Famous Kids' Books to the Silver Screen
Since the release of J.K. Rowling's first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, it seems as though Hollywood's screenwriters have looked to successful children's books as ready-made recipes for Hollywood hits. The success of The Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer, and The Hunger Games Series, by Suzanne Collins, only seemed to solidify that trend.
That being said, this tendency for Hollywood to go to the well of successful children's book authors is not new. The Walt Disney Company first hit gold (literally) with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (by the Grimm Brothers) in 1939 when Disney received an honorary Oscar, as well as seven "dwarf" statuettes from Shirley Temple.
Here is a list of some of my favorite children's book-to-film adaptations:
Beauty and the Beast - Author: Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve
The Wizard of Oz - Author: L. Frank Baum
Matilda - Author: Roald Dahl
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Author: C.S. Lewis
Winnie the Pooh - Author: A. A. Milne
Mary Poppins - Author: Pamela Lyndon Travers
Alice in Wonderland - Author: Lewis Carroll
The Book Thief - Author: Markus Zusak
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Author: Victor Hugo
Today marks the seventy-ninth anniversary of the release of the movie Dumbo, written by Helen Aberson-Mayer & produced by Walt Disney.
What are some of your favorite book-to-film adaptations?
