1. A comparison and contrast between Dante’s Inferno by
Dante Alighieri

3.  This movie is an adaptation of Dante Alighieri’s epic
poem Dante’s Inferno. It would be classified as a dark
satire and uses hand-drawn paper puppets and
miniature sets. It is classified as an animation, but no
CGI effects are used.
 The story is set in modern times in the not-so-pleasant
parts of an urban city at night. Just as in the epic poem,
we follow Dante’s journey through all of the levels of
Hell.
 The levels of Hell are the same as in the epic poem;
however, the people in Hell are a mix of people from
the epic poem and also from modern times.

4.  Right Click and Choose
Open Hyperlink

5.  Characterization: Dante and Virgil act like actual
people. They are transformed from somewhat flat
characters to real people that we could see belonging
to our real world.
 Setting: The gritty, modern setting is much more
relevant to modern readers compared to the faraway
setting of Dante’s Inferno of the 14th century.
 Style: The unique style of this movie sets it apart from
other movie or book adaptation of Dante’s Inferno and
thus piques viewers interest.

6.  Use of modern characters: Of the people that have
read Alighieri’s epic poem, many run into trouble
understanding the sins that are represented in relation
to specific people; in this movie, modern people are
used as examples for the sins. Thus, modern readers
may find it easier to understand the text with examples
that they don’t have to research for clarification.
 Presentation: The modern speech in this movie makes
it easier for the average viewer to understand it;
whereas Alighieri’s version may not be as accessible to
people who don’t possess higher-level reading skills.

7.  Style of Delivery: Because this is a movie, it introduces
viewers to Dante’s Inferno who may not have read the
epic poem (for whatever reason).
 Tone: This movie reads like most of the summaries for
the epic poem that you can find on-line. While Dante’s
Inferno seems stuffy and flat, this movie allows Dante
to show the feelings the readers expect

8.  Viewer Beware: This movie may be too graphic for
some viewers, both in sexual terms and in regards to
harsh language. If the goal of this movie is to increase
the number of people that know about Dante’s Inferno,
this goal may not be reached because of the cussing
and extreme depictions of sexuality in this movie.
 Even without the cussing and dark sexuality, this is
still a dark comedy that may not be appropriate for
some younger viewers.

9.  Fans of this movie enjoy the use of modern people who are
used in reference to specific sins, but some people critique
the examples as being too liberal.
 What I feel must be taken into account is that Dante’s
Inferno is one man’s views of the people in his society. To
me, it seems completely natural that whoever did a modern
version would use their own viewpoint to put people into
their specific levels of hell. It is entirely plausible that
people in Dante’s time didn’t appreciate his opinion on
their family members or historical figures, so I almost find
it surprising that so many critiques were upset about who
was classified where in terms of Hell.

10.  In the epic poem Dante’s Inferno, in Canto III the souls
who neither followed God nor the Devil are sentenced
to chase a flag while being flogged by insects.
 In this section of the movie Dante’s Inferno, the souls
are required to protest (think of modern protesters
picketing at some event they are against)eternally
because in life they didn’t stand for anything.
 Instead of Charon being a demon, he is a police officer.
(Remember this is a modern version set in an urban
city.)

11.  In Limbo – which is under an overpass(suggests cars
going places and people under the overpass are
stagnant)
Homer is presented as a drunk and falls off the
chair he is sitting on. (Dark Homer and probably a
reference to the producers feelings about Homer)
 Minos' courtroom is really a courtroom. Minos is a
judge. Souls get to their specific circles of Hell through
the city drainage pipes.

12.  2nd circle – lust – is presented as a “red light district.”
Offenders are punished with never-ending sex.
 3rd circle – gluttony – is presented as a construction
zone. Cerberus is a real dog that just happens to have
three heads. Cerberus gets off his chain and attempts
to attack Dante. Virgil pulls a gun out of his clothing
and shoots Cerberus. The construction zone is filled
with construction workers who must eat forever with
no respite. There is also an obese statue of liberty.

13.  The influence of the source text in this scenario is
obvious and extensive. Though this movie has more
nudity and cussing that I would like, I feel that it does
a good job of bringing the ideas behind Dante’s
Inferno into our modern world. I also feel like it
presents those ideals in a way that modern people can
understand in a way that they may not have been able
to if they read Dante’s Inferno.

14.  If you like dark humor, want to understand what
Dante’s Inferno might be like in a contemporary
setting, or even want to watch an adult animated
movie that is out of the norm, this may be a movie for
you! To me, this movie resembled a Sparknotes
summary; it explained things in a way that everyone
can understand.