15 Storylines, Characters, And More That Ruined These Book Adaptations And 15 That Made These Adaptations Even Better
We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which book adaptation storylines (or characters) that were created for the TV show or movie worked really well or not at all. Here are some of the best responses:
There are obviously massive spoilers ahead, and #17 mentions sexual assault.
1.LIKED: The Vampire Diaries turned Caroline Forbes into a strong, three-dimensional character.
"Caroline's character was infinitely better in the TV series than in the books. She actually ended up becoming one of my favorite characters as the show went on."
2.DIDN'T LIKE: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 turned Voldemort's death into an odd becoming-dust moment.
"The final battle with Harry and Voldemort is a millions time better in the book. They get to have it out in front of everyone, and Harry gets to call out Tom and basically takes him apart verbally, and so many people get to see him die a 'normal' death, so there are plenty of witnesses who see he's actually dead this time. In the movie, it's just the two of them, and Voldy turns to dust and floats away, but no one gets to see it. Why would anyone believe he was finally, truly gone?!"
3.LIKED: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 added the iconic battle where Carlisle seemingly dies before we find out it's not real.
"The added battle in the final Twilight film was much needed. The book was like a roller-coaster ride to the top of a hill that then just stops. Completely anticlimactic. I literally threw that book across the room, it annoyed me so much."
4.DIDN'T LIKE: In Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover's quest was turned into simply a visit to three locations instead of a journey from New York to California.
"The pearl-fetch quest was the stupidest shit ever. In the book, Percy and his friends are traveling from New York to California to get to the entrance to the Underworld to question Hades. Everything that happens in the book is a stop between these two points. The fight with Echidna, the fight with Medusa, the Lotus Casino, the fight with Ares. All obstacles between points A and B. The movie made the plot into a fetch quest where they chose three of these locations and stuck a pearl in each one for Percy & Co. to fetch to take them into the underworld. They made it feel like a damn video game."
5.LIKED: The Walking Dead added the character of Daryl Dixon, who didn't exist in the original comic books.
"He’s not in the comics at all; they added him into the show, and his character fits PERFECTLY. His character development is amazing, and his addition to the group seems very natural and not forced."
6.DIDN'T LIKE: In Daisy Jones & the Six, Daisy and Billy kiss and act on their attraction to each other.
"I didn't like that Daisy and Billy acted on their chemistry. I think it should have been left like it was in the book, with the possibility of them getting together after (spoiler ahead) Camila dies. Not every TV show needs to have the leads hook up."
7.LIKED: True Blood decided not to kill off Lafayette and kept him around longer than in the books.
"In the book series, he dies at the end of the first book."
8.DIDN'T LIKE: In Shadow and Bone, the Six of Crows — Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias, and Wylan — were added to the Shadow and Bone trilogy plot instead of getting their own Six of Crows series.
"I honestly wish Shadow and Bone had been adapted properly without mixing both book series into one show. Six of Crows absolutely deserved its own show, and I don't like how the Crows' story has been changed around. I'm still watching the show, but I'm a little disappointed."
9.LIKED: Game of Thrones added in moments between Arya and Tywin in Season 2.
"Arya and Tywin's interactions in the second season were some of my favorite scenes in the entire show, and they didn't exist in the books! They deftly demonstrated both characters' intelligence and fleshed out Tywin superbly."
10.DIDN'T LIKE: In the Harry Potter movies, Cho Chang's character was significantly reduced, and she was the one who told Umbridge about Dumbledore's Army in Order of the Phoenix.
"The movie has Cho give up D.A. to Umbridge rather than her friend. I didn't like that."
"Cho Chang and Ginny Weasley! In the books, they’re both strong, independent, spunky young women, but the movies turn them into no more than blobby love interests. It’s really disappointing."
11.LIKED: Daisy Jones & the Six added in a love story for Simone with Bernie and explored an LGBTQ relationship.
"I loved how the show was able to expand past the documentary that is presented in Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel. This allowed for more characters to be fleshed out, like Simone. I love that we got to see her life (and career) outside of just being Daisy's best friend."
12.DIDN'T LIKE: The Hobbit films turned Tauriel from an incredible badass into a pointless love interest.
"Her entire existence was as a pointless love interest rather than being a kickass elf. Also, the fact that a dwarf and an elf could be in love totally throws off the wholesomeness of the friendship between Legolas and Gimli in the Lord of the Rings (their friendship was the first time in a long time that dwarfs and elves got along). She could have been so cool, but she was just blah."
13.LIKED: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring cut out Tom Bombadil because it would've felt out of place.
"I thought the decision to bypass the Tom Bombadil side plot in Fellowship of the Ring was smart. That part of the original book is so different in tone and content from the rest of the book/series and would have felt doubly odd as part of a movie."
14.DIDN'T LIKE: Death Note changed the setting from Japan to the US.
"It already has an animated series, and a perfectly fine Japanese live-action adaptation, but the American live-action was awful! They changed the setting from Japan to the US, which doesn't make sense for a work like Death Note, which has heavy themes based on Japanese culture and setting."
15.LIKED: The Series of Unfortunate Events TV series added Mother and Father to Season 1.
