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Jun. 22nd, 2005 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianA primary feature of the past school year was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - the kids read through the entire book, as well as working through English and science tie-ins every week. The end-of-year wrap party for the book consisted of purchasing and watching the DVD - through accident, rather than design, a recent performance released by Hallmark & Robert Halmi Sr.
As has been the case in many - or all - of their other productions based on literary works, they depart from the text. In some cases, I enjoy it - I rather like what they did with Alice in Wonderland, which included a portion of Through the Looking Glass in addition to inventions regarding music performance and the fears of such as a frame for the story. It is not at all what the author had intended, and it alters completely the intent of the story by placing a Hollywood Standard Issue "Face-Your-Fears-And-Thou-Shalt-Overcome-Them" moral theme on top of a brilliant work that didn't really need it. However, I still liked it, despite all that butchery. I also like a number of their other tales - Arabian Nights, Dinotopia, Don Quixote, Dreamkeeper, Gulliver's Travels, Jack and the Beanstalk: The True Story, Jason and the Argonauts, The Odyssey The 10th Kingdom
With 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea we have decided that the movie is okay - maybe even good, clean fun - if you've never read the book. If you have, however, it is terrible to behold.
Right at the beginning, we decided that they gave Conseil a sex change and turned her into the daughter of Professor Aronnax - who no longer seems to be French - to create a character who would speak out place, question Nemo even when Aronnax *and* Ned Land say "best keep quiet so we don't all get killed," and initiate a lot of dialog the book itself lacks. It was obvious that Ned would have a love interest from the first scene with the two - Ned, played by Paul Gross, was probably the highlight of the film and the character who seemed closest to the original in spirit. The movie failed utterly when the unflappable Nemo instantly began mooning for Sophia (Sofia? - who was brought aboard the Abraham Lincoln as the Professor's assistant, "Charlie Darwin"). We all found ourselves uttering things like "No! Conseil does *not* kiss Nemo!" and "Conseil does not fall in love with Ned!" and, perhaps worst of all, "Nemo does not ask Conseil to be his queen."
The equivalent would be if Pamela Anderson had been offered Sean Astin's role playing Samantha, Gandalf's outspoken daughter and love interest of both Sauron and Frodo. Samantha would march up to the Ringwraiths and *demand* that they stop following them at once because it's not very gentlemanly of them. Sauron would make googly-eyes at her and offer to spare the Shire if she'd become his queen. And, ultimately, Samantha would shame Gollum into handing the ring over after he bit it off Frodo's finger, and she would throw it into the fires and mary her true love Frodo, raising a very loving and thankful Gollum as if he were there very own child.
As has been the case in many - or all - of their other productions based on literary works, they depart from the text. In some cases, I enjoy it - I rather like what they did with Alice in Wonderland, which included a portion of Through the Looking Glass in addition to inventions regarding music performance and the fears of such as a frame for the story. It is not at all what the author had intended, and it alters completely the intent of the story by placing a Hollywood Standard Issue "Face-Your-Fears-And-Thou-Shalt-Overcome-Them" moral theme on top of a brilliant work that didn't really need it. However, I still liked it, despite all that butchery. I also like a number of their other tales - Arabian Nights, Dinotopia, Don Quixote, Dreamkeeper, Gulliver's Travels, Jack and the Beanstalk: The True Story, Jason and the Argonauts, The Odyssey The 10th Kingdom
With 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea we have decided that the movie is okay - maybe even good, clean fun - if you've never read the book. If you have, however, it is terrible to behold.
Right at the beginning, we decided that they gave Conseil a sex change and turned her into the daughter of Professor Aronnax - who no longer seems to be French - to create a character who would speak out place, question Nemo even when Aronnax *and* Ned Land say "best keep quiet so we don't all get killed," and initiate a lot of dialog the book itself lacks. It was obvious that Ned would have a love interest from the first scene with the two - Ned, played by Paul Gross, was probably the highlight of the film and the character who seemed closest to the original in spirit. The movie failed utterly when the unflappable Nemo instantly began mooning for Sophia (Sofia? - who was brought aboard the Abraham Lincoln as the Professor's assistant, "Charlie Darwin"). We all found ourselves uttering things like "No! Conseil does *not* kiss Nemo!" and "Conseil does not fall in love with Ned!" and, perhaps worst of all, "Nemo does not ask Conseil to be his queen."
The equivalent would be if Pamela Anderson had been offered Sean Astin's role playing Samantha, Gandalf's outspoken daughter and love interest of both Sauron and Frodo. Samantha would march up to the Ringwraiths and *demand* that they stop following them at once because it's not very gentlemanly of them. Sauron would make googly-eyes at her and offer to spare the Shire if she'd become his queen. And, ultimately, Samantha would shame Gollum into handing the ring over after he bit it off Frodo's finger, and she would throw it into the fires and mary her true love Frodo, raising a very loving and thankful Gollum as if he were there very own child.
