1. Harry Potter and the feature film: When Children’s Literature becomes children’s film ENGL 403 Spring 2011
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3. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood Literary Adaptation: Changing a book into a film, play, video game, TV show, etc
4. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood Cartmell and Whelehan: Literary adaptations from text to screen 3 types of adaptation These types show exactly how the book was made into a movie, and how much it has or has not been altered from the original
5. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood The 3 types of adaptation: Transposition – A book is transposed to the screen directly without much change between the original and the film. Example: Little Women by Alcott was written in 1868. In 1933, a film version of the book was made. It was very long and considered to be tedious by some because it worked hard to maintain exactly what the book laid out for the story.
6. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood The 3 types of adaptation: Commentary – A book is purposely or inadvertently altered in some way that changes the storyline but still tries to stay aligned with the original book. In commentary adaptation, the change from book to screen does not intentionally corrupt the original story. Example: The Neverending Story by Michel Ende was written in 1983 and a film was made in 1984. The film changed a few major details such as making the dragon in the movie look like a giant flying dog, and the main character, Atreyu, was “Meant to look Native American” in the film, but had green skin in the book (Petersen 1985).
7. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood The 3 types of adaptation: Analogy – An adaptation that is so far removed from the book that it seems the filmmaker simply used the name of the book and not much more. Essentially, an Analogy adaptation will be seen as a completely different work of art apart from the book. Roald Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryin 1964, and in 1971 the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory premiered. This movie made Willy Wonka the main character instead of Charlie Bucket among many other changes that made it extremely different from the original book.
8. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood J.D. Stahl, Children’s lit scholar: The special demand which we as literary critics tend to make of media adaptations of literary works is that they be "faithful" to the originals, at least in spirit and in mood if not in detail. The phrase frequently used is "scrupulously faithful."
9. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood J.D. Stahl, Children’s lit scholar: But there is another special demand which we ought to make equally of media adaptations of literary works for children, and which ought in fact to take precedence when we have to choose between the two criteria. This demand is that the adaptation employ the artistic character and potential of its medium as fully as possible. This means that we must judge adaptations as integral artistic expressions: a children's film as film, a children's television show as television, a children's sound recording as sound recording not just (or perhaps not at all) as a mutant offspring of literature
10. When Childhood Goes to Hollywood Group Project: List 10 children’s books that have been made into movies Choose 2 from your list and note at least 5 things from the film that are either exactly the same as the book or extremely different from the book Were any changes you noted a good or bad idea, in your group’s opinion?
11. BREAK TIME When we come back, we’ll start talking about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
12. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 The book was originally called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, but the title was changed for the American printing so it would be less daunting to American children. J.K. Rowling was a poor single mother living on welfare in Edinburgh, Scotland when she began writing the Harry Potter books The first book was published in 1997 in the UK and 1998 in the US
13. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 When first released in America, the book became a best seller nearly immediately. Kids and adults were and are both reading the book To date, this book has sold over 400 MILLION copies and has been published in at least 69 distinct languages
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 In a 2001 survey by the New York Times, it was found that almost 60% of children between the ages of 6 and 17 in the US had read at least 1 Harry Potter book Many scholars credit the Harry Potter series with bringing kids back to books
15. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Chapter 1 – Harry arrives at the Dursleys Characters introduced: Dumbledore McGonagall Hagrid Harry The Dursleys “You know Who”
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Chapter 2 – 10 year old Harry has to deal with his cousin Dudley and insufferable Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, and go yet another year without so much as a birthday card. Harry frees a snake from the zoo. Characters introduced Dudley Dursley and his best friend Piers
17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Chapter 3 – The letters start arriving and to keep Harry from receiving them, Mr. Dursley takes the family to an island cabin. Harry’s 11th birthday arrives along with a knock at the door. Just a note in case you’re curious: Harry Potter was born July 31st, 1980. This is why Harry, Ron and Hermione don’t use computers to solve any of their problems. Internet wasn’t readily available in the UK until about 1997… which would have been Harry’s 6th year in school, thus as you know if you’ve read or seen… wouldn’t have been much use.
18. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Chapter 4 – Harry finds out about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his fame, his parents’ real demise, and the existence of magic. Hagrid takes Harry away. Chapter 5 – Hagrid takes Harry shopping for school supplies and explains Wizard Money. Harry gets his supplies and meets the disgusting Draco Malfoy and immediately realizes that not all wizards are “the right sort,” as Malfoy later puts it.
19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Chapter 6 – Harry spends a miserable last month with the Dursleys and then meets the Weasley family, who help him onto the Hogwarts Express – Platform 9 ¾. Harry meets his future best friends Ron and Hermione and learns a few things about the wizarding world. Chapter 7 – Harry arrives at Hogwarts and is sorted into Gryffindor Chapter 8 – Harry gets his first piece of Owl Post, finds out Snape hates him, and Harry begins to be curious about the item Hagrid took from vault number 713 the day they visited Gringotts wizard bank.
20. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonechapters 1-8 Discussion Questions: When Harry chooses his wand on Diagon Alley, he finds that the one right for him is the companion wand to the one sold long ago to Voldemort. Why does Rowling choose to emphasize a curious affinity between Harry and his great enemy, Voldemort? What does the episode of the Sorting Hat reveal about Harry? What does it say about fate in the story? Is it always superior to human will? At the end of Chapter 7, Harry dreams of various suspicious Hogwarts figures involved in the mysterious plot he has uncovered, including Quirrell and Snape. Why, do you think, does Malfoy appear in the dream as well? Is Malfoy’s role in the story deeper than it seems?
