A scene from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs -- the book
At BookPage, we have been struck by the number of high-profile movie adaptations of beloved children’s picture books. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Where the Wild Things Are immediately come to mind, but there are others, too: The Polar Express (written in 1985, adapted for the big screen in 2004); Curious George (1941, 2006); Horton Hears a Who! (1954, 2008).
On Tuesday, HarperCollins launched a Where the Wild Things Are website with the theme, “Read it Before You See It.” As many of you know, Spike Jonze’s “Wild Things” movie – based on Maurice Sendak’s unforgettable 1963 classic – hits theaters on Friday. (See trailer below the jump.)
Sendak’s book includes 10 sentences. Many readers will remember the simple and powerful last line, about Max’s dinner: “And it was still hot.” Sendak’s language may be wonderful, but it is undeniably sparse. Reading this book as a child, I would never have picked it to be a clear choice for a movie adaptation. Based on the trailer (cool music, cooler costumes, muted colors — a definite departure from typical kids’ flicks), I can’t wait to see the movie.
Browse the book, courtesy of HarperCollins, here:
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Click here to read an interview with Sendak in BookPage.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” based on Judi Barrett’s 1978 story (illustrated by Ron Barrett), was released in theaters on Sept. 18. I haven’t seen it yet, but reception has been positive – the movie was #1 in the box office for two weeks in a row (see trailer below). Barrett’s prose does lend itself to animation, I think:
The menu varied. By the time they woke up in the morning, breakfast was coming down. After a brief shower of orange juice, low clouds of sunny-side up eggs moved in followed by pieces of toast. Butter and jelly sprinkled down for the toast. And most of the time it rained milk afterwards.
Has anyone seen “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”? Did the animation live up to the fabulous illustrations in the book? Based on the trailer, there seem to be some notable differences in the movie (where is Grandpa Henry?).
What other children’s books would you like to see as movies? Lynn nominated Goodnight Moon. I’d like to see movie versions of The Lorax, The Giving Tree (“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy” . . . my heart breaks just thinking about it), and one of my all-time favorites, Mercer Mayer’s Liza Loo and the Yeller Belly Swamp.
Where the Wild Things Are trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhfywi5Y8TM]
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kQnlBW02tI]
I haven’t seen either movie but I used to read Cloudy to my son when he was little and the movie animation is completely different that the illustrations in the book. I sort of don’t care for it.
However, I would see Where the Wild Things are.
Yeah, I’m not too excited about the animation in Cloudy either — but I am dying to see Wild Things.
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