"Adding in the parents to the first season was a great plot device! I loved the books growing up, and I was convinced (hopelessly naive) that they were the Baudelaires' parents. I was desperate to find out where that plotline went, and was relieved, and heartbroken, in equal measure when it turned out they were the Quagmire parents."
16.DIDN'T LIKE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory added in a backstory for Willy Wonka's dad.
"If Roald Dahl watched the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and saw the sappy, cheesy backstory with Wonka’s dad that they added to his book, he would be rolling over in his grave like a cat in a tumble dryer."
17.LIKED: 13 Reasons Why developed Justin Foley's character and gave him a better storyline — until his ending.
"I love how in the series, Justin Foley is much more than a one-dimensional, classic playboy character. And his bromance with Clay was one of the biggest surprises and, in general, best things about this show. It was such a highlight. Moreover, I think the show did a much better job addressing the topic of sexual assault, mainly focusing on the recovery journey and also including sexual assault against men."
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18.DIDN'T LIKE: Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters aged up Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and more.
"My biggest issue, besides deviating from the plot, was that they aged the kids. They are supposed to be preteens figuring it out."
19.LIKED: This Is Where I Leave You perfectly trimmed moments from the book to make the movie more succinct and better.
"The book This Is Where I Leave You was phenomenal. The movie was even better! The casting was PERFECT, and the way they trimmed the story was amazing. The movie hit all the high spots of the book and made it feel like a real family going through things."
20.DIDN'T LIKE: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement cut out Michael's character, and we lost the great moments of Mia realizing she likes him after starting college.
"Okay, the second Princess Diaries movie makes me so mad!! I read all the books and loved them, and I can tolerate the first movie, but the second movie...they just threw out the plot of the whole book series!! In the second book, Mia's still in her first year of college and starts having a crush on Michael, but in the second movie she just moves to Genovia and almost gets married?!! Like, what?!"
21.LIKED: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials made the plot of the second book better and less boring.
"The Maze Runner movies were good, and the first one was pretty close to the books. But the second one was completely different! To be honest, I didn’t hate it! The second book was kinda boring to me at times, and the movie made it way more fun."
22.DIDN'T LIKE: Ready Player One stripped down the amazing side characters so that it didn't make sense why they would all work together.
"I read the book in one sitting and was completely enthralled. The movie was infuriating. They completely stripped the side characters down to caricatures of themselves and took away any character bonding. In the movie, there is zero reason why they all decide to work together. I could give a TED Talk on how badly the movie adaptation was handled."
23.LIKED: Firefly Lane added more stories between Tully and Kate, in both the past and the present, that didn't exist in the books.
"I like the Netflix version of Firefly Lane better (so far). I just finished the book, and while it's great and I cried like a baby during the last 60 pages or so, the series just provided more stories between the two main characters. There were some changes from text to screen, but not any that I think really take away from the theme of friendship throughout their story."
24.DIDN'T LIKE: The Chronicles of Narnia series was adapted into live-action movies instead of being animated.
"Some books are 'live-action' and some books are 'animated.' Think about it for a minute and you'll know exactly what I mean. The Chronicles of Narnia are definitely 'animated' novels. The live-action movies just didn't do them justice."
25.LIKED: Coraline added the character of Wybie Lovat, who didn't exist in the book.
"He’s not in the book at all, but adding his character in the film gives Coraline another kid to relate to, and the relationship he created with the Pink Palace really ties the story together. Plus, his character's design is adorable!"
26.DIDN'T LIKE: Pretty Little Liars ended the series by having Spencer's long-lost twin, Alex, be A.D.
"The TV show for Pretty Little Liars was all over the place, and they obviously didn't know what they were doing when it came to the ending. The mystery in the books is much more compelling."
27.LIKED: Stardust added the character of Captain Shakespeare, who didn't exist in the original novel, and a much more satisfying ending.
"Love, love, love all the adaptation changes in Stardust, especially Captain Shakespeare! The movie ending was more satisfying than the book too."
28.DIDN'T LIKE: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children changed Emma's powers and basically her very strong personality.
"Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was a terrible movie adaptation in general. One thing specifically was that they changed Emma’s powers, which in turn completely changed her personality. I guess the directors didn’t want to see a strong and fiery female lead and preferred a simpering and sweet one. Big surprise."
29.LIKED: Good Omens showed Crowley and Aziraphale's interactions throughout time before the events of the show.
"The half-hour cold open in Good Omens, where they went through Crowley and Aziraphale’s interactions throughout the millennia. It was never in the book, but it really did improve the show overall."
30.And finally, DIDN'T LIKE: Everything about the ending of My Sister's Keeper, which was completely different from the original book.
"In the book: Anna dies in a car accident, resulting in Kate getting the kidney she needed. She is healthy and now without a sister. In the film: Kate passes away in her sleep, and Anna wins her case and is emancipated, therefore relieving her of her 'duties.' She won what she was fighting for but now has no sister. This is a story of family and medical ethics. Changing the ending to something more kind is not ethical, in my opinion LOL. This was over two decades ago and I’m still mad about it!! The book was better."
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
