and the movie chafe at the idea that Black stories have to be about poverty, drugs, gangs, or slaves, and both tell another story as we follow the main character as he deals with his ill mother, his dead father, and other tragedies centered around his siblings.
Percival was, by the way, one of my professors when I was in college. He was an amazing teacher, and I learned an enormous amount from him. ERASURE is one of my favorites of his novels2 and it was interesting to compare the novel (which had sharper teeth) to the movie (which I found more emotionally resonant in the family drama). It was also strange to watch a movie where the main character was based on a novel’s main character who definitely had some strong resemblances to the author himself. It was “metafiction” in the truest sense of the word.
Anyway, do yourself a favor and read ERASURE before or after you watch AMERICAN FICTION (and you should definitely watch it!).
I’m thinking a lot about how flexible story is, and how different people can take the same work and turn it into something different, something similar, or something completely other… but still have those bits of connection back to the original.
Upcoming Events!
January 7th I’ll be speaking after services at East Woods Presbyterian Church in Vancouver, WA. Services are at 10, and anyone who sticks around after can join us for a conversation about being called to share our gifts and talents with one another and the wider community. We’ll talk together about how pursuing our passions with excellence can lead to opportunities for greater service and deeper connections with people in the world. I’ll share about my own journey as an author, and how we can use our passions and artistic skills to make a difference in the world around us.
January 8th I’ll be speaking about WRITING WITHOUT BOUNDARIES at the Northwest Christian Writers Association. The meeting goes from 7-9pm at Eastside Foursquare Church, 14520 100th Ave. NE, Bothell, WA 98041 (show up fifteen minutes early for social/hang out time!). All levels of author are welcome, from absolute beginners to professionals of all kinds.
January 28th I’ll be preaching together with Kathy Khang at West Hills Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon. If you want to be there when Kathy and I meet for the second time and preach together for the first, here’s your chance! Service starts at 10:30am, and it will be streaming for those unfortunate souls who do not live in the Portland area!
Bruce says goodbye to 2023
We’ve been eating way too many sweets around here and laying around to digest them, which is basically to say that we have taken Bruce’s advice.
Of course, for Bruce “sweets” means eating the Christmas tree and drinking the sweet, sappy water out of the stand until he feels completely zonked out.
For us it’s cookies and whatnot.
Friends, Monday is the first day in a new year. I hope there were some beautiful and wonderful things about this one for you, and that there are many more to come in the year to come!
Peace to you and yours,
Matt
The filmmakers prefer to call it a “companion piece” to the movie, which I find both delightful and hilarious, much like the movie itself.
I deeply love several of his books, but my favorite is probably WOUNDED. I’m also a huge fan of WALK ME TO THE DISTANCE and his short stories, especially those found in BIG PICTURE. But any Percival Everett novel will be interesting, challenging, funny, and memorable.
Wonka was whimsical fun. Definitely old school vibes. Can't wait to see American Fiction.
This writing piece really resonated with me because I believe one of the signs of great art is that it begets (or inspires) other art. (which is not guaranteed to also be great but sometimes is.)