Movies You Didn’t Know Were Based On Books
We all love books, and some of us may also love movies. Personally, I’m a huge fan of both. I get very excited when I find out a movie that I love was based on a book. So for today’s blog, I decided to make a list of movies you probably didn’t know were based on books!
- Howl’s Moving Castle
You’ve probably heard about Studio Ghibli. It is a Japanese animation film studio and it has released a lot of amazing movies. Amongst their most famous, there’s Howl’s Moving Castle. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, it was released in 2004 and it was even nominated for an Academy Award. What many don’t know is that the film was based on a book by the same.
The novel was written by Diana Wynne Jones and published in 1986. The book is a fantasy masterpiece and it is the first novel in a series of books called Howl Series. If you enjoyed the Ghibli movie, you should definitely read the book.
Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!
2. Jurassic Park
Oh yeah, the iconic movie directed by the brilliant Steven Spielberg was based on a book written by Michael Crichton. In fact, the book version actually originated as a screenplay about a student who recreated a dinosaur, but he decided to change the story later on. Originally, the story was told from the point of view of a child, but Crichton changed it as everyone who read the draft felt it would be better if told by an adult.
The book was first published in 1990 and it was adapted into a movie three years later. The book’s sequel, The Lost World, was also adapted by Spielberg into a film in 1997.
Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!
3. The Princess Bride
Everyone loves the movie The Princess Bride. If someone says they don’t, they’re clearly lying. It is a beautiful movie, with so many funny moments that we can all remember. Well, this iconic movie is based on a book written by William Goldman. It was first published in 1973. The book combines elements of comedy, adventure, fantasy, drama, romance, and fairy tales.
After being adapted into a movie, the book gained a lot of recognition. It has also been adapted into a musical that Goldman himself worked on.
Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!
4. Stardust
This may not be a very popular movie, but the book it was based on has certainly gained a lot of recognition. Neil Gaiman published this fantasy novel in 1997. It was first published as a “story book with pictures”. It wasn’t until 1999 that Neil Gaiman published it in hardback without the illustrations.
The story follows Tristan, a young man from the fictional town of Wall in Great Britain. Wall is a town on the border of the magical fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. Tristan enters the magical world to collect a fallen star to give to his beloved Victoria, in return for her hand in marriage. He collects the star who, to his surprise, is a woman named Yvaine. Witches and the Princes of Stormhold are also hunting for Yvaine. Meanwhile, Tristan tries to get her back to Wall with him before Victoria’s birthday, the deadline of her offer.
Since the novel’s publication, it has become a famous book amongst Young Adult Fantasy Literature.
Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!
5. A Monster Calls
This is one is a fairly recent film. It came out in 2016 and it is very closely based on a book of the same name. Its good adaptation is probably due to the author of the book writing the script of the film. Patrick Ness wrote the novel and published it in 2011. The book, in turn, was based on the original idea by Siobhan Dowd.
Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother’s illness. He is repeatedly visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. Dowd was terminally ill with cancer herself when she started the story and died before she could write it.
Buy this book and support local bookstores in doing so!
If any of these books caught your attention, or you’re looking for more, check out our Bookshop. We’ve made a list with various titles for you to shop and in doing so, you help local bookstores!
