# What adaptation is least like the source? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238 "2021-08-20T20:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/41 "2021-08-21T01:46:39Z")
Don Bluth’s animated film _The Secret of NIMH_ adds supernatural elements to it that are not in the book it is based on(_Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH_ by Robert c. O’ Brien.) That being said I would recommend both. The direct to video sequel _The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue_ I would avoid entirely. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/42 "2021-08-21T01:59:14Z")
The Last Airbender movie was apparently made by someone who had heard of the original cartoon but never watched it. The names aren’t even pronounced in a way that’s consistent to the source material. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/43 "2021-08-21T02:01:46Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > Another adaptation of Stephen King to add to the list: _The Dark Tower_ doesn’t bear much resemblance to collected volumes or any one of its constituent books. **Children of The Corn** – Just… no. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/44 "2021-08-21T02:03:10Z")
_Doctor Dolittle_, the 1998 film starring Eddie Murphy as the good doctor. Opinions varied about this movie. I thought it stank. Time Magazine agreed with me. Aside from being a shitty movie in itself (it was filled with toilet humor), the story had simply no semblance whatever to any of the Hugh Lofting stories. Aside from a doctor named John Dolittle who was able to talk to animals, the movie had nothing to do with the original stories or characters. (ETA: Wikipedia mentions that the Pushmi-Pullyu made a cameo appearance, but I don’t even remember that.) Now to be sure, it’s not out-of-the-question to reset the story from a small Victorian English village to modern San Francisco, and it not impossible to have a Black Doctor Dolittle. That’s all doable. But this movie was not that. This movie was in no way a Dr. Dolittle story, and the title character was in no way the Dr. Dolittle of the Lofting stories. Not even remotely. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/45 "2021-08-21T02:14:12Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > The movie essentially had everything that the short story had, plus a real story and more. I enjoyed it very much, and I recommend it. Danny Kaye was _exactly_ the right actor for the part. (I believe there are some excerpts up on YouTube.) I agree with you. Definity watchable. This was the movie with “The Boot?” It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen it. “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” also had a tacked-on happy ending in the movie, but I really love the movie. And I think if anyone deserved a happy ending, Miss Pettigrew did! ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/46 "2021-08-21T02:17:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > _Starship Troopers_ Other than some character names and a couple of minor plot points, the movie bears absolutely _zero_ relation to the book. Or the book’s intent. What was the book’s intent? Because, famously, many reviewers of the movie didn’t notice the satirical undertones at the time and criticized it as a gung-ho pro-war movie 🤦‍♂️ Most retrospective reviews rightly give it credit for the message, and indeed it wasn’t even that subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/47 "2021-08-21T02:20:50Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I agree with you. Definity watchable. This was the movie with “The Boot?” It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen it. (Re: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty starring Danny Kaye.) Sorry, it’s been long time likewise since I’ve seen it. I don’t remember any character or object called “The Boot”. Can you jog my memory? Was he the ring-leader of the hoodlums? ---
**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:** [August 21, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/48 "2021-08-21T02:35:22Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Was he the ring-leader of the hoodlums? Yes, and the more I think about it, that character was for sure in the Mitty movie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/49 "2021-08-21T02:47:05Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > What was the book’s intent? I thought it was a gung-ho pro-war book, as did the SF fan who recommended it to me. I believe his exact words were “It’s the only piece of blatant military propaganda ever to win a Hugo Award.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/50 "2021-08-21T02:51:57Z")
Have you ever seen Danny Kaye’s version of _ **The Inspector General** _? It was okay (for a musical), but it didn’t really capture the satirical mood of Gogol’s story. I suspect you have to be Russian (or at least know a great deal about Russian history and culture) to appreciate that. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/51 "2021-08-21T03:03:20Z")
_The Cat in the Hat_ movie with Mike Myers added crude humor and adult jokes that were not present in the Dr Seuss book. It is generally regarded as one of the worse movies ever made. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/52 "2021-08-21T03:12:40Z")
Ohh god, not at all in film. Two obvious examples are Neal Simons’ Murder by Death and The Cheap Detective. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pi-FC_M_NLY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Cheap Detective (1978) Peter Falk") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi-FC_M_NLY) EYWTKAS was a book. It was written not with chapters but with a general sexually themed word like Fellatio followed by a detailed description. The film follows this format. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/53 "2021-08-21T03:13:27Z")
Not seen the movie _The Cat On The Hat_. I read the book and its sequel quite some time ago. It was written, if I recall, on a bet to produce a book first graders could not put down. It had to use words from a list of 348 possibles, and ended up using just over 200. So it is possible the source material is a tad thin. The book _Green Eggs and Ham_ was written on a later bet; to write a book using only fifty words. I’ll bet that would make a great movie… ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/54 "2021-08-21T03:13:53Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > _One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest_ , the 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson as McMurphy and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched, disappointed me… In the movie, it was just a spontaneous prank in which the inmates escape and go commandeer a boat. Yep. The book is far, far better than the movie, and is one of my two lifetime favorites, an amazing piece of writing. But when not comparing the film to the book, I find the film to be a masterpiece in it’s own right. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/55 "2021-08-21T03:15:44Z")
I guess Roger Corman once walked by an open window where a canary’s cage was lined with a magazine page printed with an Edgar Allan Poe story. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/56 "2021-08-21T03:47:44Z")
I know this isn’t literally true, but: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief I have now read it 20+ times as a teacher and trust me. The movie is so wildly different, it fails on every single level of adaptation. Story, characters, thematically, everything. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/57 "2021-08-21T03:48:27Z")
It has been a while, but though certain elements of the stories were changed, the basic premise/plot (who is Jack Ryan after) was essentially the same for both **Patriot Games** and **Clear and Present Danger**. Did they follow the books ? No. But they had enough of the story elements that I’d say they came “close”. Much closer than many other adaptations mentioned here. As to the OP, I submit the **Bourne** movies. The reason is that in the (first) book, Jason Bourne was not a real assassin. He was an agent who was posing as “Jason Bourne”, and they’d created an entire backstory/resume of what a great assassin “Bourne” was. But it was all just a ruse (to lure out the real assassin being hunted). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/58 "2021-08-21T07:19:41Z")
**House of the Dead (1996)** is a light gun arcade game where two government agents are dispatched to a scary mansion where a mad scientist is trying to raise an army of the dead, including zombies, gargoyles, and bioengineered creatures. **House of the Dead (2003)** is a film adaptation of the above but the only thing it takes from the game is the idea of zombies. Instead the film is about a bunch of generic teens who go to a rave on an isolated island who find out zombies have already infected and killed everyone. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/59 "2021-08-21T11:17:47Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > _Starship Troopers_ Other than some character names and a couple of minor plot points, the movie bears absolutely _zero_ relation to the book. Or the book’s intent. > > What was the book’s intent? > > Because, famously, many reviewers of the movie didn’t notice the satirical undertones at the time and criticized it as a gung-ho pro-war movie 🤦‍♂️ > > Most retrospective reviews rightly give it credit for the message, and indeed it wasn’t even that subtle. Except the director himself said the movie wasn’t satirical. Its theme was a serious warning of how seductive fascism is, and was intended to be completely serious. Ineptitude is not satire. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2021, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238/60 "2021-08-21T11:36:00Z")
_How to train your dragon._ The names of some of the characters, and the fact both contain dragons are basically the only things the movie and book have in common. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-adaptation-is-least-like-the-source/949238.md?page=4)