# Name a book you think would work best as an animated movie or tv series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 15, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467 "2026-03-15T23:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/1 "2026-03-15T23:38:10Z")
A Book or series of related books in the same universe (not a list) that you (personally, not people on the internet) think would be great as an animated movie or tv series. Another note: This is NOT a contest. You do not have to pick something else just because someone else picked a book first. I think the Mercedes Lackey “Vademar” series could only work as an animated series of movies, or perhaps a tv series. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/2 "2026-03-16T00:11:43Z")
Chris Bunch &Alan Cole’s “Sten” series would make a fun animated show. 8 books, so a book a season works well. Animated means Rykor, Otho and the Rilchium won’t look like muppets or bumpy-foreheaded humans. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/3 "2026-03-16T02:27:17Z")
I think Discworld and Aardman would make magic together. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/4 "2026-03-16T02:52:42Z")
My Beloved says the “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” trilogy by Tad Williams would be her pick. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/5 "2026-03-16T03:05:33Z")
The Dresden Files series, by Jim Butcher. I think it would work best in a serious anime or anime-inspired style. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/6 "2026-03-16T04:00:43Z")
Anything by John Varley, particularly the Gaea trilogy, The Golden Globe or Steel Beach. I guess with Steel Beach you could get away with using a technology like the “volume” they use for Star Wars productions but I think the Gaea trilogy would need to be animated for sure. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/7 "2026-03-16T04:23:54Z")
I think most Science Fiction and High fantasy benefits from being animated - the SFX budget is pretty much built in after all. Specific series: Vlad Talos / Jhereg Series / [Dragaera Cycle](https://www.goodreads.com/series/49760-draegara) by Steven Brust. (different people call it different things) It’s more or less a high fantasy series with some humans (including the main character) in a setting dominated by tall, elf-like (many provisos) beings who can use dramatic magic, magic weapons, and where the gods meddle with mortals. It’s got duels, witchcraft, wisecracking mini-dragon sidekicks, assassinations, scams, political drama, reincarnation, strange beings and otherworldly animals. It’d be a nightmare as live action, perfect for animation, and you would benefit from having a skilled comedic or sardonic actor doing the voice, and leaving the action to the animators. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/8 "2026-03-16T04:26:16Z")
Hmm. I re-read Janet Kagen’s _Mirabile_ recently, and now that I think about it, in the right hands it could translate well into a good animated movie or maybe series. It’s an ecology-themed collection of stories about a youngish interstellar colony, mostly dealing with odd alien wildlife and genetically altered hybrid “Dragon’s Teeth”. You’d need good animators and writers to make it work; it’s low on “action”, but high on nature and interesting critters so you’d want people who can capture the latter on-screen. I can just see the scene where somebody yells “stampede” and everyone tries to avoid getting trod on by the knee-high cattle herd. There’s an alien pet called Mabob (short for Thingamabob) that would play onscreen well, I think. Smart, loud and looks like a three foot tall, orange-eyed, green cross between a parrot and a pangolin. “GRONK!” > [@silenus](#): > > Chris Bunch &Alan Cole’s “Sten” series would make a fun animated show. 8 books, so a book a season works well. Excellent, someone else knows those books. And yes it would work well on-screen I think; it’s a very “action filled” series that would translate well to a visual medium. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/9 "2026-03-16T11:36:36Z")
Needs the right writer(s) but I think an animated series set in [the Talisman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talisman_(King_and_Straub_novel)) universe would be fun. I see in the link that there had been a deal with Netflix but it fell through. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/10 "2026-03-16T15:07:27Z")
Side-by-side Dreamers is basically a manga written in prose. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/11 "2026-03-16T15:11:25Z")
_Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH_ was one my favorite books as a child in the 80s. Don Bluth made a film of it in 1982. Apparently both a film and TV series have been in “development hell” for the past ten years.. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/12 "2026-03-16T15:45:03Z")
**Dragonriders of Pern.** I know that there have been various options for movies but none of them ever came to fruition. I think it would work well as an animated series. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/13 "2026-03-16T15:54:49Z")
L. Sprague De Camp’s Krishna series would be great fun. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/14 "2026-03-16T15:57:00Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Anything by John Varley, particularly the Gaea trilogy, The Golden Globe or Steel Beach. I guess with Steel Beach you could get away with using a technology like the “volume” they use for Star Wars productions but I think the Gaea trilogy would need to be animated for sure I came to say the Gaea trilogy as well. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/15 "2026-03-16T16:04:34Z")
I have always wanted Neal Stephenson’s **[Baroque Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baroque_Cycle)** + Cryptonomicon made into a live-action series. It’s historical fiction, with some sci-fi and a tiny bit of magic thrown in. I’ve not been much of a reader as an adult but I read this huge series twice over. It’s captivating. I always figured that when Game of Thrones got big, someone would take a chance on The Baroque Cycle. I don’t think any of Stephenson’s stuff has been made into any other media. I’ve read all his stuff up to _Anathem_, which was just beyond me. But everything up through that was enjoyable and accessible. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/16 "2026-03-16T16:11:28Z")
I’d like to see Roger Zelazny’s _Creatures of Light and Darkness_ as a surrealist experimental animated movie. Give it to one of the weirdo directors. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/17 "2026-03-16T16:40:25Z")
I’ve been jonesing for a movie version of Varley’s Gaea trilogy for over three decades now. I’d always hoped someone would do it once CGI got good enough/cheap enough but that was 20 years ago and still nothing. I’d settle for an animated series at this point. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/18 "2026-03-16T17:58:26Z")
One of the better reads I’ve come across in many a fortnight is _For Whom the Belle Tolls_ by Jaysea Lynn. It would most likely have to be animated because many of the characters are demons (who are actually good guys, Hell in Jaysea’s universe being a place of justice and healing — which often does involve pain — rather than eternal torment). It would also need to be bowdlerized, since she is rather … graphic … when it comes to sex. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/19 "2026-03-16T18:16:11Z")
Definitely this one! I follow the series religiously( 😄), and I about a third of the way through the book. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467/20 "2026-03-16T20:28:10Z")
How about this: Dan Simmons’s _Hyperion_, with each traveler’s tale done in a different style of animation. The next book, in turn, will mix and match based on the POV. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-book-you-think-would-work-best-as-an-animated-movie-or-tv-series/1028467.md?page=2)