# Cases Where the Movie Version Has Taken Over **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 17, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711 "2024-05-17T18:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/101 "2024-05-19T21:56:18Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > > [@Moriarty](#): > > > > Superman originally just jumped really high in the comics before he switched to flying in the cartoons. > > He still jumped (more or less) in the cartoons, but it was the radio show that made him fly. He seemed to combine super-strong leg jumps with a levitation that he could relax by degrees. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/102 "2024-05-19T22:12:14Z")
The Fleischer cartoons were inconsistent, which is why I said more or less, but all reports credit the radio show for the transition to flying. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/103 "2024-05-19T23:01:49Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > How about **The Little Mermaid**? People overwhelmingly think of the Disney version rather than the original Andersen short story and its ending. Excellent case. The ending of the Hans Christian Anderson version is too damned depressing. Actually, I find the endings of many of Anderson’s stories maudlin at best. Incidentally, regarding the Disney version. It’s been pointed out that it resembles the ending of H. P. Lovecraft’s _The Call of Cthulhu_, with Ursula playing the part of Cthulhu. The recent “live action” remake is interesting in that it makes Ariel, rather thah Erik, the one who essentially strikes the final blow. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/104 "2024-05-20T00:11:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Actually, I find the endings of many of Anderson’s stories maudlin at best. _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/105 "2024-05-20T00:48:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The ending of the Hans Christian Anderson version is too damned depressing. Wikipedia- _However, the Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to kill the sleeping prince lying with his new wife, and she throws the dagger and herself off the ship into the water just as dawn breaks._ _Her body dissolves into foam, but instead of ceasing to exist, she feels the warm sun and discovers that she has turned into a luminous and ethereal earthbound [spirit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elemental), a [daughter of the air](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylph). As the Little Mermaid ascends into the atmosphere, she is greeted by other daughters, who tell her she has become like them because she strove with all her heart to obtain an immortal soul._ _Because of the Little Mermaid’s sacrifice, she is given a chance to do good deeds for all her lifespan (300 years like the merpeople) and she will receive her soul and rise up into Heaven when her lifespan ends._ That is bittersweet to me, not really a tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/106 "2024-05-20T02:39:56Z")
Would John Huston’s _Moby Dick_ qualify? Considering the attention span of most media consumers today, even the 1:55 running time might be a bit of a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/107 "2024-05-20T02:45:40Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_, anyone? I’ll see you, and raise you _The Little Match Girl_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/108 "2024-05-20T06:07:57Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > McMurphy was from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. > > **One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest** might itself qualify for this thread. I don’t think there are outright contradictions between the novel and the Milos Forman film, but the novel is narrated from the first-person perspective of Chief Bromden, who is a minor character in the film. Between the novel of _Cuckoo’s Nest_ and the film adaptation, there’s [the play](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(play)) which first ran on Broadway in 1963 and had Kirk Douglas playing McMurphy. I think many of the changes in the narrative from the book stem from that version. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/109 "2024-05-20T09:27:47Z")
the first Shrek movie is based on a kids picture book … And Travolta’s battlefield Earth destroyed any chance of ever getting a good version of what was a slightly above-average sci-fi tome ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/110 "2024-05-20T11:38:15Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > And Travolta’s battlefield Earth destroyed any chance of ever getting a good version of what was a slightly above-average sci-fi tome Oh, you’re being way too kind to Elrond Hubbard. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/111 "2024-05-20T11:51:29Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Would John Huston’s _Moby Dick_ qualify? Does it “mirepresent” anything from the novel, in a way that makes people think of the movie version first? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/112 "2024-05-20T12:22:38Z")
While a lot of people have read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think the movies have become pretty iconic, despite not being completely faithful to the books. Hardcore fans of the books (like my son) bitterly bemoan the exclusion of characters like Tom Bombadil. While Jackson took liberties with the story, his movies are certainly miles above any previous efforts. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/113 "2024-05-20T14:18:13Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Would John Huston’s _Moby Dick_ qualify? Considering the attention span of most media consumers today, even the 1:55 running time might be a bit of a stretch. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Does it “mirepresent” anything from the novel, in a way that makes people think of the movie version first? Captain Ahab’s death is a lot more dramatic in the movie than in the book. When I was in elementary school, I got a book that was a kid-friendly version of the story. But, years later, I learned that the ending was taken from Huston’s movie, not from Melville’s book. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/114 "2024-05-20T14:24:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It only looks that way because everyone is required, by law, to wear green-colored glasses In a later book (I don’t remember which) it’s revealed that Ozma revoked that rule. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/115 "2024-05-20T14:51:16Z")
In the original story of **Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde** Hyde is not obviously ugly. He just gives the impression of being that way. As one character describes him: > “He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point. Of course, in every movie version made Mister Hyde is made to look as hideous as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/116 "2024-05-20T15:09:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > My favorite change is that, in Baum’s book, _Emerald City isn’t Green!!!_ > > It only looks that way because everyone is required, by law, to wear green-colored glasses. Emerald City is really White (like the Chicago “White City” of the 1893 Exposition, and the later amusement park) In story the glasses are purportedly to protect one’s eyes from the dazzling radiance of the city- a subtle hint of what a fraud the Wizard turns out to be. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/117 "2024-05-20T15:57:39Z")
While he’s given little credit, H. Rider Haggard’s books about Allan Quatermain heavily influenced other writers, as well as the creation of the movie character Indiana Jones. While Haggard’s books are nearly forgotten, these movies are, for the most part, considered original classics of the genre. I read the Haggard books (King Solomon’s Mine, etc.) when I was a teen, and immediately recognized him in the person of Indiana Jones. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/118 "2024-05-20T16:11:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Ray Harryhausen’s last major film was **Clash of the Titans** in 1981, in which he portrays Medusa as a woman with not only snakes for hair, but also snake-like scaly skin and her lower half is that of a giant snake. Speaking of _Clash of the Titans_, it deserves another call out in this thread for making a generation of children think the kraken was from Greek myth, ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/119 "2024-05-20T16:21:14Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Of course, in every movie version made Mister Hyde is made to look as hideous as possible. Except in two from Hammer Film Productions: [The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Faces_of_Dr._Jekyll), and [Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Jekyll_and_Sister_Hyde). ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711/120 "2024-05-20T16:43:43Z")
Robert Newton’s Long John Silver in Disney’s adaptation of _Treasure Island_ basically set the standard for pop culture pirates for half a century (until Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow came along - again a Disney production!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cases-where-the-movie-version-has-taken-over/1001711.md?page=7)