Old Books, New Readers discussion

Movies to books and similar works
Examples:
Lion King v. Hamlet
Jane Eyre v. Wuthering Heights
Grendel v. Beowulf
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo v. The Disney version

etc...

Gandalf vs. Dumbledor? Hahaha Just kidding :D

Christa - Ron Paul 2012 wrote: "Gandalf vs. Dumbledor? Hahaha Just kidding :D"

lol I haven't read Lord of the Rings yet and I'm not a fan of the movies.

Heh. I have a good one. RAPTOR RED, a novel by paleontologist Robert Bakker, is the story of a young velociraptor in search of a mate. She meets an unsuitable one (parasites, ew!) and then a much more attractive specimen whom she spurns. Unfortunately then her sister becomes injured; as Red cares for her both female dinosaurs are in peril! To Red's astonishment the attractive guy comes back, with, OMG! Something dead! It is a present. She and the sister eat it, and recover their strength. Red accepts the suit of the attractive male and they head off, claw in claw, into a romantic Juriassic sunset.
You recognize the story, yes? It's PRIDE & PREJUDICE, with reptiles!

Comparison:
'The Wizard of Earthsea' by Ursula LeGuin and 'The House with the Clock in its Walls' by John Bellairs. Is that too obscure? In both, a young man dabbles in magic and releases evil into the world.
Contrast:
'Twilight' and 'Dracula'. Vampires who play baseball vs. vampires who do not play baseball, lol!.
One my young daughter pointed out to me:
'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte and 'Beauty' by Robin McKinley. Well, any tale of Beauty and the Beast, when you think of it. Woman transforms and frees man from curse/rough exterior.
Lord Peter Whimsey vs. Hercule Poirot. Vs. Sherlock Holmes. :)
For that matter, since I haven't included movies yet, the contrast between the Robert Downey Jr version of Sherlock Holmes with the Basil Rathbone movies decades ago.
Just like Robin McKinley has 'Beauty' and 'Rose daughter', Ray Bradbury has 'Dandelion Wine' and 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'. McKinley's books are retellings of the Beauty and the Beast story. Bradbury's two novels deal with boys living in Americana who face the dark and light sides of the magic of life.