Be glad and help others

You might recall an earlier post I made about children's classics and their film adaptations. This is the next part in that series. :-)

One of my favorite films growing up (and still to this day much to my mother's chagrin) was Pollyanna starring the magnificent Hayley Mills (remember the original Parent Trap?). The story of a young girl orphaned and sent to live with an aunt she had never met (and who was less than thrilled to be taking her in) who brought happiness to an entire town captivated my imagination and never failed to make me cry both tears of anguish and happiness. Yes, I realize that I sound like a TV special but I am being completely sincere. The book that the film was based on was written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter and was an instant bestseller that generated so much success that several sequels were penned (the majority by different authors). One of the major plot points in the story was completely changed for the film version but I don't think that it took too much away from the overall storyline (you'll have to read the book to know what I mean mwahaha). The book's positive message to "be glad" is one that I think anyone regardless of their age can appreciate and embrace.

I next turned to The Rescuers by Margery Sharp which I think most people won't realize was a book before it was adapted by Disney into a film. Firstly, the illustrations which were done by Garth Williams (he also did Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web) are fantastic. They portray Bernard and Miss Bianca very differently from the movie version because their characters are almost entirely different. In fact, everything apart from there being talking mice who form a secret society that help humans was changed. Bianca is portrayed as a rather vacuous female content with her lot in life but Bernard makes her see herself in a slightly different light. The movie is the exact opposite where Bernard is full of timidity and it is Bianca that draws him out of his shell and shows him what he is truly made of. The film is about the rescue mission of an orphan girl named Penny from a truly horrific woman (who reminds me of Miss Hannigan from the musical Annie) while the book is about the rescue of a Norwegian poet from an impenetrable castle. The essential feeling of the two storylines is the same but if I had to choose between the two I'd probably go for the movie on this one (but you should still check out the beautiful illustrations).

How are you guys liking this series? Do you have any children's classics and their movies that you think I should read, watch, and review? I was thinking about doing the same for adult classics but I want to get your opinion. Comments are always appreciated! XD