What is the Best and Worst Book-to-Movie Adaptaion?

Book to movie adaptations can be some of the most iconic films in the world, like the Harry Potter Movies, It, and even Coraline. Some of these don’t fare too well though, like Stargirl or the Percy Jackson Movies. There was a survey that was sent out to many students to get their responses and opinions on what the best book to movie adaptation, and what the worst is. These are ranked by both accuracy and stand-alone greatness.

Before the top (and bottom) of this list is revealed, some honorable mentions include Stargirl, which was the runner-up for the worst book-to-movie adaptation. Many argue (myself included) that it leaves out many amazing parts of the book and fails to capture the spirit of it. Oddly, there was no runner-up for the best. It was around a 4 way tie between movies like The Hunger Games, It, Nauruto, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. All of these were amazing movies and both captured the books very well, and were amazing independently.

Starting out with the best, there were many unlikely competitors presented. These movies included IT, and even Revenge of the Sith, a popular star wars movie. Of course, there were some expected answers, such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the Hunger Games. Mr. Gonslaves stated that his favorite was the Princess Bride because, “It captured the humor and satire of the book.” Although it was incredibly close, the winner and objectively best book to movie adaptation was  the Harry Potter Series. This was most likely an anticipated choice, because it is probably  the most beloved book series, and subsequently movie. But, many do argue that the 5th instalment was the worst so not the entire series counts. As stated by 8th grader Carson Caldaronello, “I love Harry Potter so it is my favorite but it’s not that accurate to the original.” All the Harry Potter movies (except the 5th) perfectly capture the essence of the films, and are beloved by both fans of the series, people who have never touched the books, and everyone in between. Harry Potter follows Harry Potter through his magical journey in his magical school.

According to Rio Norte, there are many suggestions for the worst book-to-movie adaptations but, the overwhelming majority voted that Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the worst book-to-movie adaptation of all time. Even the current Librarian, Mr. Gonsalves agreed. This movie is derived from an amazing young adult novel of the same name, but the similarities end there. Almost everything from minor details like hair color and eye color (though some argue that this too was important) to major things such as villains, even plot and goal. In our survey, most people chose the “They changed the plot and everything” option. As stated by Natalie Carrey, “They changed it all and it made little sense.” This movie is very hated among all fans of the Percy Jackson series, because if you have even skimmed the book, the bar is just too high for this awful movie. If you want more information on why this is so bad, click here.  The Percy Jackson book series follows young Percy Jackson on his quest fulfilling prophecies and fighting monsters. The movies follow Percy retrieving things, fighting monsters, and basically did the five books in two short movies. 

Although there are many adaptations, these definitely stand out among the rest as some of the finest, or terrible, adaptations. Some felt like the creators read the book in fifth grade and 20 years later, decided to make a movie about it.  Others were almost to perfection, and seemed like the creators spent months studying the books and analyzing every corner of it to make the perfect movie.