Summary: When Mo Folchart reads a story, the characters leap off the page. Literally. And that's a problem. Mo must somehow use his special powers to send the interlopers back to their world…and save ours. If ever a task was easier read than done, this is it. Mo and his daughter Meggie, aided by friends real and fictional, plunge into a thrilling quest that pits them against diabolical villains, fantastic beasts and dangers at every turn. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy films, Journey to the Center of the Earth) leads a splendid cast (including Academy Award winners* Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent) in an all-fun, all-family film of Cornelia Funke's bestseller. Follow Mo and Meggie into adventure more exciting than any ever read. Because it's adventure they're going to live! ~product descriptionReview: This is one of those rare occasions where I think the movie outshines the book. It felt like it was updated a good fifty years and condensed the story with the effect of actually making it more cohesive. Plus it has a fantastic all star cast.
The ending is a little different, there is more closure, which is nice. Also, the character of Meggie is given more substance and control over her situation, which I liked. Perhaps it draws from the next two books in the series, I'm not sure. There was also an infusion of more fairy tale characters which rounded out the concept of the silvertounge ability, I actually wished they had been included a little more, but that would have been straying too far from Cornelia Funke's original plot.
However, I watched this with my husband and he did not find the movie engaging. So perhaps, if you haven't read the book, it isn't as interesting. Although I think he took issue with the concept as a whole. Overall, I think it's a great family movie, though perhaps a little too old for my daughter, who won't catch all the other literary references yet and will have tons of questions about all the bad guys. If you enjoy fantasy, you should certainly check out this movie.
Final Take: 4.0/5
The ending is a little different, there is more closure, which is nice. Also, the character of Meggie is given more substance and control over her situation, which I liked. Perhaps it draws from the next two books in the series, I'm not sure. There was also an infusion of more fairy tale characters which rounded out the concept of the silvertounge ability, I actually wished they had been included a little more, but that would have been straying too far from Cornelia Funke's original plot.
However, I watched this with my husband and he did not find the movie engaging. So perhaps, if you haven't read the book, it isn't as interesting. Although I think he took issue with the concept as a whole. Overall, I think it's a great family movie, though perhaps a little too old for my daughter, who won't catch all the other literary references yet and will have tons of questions about all the bad guys. If you enjoy fantasy, you should certainly check out this movie.
Final Take: 4.0/5
Interesting. I had the opposite reaction. I LOVED the book (the whole series, actually), but HATED the movie.
ReplyDeleteSee I saw the movie first and that made me want to read the books
ReplyDelete