Is anyone else's kid mad about the Percy Jackson movie?

[kristilew]

DD12 and her bff are HUGE fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson novels. They've read them all about 8 times and spend countless hours imagining themselves citizens of Camp Half Blood. They have been counting down to the movie release for months.

Today there was no school, so I took them to the movie. They were so upset with the changes made to the story! Apparently pretty big plot points were discarded or changed. Characters were not as expected, and many were left out completely, even though they are essential in later plotlines. Also, elements from future books were introduced in this installment.

Did anyone else have disappointed fans?

 

[Ember]

Well, I have no kids, but this 29 year old was right annoyed at the movie!

 

[Belle Ella]

I'm a huge fan of the books and I wish a lot of elements could have been left in - but they were trying to make a stand alone film because there was no guarantee of a sequel. Everything that was left out is something that could easily be brought in if/when a sequel is made. It happens with movies. At least the books remain unchanged.

 

[Jennasis]

I've heard as much from many sources.

 

[Feralpeg]

Unfortunately, it is very hard to turn a book into a movie and keep all the details. I also really love the Percy Jackson books, but wasn't disappointed with the movie. Without giving away too much, I was a little surprised at the loss of a major player from the book in the movie, but it didn't really hurt the movie. They did an admirable job keep the base story in place. In fact, I have hardly seen any movie made from a book that sticks exactly to the book storyline. It would be too expensive and would require a really long movie. I enjoyed the movie.

 

[abdmom]

I took dd11 today. I think she read the book several times. She finished the whole series over Christmas. She liked the movie, but she says "it would have been a whole lot better with the other scenes and details".

 

[kristilew]

In fact, I have hardly seen any movie made from a book that sticks exactly to the book storyline. It would be too expensive and would require a really long movie. I enjoyed the movie.

Well, yeah, but they changed who the villian was, changed the ages of the characters drastically, basically wrote a new story....

As an adult I understand all this, but feel bad for the kids. Especially the ones raised on Harry Potter, which I think did such a great job of recreating the feel of the books, even though they had to cut a lot of extraneous stuff.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My 13yodd refuses to see the movie over the plot changes. She is ranting to me right now as I asked her.

 

[goofy's friends]

Yes! Very disappointed at our house!! Huge fans and the plot was completely different than the book. They changed it too much in our opinions!

 

[Belle Ella]

My 13yodd refuses to see the movie over the plot changes. She is ranting to me right now as I asked her.

Which I find counter-productive. Attendance will play a role in whether or not the sequels are made which would give the opportunity to get back what was left out.

 

[Duckyiam71]

I was listening to a review on NPR and the reviewer stated...they had to change the age of the boy to widen the audience. He said they needed to make other changes as well all in the name of audience appeal. My DS10 heard this and still went. He liked it alright but was dissappointed with the according to him "major story changes."

 

[Belle Ella]

I was listening to a review on NPR and the reviewer stated...they had to change the age of the boy to widen the audience. He said they needed to make other changes as well all in the name of audience appeal. My DS10 heard this and still went. He liked it alright but was dissappointed with the according to him "major story changes."

I have a feeling the age change also had a little something to do with Columbus' previous work with 12 year old on HP. It does add tougher challenges to production.

 

[Feralpeg]

Well, yeah, but they changed who the villian was, changed the ages of the characters drastically, basically wrote a new story....

As an adult I understand all this, but feel bad for the kids. Especially the ones raised on Harry Potter, which I think did such a great job of recreating the feel of the books, even though they had to cut a lot of extraneous stuff.

Yes, they did leave out a character that was a villain and they did change the age of the characters. Again, that was most likely due to expense. They still got the main idea of the story across using the other villain of the story. Aging the kids just makes it easier to film. There are many restrictions to the use of child actors in film. They were able to have the kids drive in the film, which definitely moved the plot along easier than if they had used younger kids. The main idea of the story was still the same. Percy must go on a dangerous quest to find what he holds most dear and save the world.

Actually, a lot of stuff was left out of several of the Harry Potter movies. Goblet of Fire comes to mind. It was a very long book and things had to be left out to keep the cost of making the film reasonable.

Sorry you kids were disappointed. I would have preferred to see the movie just as the book was written. It just wouldn't be profitable for the studio and that is what it is all about.

 

[luvmy3]

My 13yodd refuses to see the movie over the plot changes. She is ranting to me right now as I asked her.

My dd too. We were supposed to go today but now she wants to wait and hear from her friends who saw it to see if its worth it.

 

[aprilgail2]

We saw it today and liked it--BUT...I did not even know it WAS a book s I can't compare the two. I know that I get pissed seeing the Harry Potter movies and all the things they change in them form the book so its just as well I didn't read the Percy Jackson book before seeing the movie.

 

[luvsJack]

We are actually doing this one backwards (as opposed to HP and Twilight), seeing the movie and then went and bought the book. LOVED the movie. DD is reading the book now, so we will see.

I know with HP, we learned just to look forward to the movie as an almost separate entity than the book because of changes. Besides the book is always better than the movie.

 

[debbi801]

My 14 year old was furious when she got home this afternoon. She could not believe how much the movie did not follow the book plot. she felt that other than the character names, there was nothing in the book that was the same.

 

[AustinTink]

I know with HP, we learned just to look forward to the movie as an almost separate entity than the book because of changes. Besides the book is always better than the movie.

Same here. My son knew going in it would be different. He liked it and will be seeing it again next weekend with a group of friends.

 

[Experiment_626]

Eh. Books aren't movies and movies aren't books. What works just fine in one medium may fall flat (or, in the case of movies, be impossible to portray at all, no matter how large the effects budget) in the other. When a book is "made into a movie," it's an adaptation, not a transformation.

 

[maidenfairy]

I saw the movie this weekend with a group of 8yr olds and they loved it. But none of us have read the book. DH immediatly bought the book for our DS to read, because he enjoyed the flick.

Also we went into the movie with low expectations, due to bad reviews we read. Pleasantly surprised.