0
Posted March 28, 2018 by Kimberly Mas in Movies/TV
 
 

A Wrinkle in Time: How The Film Differs from The Book


A Wrinkle in Time was a childhood favorite. It was actually a required reading for most of the grade school students. Author Madeline L’ Engle’s universe is filled with wonder and sci-fi goodness.

While Disney had made a lot of iconic hit movies, they also had a couple of misses too. A Wrinkle in Time’s movie adaptation is filled with a star-studded cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and such, but with all that talent put into waste in a forgettable and underwhelming file.

AW2

A Wrinkle in Time is about a girl named Meg Murry, a disturbed 13-year old girl who found it hard to recover from the unexplained disappearance of her father, Dr. Alex Murry, while studying a method of teleporting through space.

Great cast. Good visuals. Poor storytelling. Major plotlines left in the dust. Character introductions are at a minimum. People unfamiliar with the book will be lost and fans of the book will be upset.

A Wrinkle in Time is a book that warms the hearts of many readers even after time has passed. And with Disney’s announcement of its movie adaptation of the book, a lot of book readers were excited. And like all adaptations, there will always be some changes to fit the story into the big screen. Here’s a rundown of the most significant changes made to A Wrinkle in Time.

THERE WERE NO TWINS

AW4

In L’Engle’s novel, Meg is the oldest of four Murry children, not two. Sandy and Dennys Murry, Meg’s 10-year-old twin brothers, were taken out of from the film. However, in L’Engle’s  fourth installment of the series, Many Waters, Sandy and Dennys star as the protagonists—so it seems like there won’t be sequels anytime soon.

CHARLIE WALLACE IS ADOPTED

Charles_Wallace_2018

One of the key characters in the book, Charles Wallace is one of the more interesting characters in A Wrinkle in Time, barely even 10 years old, but is highly intelligent. In the movie, Charles Wallace is quite different from the family, but it’s because of the fact that he is adopted.

NO BACKSTORY FOR THE MRS

AW3

Considered as key characters in the books, the Mrs. were barely given any backstory or whatsoever. Although, the cast did a great job with their roles, but still lacks a lot more.

THE “IT” PLANET

The “It” planet is hardly recognizable. The beige neighborhood exists for about 2 minutes, before everything literally changes. The city is now a beach.

MULTI-RACIAL FAMILY

The most obvious change from the book to film, The Murrys not as a white family in Connecticut, but as a multi-racial family living in California.

This movie could have used at least another half hour of story, and the It might have been good.

As  a fan of L’Engle’s original, as a lover of children’s stories and fantasy stories and unapologetically big-hearted and ambitious stories, this movie was lackluster. I think people who have read and felt a connection to the book will understand the movie more, but will be quite disappointed. DuVernay and her incredible cast have opened a door for you to find yourself in this achingly human, visually stunning allegory.I had been waiting for this movie since elementary school. A Wrinkle In Time was my favorite childhood book. I love this mix of science and magic in one adventure. A Wrinkle in Time’s movie adaptation doesn’t quite capture the magic of the book.


Kimberly Mas

 
Kimberly Mas is a creative entrepreneur and a part-time commercial/print-ad model. Kim runs her own multimedia design studio called Artsmith Creative House. Learn more about her studio: www.artsmithph.com. She also does comics about Fil-Chi slice of life. Find out more: www.facebook.com/SoAsianComics or follow Kim on social media @kimberlymas on IG and Twitter.