Below are two examples of book-to-film adaptations and how well they did as according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Gulliver's Tavels, wasa modern day adaptation based on the book of the same day. The film bombed at the box office and met negative reviews. Gulliver's Travels was slammed for it's unnessasary incorporation of childish humour that drew attention away from the well-loved plot.
Meanwhile, Mary Poppins, a Disney adaptation of the book of the same name, was praised by critics and was an over-all success. Today it is regarded by many as a cinematic classic. However, the film greatly differs to the darker and far less whimsical book, with P.L. Travers, the author, expressing her hatred for it. This became the inspiration for Saving Mr. Banks, which presents how difficult it can be for authors and film makers to work togethor when adapting a story to screen.
Gulliver's Travels
Mary Poppins
Comics
Below are two examples of films based on comic books. Interestingly, both these films relied on the same source material, drawing the story and inspiration from the Batman comics. However, Batman and Robin used a brightly coloured and humourous style, filling the script with puns and hoaky dialogue in the same vain of the 60's TV show. Many fans complained that the camp tone to the film made a mockery of the original comic characters and greatly differed to the dark tones the comics presented. On the other hand, though fans were initially skepticle, The Dark Knight met with great success, becoming a hit at the box office with critics claiming that it set new standards for any other comic book films that were to follow. This is probably due to matching the comics' gritty tones and styles, replicating certain imagery, and casting more talented actors as opposed to big-named celebrities to play certain roles.
Batman & Robin
TV Shows
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a prequel to the live action remake of the cartoon show. Full of recognisable nods to the original show, such as catchphrases and replicating the cartoon's visuals, critics weren't impressed as the claimed the jokes were old and overused.
21 Jump-Street, whilst paying homage to the original TV show in some respects, such as cameos from the original actors, was praised more for it's originiallity and being able to stray away from the source material to create a film that felt fresh and original.
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
21 Jump-Street
Video Games
Film adaptations of video games have been the least successful and have not yet created an impressive piece of cinema that matches the video game in terms of quality and audience enjoyment. There are no apparent examples of video game movies that have recieved an approval rating of 50% or over. Although, with the rising numbers of films based on video games being made, perhaps a good interpretation is to come in the very near future.
Final Fantasy, in terms of reviews, did significantly better than other more recognisable video game movies such as Street Fighter and the Super Mario Bros., but it is still regarded as being rotten in terms of the Rotten Tomatoe aprroval ratings.
Street Fighter
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Theatre Productions
Since Annie had already been successfully converted to film inthe 80's and 90's, many fans and critics claimed that another film adaptation was unnessisary and saw it as a cash-grab on a popular musical franchise, espiecally since there are other successful musicals that are yet to hit the big screen. Fans were also not impressed at the change in musical style, claiming that the songs were great and did not need any alterations and that modern tempo distorts and ruins what was once an enjoyable soundtrack.
Meanwhile, Cabaret, due to the story taking place on stage, was able to remian in the same style as the original musical, with an on-screen audience to laugh and applaud certain moments, keeping the original show's intimate theatre atmosphere. The film was also praised for it's casting choices, with a line of vocally talented actors providing for the musical numbers.
Annie (2014)
Cabaret
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