The differences between Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and its movie counterpart are numerous. For whatever reason, the screen writers felt it necessary to change a great many things that happened in the original story when making it over as a film. One of the largest changes, aside from the introduction of Prince Charmont’s wicked uncle, was the way Ella’s relationships in the movie differed from those in the book—most notably, her relationships with Mandy, her father, and her love interest, Prince Char. While these changes led to a fast-paced, entertaining movie, they also do away with much of the depth that is present in Levine’s original story. In the book, Mandy is a very important figure in young Ella’s life. After Lady Eleanor’s …show more content…
death, she becomes Ella’s sole friend and confidante in her household. Since she already knows that Ella has been given the ‘gift’ of obedience, Ella is able to speak freely with her about her curse and she becomes a source of advice and comfort to the girl in times of need.
She is also, much to Ella’s dismay, her fairy godmother: a role that has been passed down through the maternal line in Ella’s family for generations. However, in the movie Mandy plays a much smaller role in Ella’s life. Instead of being her fairy godmother she is reduced to being a simple household fairy who is not very good at magic. After encouraging Ella to seek out the fairy Lucinda, the source of her ‘gift,’ and giving her a magical book named …show more content…
Benny (who also happens to be Mandy’s boyfriend), she fades into obscurity and makes only token appearances for the duration of the film. This is a far cry from Levine’s Mandy, the family’s no-nonsense cook and worker of small magics, who did her best to shield Ella from her new step-family’s ire after Sir Peter left her in their clutches shortly after he and Dame Olga were wed (Levine, 1997, p. 166); or the Mandy who consoled a heartbroken Ella after she broke off her relationship with Prince Char in order to protect him from her curse, and then confronted Lucinda on her behalf, forcing the flighty fairy to see the error of her magical ways (Levine, 1997, pp. 187-189). Levine’s Mandy is conspicuously absent in the film. Ella’s relationship with her family is also wildly different in the book and the movie. The most notable change is in her relationship with her father, Sir Peter, which in the book is complicated at best. While he spends the majority of each version of Ella Enchanted traveling, and thus absent from the story, he has a much stronger presence in the book and his personality is vastly different. In the book, Sir Peter openly describes himself as “not a good man” (Levine, 1997, p. 35) He claims that he is selfish and impatient, and that he always gets his way (Levine, 1997, p. 35). When his unscrupulous business dealings leave them in financial ruin, he has no qualms about trying to marry Ella off to a rich suitor to make up for his shortcomings, and even goes so far as to drug her food to make her like the man he has chosen (Levine, 1997, pp. 129-134). When his plan falls through, he decides to marry Dame Olga instead—and then leaves Ella with her new stepmother and sisters after informing them of his newly impoverished state. He refuses to return, even after Ella writes to him to tell him that they have forced her into servitude and are treating her horribly (Levine, 1997, pp. 189-190). By comparison, the Sir Peter of the movie is often absent, but he is a kind-hearted man who cares for his daughter. When they are in dire financial straits he procures Dame Olga’s hand straightaway; there is no mention of marrying Ella off for money. Much like his paperback counterpart, he leaves on business soon after his new wife and her daughters move in, but his departure is cordial. While he does not return until the end of the movie, when he does come back he is quickly concerned by Ella’s absence and scolds Dame Olga for her inattention to his daughter. Ella’s letter to him in the book, begging him to return, is never written because while her new step-family is quite odious, Dame Olga is not the cruel and vindictive stepmother she becomes in the book. Had she forced Ella into servitude in the movie, it is quite likely that her father would have quickly come home to defend her. Ella’s relationship with her love interest, Prince Char, is also given a complete overhaul in the movie.
Everything from their first meeting to how they fall in love is rewritten and Char’s character is simplified, leaving him a much less well-rounded and well-adjusted character than he is in the book. Levine’s Char is a thoughtful young man who is intent on becoming a good king. He meets Ella shortly after her mother’s funeral, and then again before she is sent away to finishing school—an event that does not occur in the movie—and they become friends. However, in the movie Prince Char is apathetic towards his approaching kingship and is largely unaware of the horrible treatment the magical beings in his kingdom have been forced to endure. Ella sees the injustices happening in the kingdom and forms a very low opinion of Char and his uncle, the current king. She is quite rude to Char the first time they meet, which he finds intriguing because he is so used to young maidens fawning over him. This hostility is not present in the book, nor is there mention that the kingdom’s magical population is being mistreated. Additionally, Levine’s Ella slowly falls in love with Char over the course of six months, while he is visiting the neighboring kingdom of Ayortha and they take to writing letters back and forth (Levine, 1997, pp. 173-182). However, when Char confesses that he is in love with her Ella realizes that her curse would put both him and the kingdom in danger, and so she
tricks him into believing she has run away with a rich old man and never had feelings for him at all (Levine, 1997, pp. 181-186). In the movie, the shift from friendship to love happens quite rapidly. Char ends up accompanying Ella on her journey to find Lucinda, and as they spend more time getting to know each other they end up falling in love with each other. By the time they return to his castle a few days later Char fully intends to propose to Ella, even though he hasn’t known her for very long at all. The movie, while entertaining, lacks the depth of the original Ella Enchanted. It becomes a wacky romantic comedy rather than a clever take on Cinderella, with the heroine facing not only her wicked step-family, but also her father’s greedy, unscrupulous ways, and a fairy ‘gift’ that is much more aptly named a curse. The Ella of the book has a fairy godmother who supports her but cannot magic away her troubles, and a prince who is not only a good friend but also a good man, and definitely the love of her life—if she can only rid herself of her curse! However, many of these elements are altered or entirely absent from the film. The characters are present in name, but their roles have been so diminished that they are flat and less consequential to the story. Perhaps it would be better to regard them as separate creative entities that just happen to share the same name, rather than looking to the movie as an extension of the book.
