Maybe you watched a movie or show and thought, “Hm, this reminds me of a book.” Then you do some research and you discover that the move or show in question is, in fact, an adaptation.
There are two main kinds: inspired by and based on. While the former is meant to be a looser version, the latter should (attempt to) be more faithful to the source material.
For example, Gone Girl is based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name. Other mentions off the top of my head include Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, