From the very beginning of cinema, books have been filmed. It makes sense: often these books have a fan base, and the stories are already written, so less time is spent writing. After the rise Harry Potter as well as Lord of the Rings film franchises In 2001, production companies began to look for a series of books that could start a new franchise.
Some books at the time had limited film success, such as The Chronicles of Narnia as well as Percy Jackson, but most often they failed after one film. Interestingly, you can tell that the producers were confident in their success because many of these films ended with cliffhangers.
“The Lemony Snicket Accident Series” (2004)
When a fire destroys their home and kills their parents, the Baudelaire children are sent to live with their closest relative, the oddball actor Count Olaf. He puts the kids in charge of household chores and makes it clear that all he cares about is their family fortune. After he tries to kill the children, they are sent to live with other family members, but Olaf is on their trail.
This adaptation combines the events of the first three A series of unfortunate events books, and he manages to cover important events. Jim Carrey offers a hilarious and eccentric performance as Olaf, although he may come across as more likeable than his book counterpart. Although Paramount Pictures was unable to release a sequel, Netflix produced its own adaptation.
‘Eragon’ (2006)
Pursued by the minions of the evil king, the elf girl uses her magic to teleport the blue stone to safety. He is found by a farm boy named Eragon and soon hatches into a blue dragon. When the king’s minions kill Eragon’s family in search of the egg, he and his dragon Saphira join the rebel band.
Despite commercial success, Eragon was gutted by critics and fans of the books. computer graphics and Jeremy Irons as a mentor was praised, and many of the other actors and the script were condemned for being unfaithful or just plain bad. This killed any plans for a sequel, even though the film ended with a cliffhanger.
“Golden Compass” (2007)
After overhearing her uncle’s speech about a mysterious particle called Dust, Lyra Belacqua wants to go north with him, but she is refused. She gets her wish when a mysterious woman takes a liking to Lyra and brings her in as an assistant. However, Lyra finds herself involved in a plan to kidnap the children and cut their ties with Dust.
Despite a strong cast, including Sam Neill, Daniel Craig as well as Sir Ian McKellen,the film fails due to an attempt to distance itself from the controversy Philip Pullmans books. The story goes into the themes of killing a god, which offended many religious groups, and not every child lives to the end. Unfortunately, the removal of these themes and dark moments from the film made it another generic fantasy-adventure film, but with polar bears.
“Inkheart” (2008)
Mo Folchart discovers that he is eloquent: a man who can bring fictional characters and objects to life; world when they read from a book. Unfortunately, his wife gets sucked into the book, so he spends the next nine years searching for a new copy. Meanwhile, the book’s villains discover they enjoy living in the real world and try to capture Moe and his family in order to steal all of the fiction’s riches.
Upon release, the film was a box office bomb and killed every possible sequel. It’s easy to see why: the film echoes nearly every fantasy movie cliché worn on the tails of frock coats. Harry Potter franchise. Perhaps with a strong cast, the film could have turned out, but the only one who has such charisma, Andy Serkis like a villain.
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Helen Grace and her three children spend time at their family estate after Helen and her husband divorce. Her son Jared finds a book in the house written by Arthur Spiderwick detailing the hidden world of magical creatures. However, this alerts the ogre werewolf, who wants to take the book for himself.
At first it didn’t seem Chronicles of Spiderwick there will be a sequel as the film covers the events of all the books. However, a year before the film’s release, the authors Holly Black as well as Tony DiTerlizzi came out Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, and the film was a modest success. There was probably no sequel due to some restructuring going on at Paramount Pictures at the time.
‘Dragons of Autumn Twilight’ (2009)
On the world of Krynn, the gods have been silent for generations, denying the world’s healing magic. That was until a group of friends met years later and found a staff that could heal. Joining the staff’s wielder, they set out to find out the truth about the situation while armies of dragons assemble for conquest.
Despite being based on the first of three well-known Dungeons and Dragons novels, the film fails to entertain fans old and new. Huge chunks of the book were cut due to time, resulting in poor character development and a rushed plot. The animation is also terrible, combining stiff and clunky character designs with clunky CGI.
“Legend of the Guardians: Ga’Hoole Owls” (2010)
Soren is a young barn owl who loves stories about the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, owl knights fighting the forces of evil. When he and his brother fall out of their nest, they are abducted by owls called the Clean Ones, who are raising an army. While his brother stays behind, Soren runs off and tries to find the Guardians.
While the CGI for the owls and flying scenes looks great, and the film has a nice Owl City exclusive song, it failed to win over audiences. The plot is a standard fantasy adventure with a few dark moments, but doesn’t go overboard. It also combines several books into one film, resulting in a simplistic story and rushed introduction of characters.
“Rise of the Guardians” (2012)
Based on children’s books William Joyce the film follows Jack Frost, who is recruited by childhood guardians, including Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman. They inform Jack about the activities of the horror story, Tar Black, who wants to plunge the world into darkness and fear. While trying to stop Pitch, Jack also wants to know his origins and why he has ice abilities.
While the story can be a little random, overall it’s a solid movie with some of the best DreamWorks visuals. Each of the holiday worlds is insanely creative, from tooth fairies with hummingbird motifs to evil black sand nightmares shaped like horses. Unfortunately, while Joyce was in negotiations for a sequel after the film’s release, it never came to fruition.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
A boy named Jake listens to his grandfather’s stories about a school for unusual children born with special abilities. After his grandfather is killed and his eyes removed, Jake goes to the ruins of the school and discovers the kids stuck in a time loop that keeps them stuck in 1943. This is done in order to protect them from the outside world and monsters called Hollows that eat peculiar children.
DirectorTim Burton brings his usual spooky tone and dark imagery to the story, giving it a distinct look and feel compared to other youth film adaptations. However, the story becomes confusing due to the time loop plot and the characters are very flat. The macabre design of the Hollows also loses its power the more we see them, to the point where they become almost comical at the film’s climax.
“Artemis Fowl” (2020)
Artemis Fowl Jr. is an Irish child prodigy who lives with his father, Artemis Sr. One day, his father is kidnapped by a mysterious figure who demands that Artemis deliver a magical item that his father allegedly stole. This quest takes Artemis and the family butler into a hidden world of fairies and magic.
Production Artemis FowlThe franchise dates back to 2001, but in all that time, the movie still didn’t entertain. Along with lackluster CGI and boring characters, the film has many deviations from the original books that weaken the story. This includes changing Artemis’ character to be more heroic than his book counterpart, which could be quite villainous at times.
Source: Collider
