I've got a new blog post up. It's about the 2012 animated movie Rise of the Guardians. (The reason I'm doing it this week is because the story takes place around Easter, an unusual choice, as I note, since, unlike Christmas, Easter isn't really that big of a deal for secular people.) I don't know that the movie itself would be of interest to Narniawebbers but I ended up working a quote from C. S. Lewis (specifically from The Screwtape Letters) into my blog post so I thought some of you might appreciate that.  

Animation Station: Rise of the Guardians Is Saved by Its Ending. | The Adaptation Station.com

Happy Easter. 

I did a special post on my blog for Mother's Day. In it, I looked back on four great mother characters from movies I've written about on there in the past. 

An Adaptation Station Mother’s Day | The Adaptation Station.com

Here are the movies. (If you haven't any of them yet, note that my blog post doesn't hold back any spoilers, either for the movies themselves or the books on which they're based.)

• Peter Pan (2003)
• Freaky Friday (1976)
• Little Women (2019)
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

Speaking of live action Disney comedies from the 1970s, like Freaky Friday, I recently watched The North Avenue Irregulars (1979.) (It also stars Barbara Harris, Patsy Kelly and Ruth Buzzi, all of whom were in Freaky Friday too.) The movie is actually based on a true story about a minister and a group of church ladies who went undercover to help the US government take down the Mob. I imagine the real people involved were highly offended by the movie because of how ridiculously it portrays them. But I had a fun time watching The North Avenue Irregulars and if you enjoy this type of comedy, I'd recommend it to you. 

I recently watched (and rewatched!) the movie Flow. It was a highly emotional experience for me every time. However, one of the things it made me think of was Narnia and how much the look of the movie might be almost Narnian in concept. I am sure there was no big intention on the part of the film's creator, but still I kept thinking of Narnia which lead me to start rereading the Chronicles after an almost 20 year absence. (Yes, I'm old). 

Did anyone here see the movie and think the same things? 

Some friends visited yesterday for an evening fire, and afterwards, one of them played background music from various movies. One of them was the end title for Apollo 13, and I was reminded again of just how good that movie is - and this from a space nerd that was glued to TV and radio (about all we had back then) for the latest news during the Apollo program. Sure, we can nitpick a few details, but it's one I still like to watch.

I still remember being in a theater way back when (for a movie I've since forgotten), when a trailer for that movie came out. I recall wondering, "How can they make a movie of that?" But I saw it in the theater when it first came out and was astonished.

Over on the Books thread, I mentioned that I was reading J. M. Barrie's works other than Peter Pan and @valiantarcher asked about stagings of his plays. This isn't exactly the same thing, but I recently published a blog in which I wrote about non-Peter Pan movie adaptations of Barrie, most notably The Admirable Crichton (1957.) 

Adaptation Station Blog Posts That Were Not to Be | The Adaptation Station.com

In the same post, I also wrote a little about Hallmark Entertainment's 1999 Alice in Wonderland, one of my childhood favorites. In general, I really enjoy a lot of adaptations that Hallmark Entertainment did of classic fantasy stories in the 90s and early 2000s. (cf. Gulliver's Travels (1996), The Odyssey (1997), A Christmas Carol (1999), Arabian Nights (2000), Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001), Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairy Tale (2003.) ) I'd love to see a Narnia adaptation done in their spirit. 

For those who know me, you all will be shocked to learn that I actually watched a new-to-me movie.  

I, like very many others, burned out on the Marvel series a few years ago. While each installment is highly entertaining, when you take a step back each one is pretty much the same. Once Endgame came out and the industry retired most of my favorite characters/actors, I bowed out. 

But for some reason the trailer for the Thunderbolts* caught my attention and I was intrigued. I had a pretty good idea of the direction the movie was going to take. In spite of that, my husband and I watched it a couple nights ago and even though I was not at all surprised at how the movie ended, I still very much enjoyed it. It certainly ranked high on the list of Marvel movies I've seen, and far more poignant than most others. 

On a side note, as a child of the 80s and 90s, I have to confess that actor Bill Pullman may or may not have been a bit of a childhood crush (especially thanks to While You Were Sleeping). So seeing his son Lewis Pullman, who looks so very much like his father, even sharing the same mannerisms, is really entertaining. I guess it also means that I'm old now. LOL (I also think it's funny that the two movies I've seen LP in, he plays a geeky character named Bob...???? )

I recently saw The Court Jester which was great! Not only was it really funny but I also found it genuinely suspenseful in its way. I'd recommend it to fans of The Princess Bride. It was interesting to see Angela Lansbury in a role when she was younger. I'm more familiar with her from when she was older. I'd seen Danny Kaye in some things before and thought he was fine but not until I saw this movie do I really understand why he was considered a star. I guess he just needed the right script.

I also recently revisited The BFG (2016.) I know that movie was a gigantic flop and it's not for everyone, but I love it! It's a great movie to watch when you can't sleep at night since it makes me feel like a little kid being told a bedtime story. 

Speaking of Disney movies, on my blog about adaptations, I recently did some posts about The Black Cauldron, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and how they adapt their source materials for better or worse. I know Coracle and Ajaiken hate the latter movie and what it does with the books, so I hope they forgive me for giving it a positive, though not uncritical review. I don't want to start a fight or anything, but I call 'em as I see 'em. 

How Bad of an Adaptation is The Black Cauldron? | The Adaptation Station.com

How Good of an Adaptation is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh? | The Adaptation Station.com

@col-klink

The Court Jester - that brings back memories! Was the pilled with the poison  in the chalice with the palace, the vessel with the pessal or the flagon with the dragon? Haven’t seen it in over thirty years, but I thought it was hilarious as a child.