'A Discombobulated Mess': 19 Book Adaptations That Broke The Hearts Of Fans
Last month, we shared what redditors considered to be the most disappointing book adaptations, and a little while later, we followed up with the (very strong, in some cases) thoughts and feelings of the BuzzFeed readership on the subject. But there were still scores to settle and lost opportunities to mourn, so once again, here are 19 book adaptations that make the BuzzFeed commenters say, “Oh god, why? Why?!”
Responses may have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
"I’m so disappointed with 'The School for Good and Evil' movie. When I first started the book series, they’d already been teasing a major film, and I was so excited! Fast-forward 10 years, and we’ve got a pile of crap wrapped in Netflix packaging. I couldn’t even finish it. I only watched 20 minutes of it and 'noped' right out of there."
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
"I’m still ANGRY about 'Queen of the Damned.' ENRAGED."
Amazon / Courtesy Everett Collection
"It's not over yet, but 'The Wheel of Time' series on Amazon straight up pissed me off in the last episode. The showrunner is a self-proclaimed 'megafan' of the books, but he broke the KEY RULE of the magic system in the books in the last episode of the season. I can forgive all the other changes but not that. Total mess."
New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection
"It’s frankly criminal that 'Inkheart' wasn’t included in this list."
Magnolia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Serena' by Ron Rash. One of the best books I’ve ever read and certainly the best ending ever. They completely changed the movie so that it wasn’t even the same story."
Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'The Other Boleyn Girl.' The movie left out so many details, but that’s to be expected. I’ve learned now to read the book AFTER watching the movie!"
ARC Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism.' The book showed an adventure journey, but then, in the film, they lost the plot."
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
"Not a movie adaptation, but '13 Reasons Why.' I read the book a year prior to the Netflix adaptation. Once I saw the Netflix show, it broke my heart. He was seeing ghosts and stuff. Everything seemed sensationalized. What the hell?! The book was extremely calm, touching, raw, and heartbreaking. The TV show was just B.S., and it makes me sad that most people will never get the actual story, because they won‘t read the book."
Walt Disney Co. / courtesy Everett Collection
"'A Wrinkle in Time!' Adored the books by Madeleine L’Engle but Hollywood disappointed me with the movie."
Aviron Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection
"Okay, so 'After' isn‘t the best book, but it was still a big part of my teenage years. The movie was AWFUL. They literally jumped to the last quarter of the book within 15 minutes."
—kg73
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Eat Pray Love' is at the top of my list. The book was so raw and emotional, and the movie was more of a lighthearted rom-com. I love Julia Roberts, but she was not an effective casting choice."
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
"Putting this out there: 'Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.' Not only did they merge the first three or four books into a discombobulated mess, it changed up a lot of character developments in order to do it. It's enjoyable enough if you don't think about it, but it's disappointing that such awesome books didn't get the proper film treatment they deserved. (Side note: Lovely animation and stunning visuals were the saving grace of that film.)"
MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Blood & Chocolate.' They literally just kept the character names and the werewolves and said, 'Screw the rest of it. Never mind the entire metaphor that the title represented; let's make it literal and change everything about the story.'"
Lionsgate / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'The DUFF' should be on here. The movie is NOTHING like the book. All they share is the title."
Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Confessions of a Shopaholic!' My favorite book series, but the movie just wasn’t very good. Isla Fisher was great, though."
Warner Bros. Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Ready Player One.' I absolutely adored the book and was stoked for the movie, but within the first five minutes, I was like, 'WTF is this?!' They changed key plot points and just messed up so much. It’s especially upsetting that Ernest Cline even worked on the movie! I’d have been less upset if it had been 'based on the novel "Ready Player One"' with the movie having a different title. But when you call it the same thing as the book, I expect the storyline to at least remain relatively intact."
Open Road Films / courtesy Everett Collection
"'The Host.' I am CONVINCED the screenwriter hasn't even cracked the cover."
CBS / Courtesy Everett Collection
"'Under the Dome.' To be fair, I only gave it a few episodes before totally giving up. The book is complex, nuanced, and has a super drawn-out sense of dread and danger. The show had none of that. AND in the book, Angie is murdered within the first 50 pages. She lasts the whole first season of the show, which just means her character is shoved in and makes no sense. And the guy who kills her isn't even the same person in the show."
CBS Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