The complication between characters is especially shown in Anna and Sarah’s relationship. In the movie Anna is mad about Sarah coming to stay for a month. However, in the book she says “I wished everything was as perfect as the stone. I wished that Papa and Caleb and I were perfect for Sarah” (21). In the book Anna has no trouble liking Sarah, but in the movie Anna has a hard time letting go of her real mother and will not let Sarah get close to her. It is not until Sarah comforts Anna after a bad dream and tells her “when I was ten my mamma died” (which was not told in the book) that Sarah and Anna have a close relationship. After Sarah and Anna reach an understanding, Sarah tries to help Anna remember her mother by putting her mother’s candlesticks, quilt, a painting, and her picture back into the house. They also put flowers on her grave together. However, Anna and Sarah’s relationship is not the only one that takes a while to develop.
There are many differences in the movie that were not in the book. In the movie there is a new character in the movie that was not in the book. This character was David Isay.
There were many differences in the characters' relationships with each other. For instance, Heather and Melinda’s connection were very different from book to film.
The movie lacks a lot of insight onto the other characters in the book, it mostly focuses on Ponyboy. For example, in the movie there was a lack of detail on characters such as Darry and Sodapop even Dally. Dally was a major character in the book but his death in the movie seemed a bit minor because there wasn’t much detail for viewers to get attached to his character. I felt as if his death was glazed over and easily forgotten in the movie while in the book it was described for at least two pages.
The movie, unlike the book, starts in chronological order. The book starts from Susie’s death and then flashbacks to what happened before. Another difference is that the bracelet charm in the movie is not the Pennsylvania keystone, but a house. Also, even though some things happen in both, book and movie, not every time the reasons are the same. For example
Further, throughout the book, Sadie and Bessie continuously reminds the reader of the strong influence family life had on their entire lives. Their father and mother were college educated and their father was the first black Episcopal priest and vice principal at St. Augustine Co...
In the movie, it is told in a third person point of view and the characters look a lot more different than how they do in the book. The movie goes by much quicker than the book. Also Pony goes straight home after the church burns down.
Some of the characters in the novel, like Lennie, are portrayed differently in the movie. In the novel, Lennie is said to be “a huge man” (2), but in the movie he isn’t very big, although he is bigger than George and some of the other characters. In the movie he is stronger and bigger than the others, but not to the extreme amount that the book portrays him to be. Also, Lennie is depicted as very mentally challenged, which is shown by the way he speaks. Whereas in the book, Lennie is said to have a mind of a young child instead of being disabled. As well as Lennie, Curley’s wife is represented a little bit differently. In the movie,...
Usually movies try to take the story to a different level or by adding parts or just try to change it to a completely different story. Some of the differences between the movie as to the book are some little and large differences. They might also try taking little parts away that will change how the readers see the story characters. An example of that would be Walter not smoking in the movie (Pg 115). Walter usually smokes because he is stressed or just as a way to relax. Walter also does not get punched by Mam...
For the next few years, Ella struggles to raise her children in Memphis, Tennessee. Her long hours of work leave her little time to supervise Richard and his brother. Not surprisingly, Richard gets into all sorts of trouble, spying on people in outhouses and becoming a regular at the local saloonand an alcoholicby the age of six. Ella's worsening health prevents her from raising two children by herself and often leaves her unable to work. During these times, Richard does whatever odd jobs a child can do to bring in some money for the family. School is hardly an option for him. At one point, the family's troubles are so severe that Ella must place her children in an orphanage for a few weeks.
..., the film portrayed the kids being overly whelmed with hatred when they received gifts from their parents. It was like they never knew their parents existed. Another example of the difference between the book and the movie is Mr. Freeman (mother’s boyfriend) was presented as being very reserved with the children. In the movie he was seen as warm, talkative, and friendly towards Maya and her brother. The film also showed Mr. Freeman’s manly behavior by confronting Vivian (Maya’s mother) at her job. However, in the book Mr. Freeman never left the house, he always sat and waited at home for her.
Over centuries of children have been enjoying the classic fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. The fanciful plots and the vivid details allow children to be entranced by characters and adventures that can only be found in these stories. One of the most beloved fairy tales, which both the Perrault and the Grimms have their own separate versions of, is Cinderella. Cinderella is able to show how both versions are able to feed off the same plots while personifying the century and social economic situation in which they have lived.
She is thirteen years of age who, at the start of the book, finds out that ...
Both the movie and the book are basically based on family and relationships. The characters in the movie and the book, For example Einar, jean, Griff, and Lila and her parents all deal with loss of a family member.
In many fairy tales, there is always a damsel in distress that is beautiful and the male character always falls in love with her. In Rapunzel the short story, Rapunzel is put into a tower and lives there most of her young life by her ‘mother’ before her prince comes to recuse her. The difference between Tangled and Rapunzel the short story is that, Rapunzel is the princess and her prince is actually a thief, which ends up falling in love with her. Tangled illustrates how a naïve and beautiful heroine, evil mother figure, and a shallow egotistical hero can make a fairy tale story end with love and marriage.