{"id":1207,"date":"2024-03-14T23:15:28","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T23:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jeremyschnee.com\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2024-03-14T23:15:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T23:15:28","slug":"m-y-o-p-i-a-36-are-the-books-that-inspired-these-80s-movies-inspiring-enough-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jeremyschnee.com\/?p=1207","title":{"rendered":"M.Y.O.P.I.A. #36: Are the Books that Inspired These 80\u2019s Movies Inspiring Enough to Read?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was born in the early 80s. I loved the movies, the music, the optimism of the decade. I recently found myself curious about famous books that inspired some of my childhood\u2019s biggest movies. All movies on the following list share three things in common: they are live-action (primarily), they have traits of fantastical elements, and they all have lasting appeal. The books that inspired these movies had a lot to live up to, but which are still worth a read? Let me help sift through the pages for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Never Ending Story (1984 movie <\/a>\/ book 1979, by Michael Ende)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Never Ending Story<\/em> is one of the best live-action children\u2019s movies of the early 80s. This might come as mind-boggling, but the movie is only based on the first half of the original novel. The second half of the novel focuses on Bastian venturing through Fantasia, as he makes wishes to help restore it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The author was apparently not happy when he saw the first movie, mainly because he thought there\u2019d be a sequel, or multiple sequels. that told the rest of the story. Eventually, he worked out rights to make such sequels, but if you ever saw them, you know they\u2019re best avoided. So how does the book stack up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first half The Never Ending Story<\/em> is wonderful and every bit worth reading, but the second half takes some odd turns. I still read the novel in entirety. I especially liked how the novel delved deeper into Bastian\u2019s loneliness, his grieving for his mother, his desire not to stop dreaming. So yes, it\u2019s worth it, but like the movie, the first half has all the best parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit vs. Who Censored Roger Rabbit (Movie 1988, Book 1981, by Gary Wolf)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit<\/em> is an incredible movie. The story is great, the characters are well developed. Did that all come from the original novel? Well, some of it. The novel went by Who Censored Roger Rabbit <\/em>and it\u2019s quite a different world than that of the movie. Props certainly go out to this novel for creativity, and differences here have a silver lining. See, the novel feels more like an alternate universe where plotlines diverge on truly different paths. In the book, Eddie Valiant never lost a brother to a toon. He\u2019s just an alcoholic detective. Roger is married to Jessica Rabbit, but she\u2019s not exactly child-friendly. There is a murder mystery to the overall plot, and readers will likely be pretty surprised by which characters die. The story does lose a point or two for the use of magic as a plot-device, which felt out of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the novel worth it? Yes. If people want to see an alternate more adult-oriented version of Roger Rabbit, this is an enjoyable mystery novel. I didn\u2019t like it as much as the movie, but it was still fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Field of Dreams vs. Shoeless Joe (1989 movie<\/a>\/ 1982 book, by W.P. Kinsella)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is more exciting than watching a baseball game? Okay I\u2019d honestly answer just about everything, including reading about baseball. Field of Dreams<\/em> has an odd concept that audiences were happy to accept. The movie follows a general idea laid out in the Shoeless Joe<\/em>, but there are big differences. The novel has a broader story. The main character is a twin in the book, and J.D. Salinger is used as a character. Salinger was not happy about his inclusion in a fictional work, and I found it disrespectful for Kinsella to feature a famous author known for wanting privacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The novel pays heed to a love of farming, and the history of baseball. There are some things I didn\u2019t like about the book, like the fact that the main character has to mention sexually desiring his wife nearly every time she appears, and her physical appeal is the near extent of her development. The movie made big changes to the overall story, and in my opinion, the movie vastly improved from the original story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Shoeless Joe<\/em> worth reading? It\u2019s worth reading for baseball fans because of historical stuff. Otherwise, the movie sufficed at capturing all the best parts of the original story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Princess Bride <\/a>(Movie 1987, Book 1973, both written by William Goldman)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This movie is layered, with a grandfather reading what seems an old story to his sick grandchild, all while they occasionally discuss the fantasy\/romance. The movie\u2019s actors were perfect for their parts, and the swiftness of the story allowed a setting to exist in historic and geographic ambiguity. The novel adds more to the story, but this can come to seem like a case of less being more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The novel offers further backstory on all the main characters, and this is really enjoyable. However, William Goldman claims the novel is a summary of S. Morgenstern\u2019s classic tale. From the intro, to interruptive text, lots of interruptive text, Goldman tries to build upon his false claim. That\u2019s not to say Goldman didn\u2019t create an awesome story. He did, and The Princess Bride<\/em> is an anomaly on this list because Goldman also wrote the movie script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the novel worth reading? The character development and deeper stories are great, but the many interruptive footnotes feel something like when someone walks up when reading in a break room and someone keeps asking what you’re reading, if it’s good, if you think their in-law would like to read it, etc. I learned to skip Goldman\/Morgenstern\u2019s side notes and liked the pacing of the story much better then.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Return to Oz vs. The Marvelous Land of Oz\/ Ozma of Oz (Movie 1985, Books 1904, 1907, by Frank L. Baum<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return to Oz<\/em> invokes the idea of being a sequel without technically having a true connection to the original Wizard of Oz<\/em> movie. But, people were familiar enough with the original film that it captured on the namesake. The Oz books are fairly dark, and there are a whopping fifteen officially written by Frank L. Baum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Return to Oz<\/em> certainly isn\u2019t a fun musical. It\u2019s surreal and frightening, and in this way, actually captures the books better than original movie. Fun fact: the original movie was more based on the Broadway musical adaptation of the first book, and the musical dates all the way back to 1906. The Return to Oz<\/em> movie draws elements from books two and three, with the most the plot coming from the third book. This movie is often overlooked, but is worth a watch for the strangeness alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the books\u2026yes, the Oz books are really fun and well worth reading. Dorothy is a recurring character, but she doesn\u2019t appear in all of the books. Still, the novels definitely delve into a fantasy world that most people probably already hold dear to their hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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