One of the rules of life is:  the book is always better than the movie.  Well, I have found the exception to this rule.  We started reading Ella Enchanted by Gail Levine in July.  We have just finished it.  It is now the middle of August.  This book does not have many pages.  It does not have big words but for some reason, it took us forever to get through this book.  I am so disappointed to announce that I did not overly like this book.  For shame!   How can that be?  Well, I think the reason lies in the fact that I saw the movie before I read the book. 

     I watched the Ella Enchanted movie two years ago.  I must say that I found it delightful.  I didn't like the ending--neither did Mia, but the cute little ditties that were sung and the humour that wafted throughout the story was my kind of humour.  I can't say anything more except that I thought the movie was cute.

     The book, on the other hand, goes on and on and on.  It didn't really need to go this long.  The story could have been told in 70 pages.  I can tell the story in one paragraph.  Ella is given a fairies' gift that turns out to be a curse.  The gift is obedience.  Ella must obey when anyone gives her an order.  Thus, she has no free will.  This gift, aka curse, brings her into many adventures.  Too many adventures, actually.  Her arch rival, Hattie, figures out the curse and makes her life miserable.  My stomach was in knots everytime Ella was thwarted by Hatttie.  The story wasn't enjoyable to me because I was so worked up about Ella always having to obey Hattie.

     The book fianlly picked up towards the end when the story became Cinderella. Ella, too,  had a wicked step--mother and two evil step-sisters.  Ella, too, went to the ball, 3 nights in a row to get a glimpse of the prince.  She, too, had to leave the ball on the last night at midnight but, alas, she lost her glass slipper.  You know the rest.

     The movie is not at all like the book.  They are two different stories.  Maybe if I had read the book first, I would have liked the book better.  Nah, I don't think so.  I may not have been so disappointed in the book if I had read it first, but I know I would still have liked the movie better.

     We are now moving on to Mary Poppins.  Yet another book in which I have seen the movie first.  So we will see if the rule of life is broken again.  Stay tuned.

Comments

Posted by MarlaMom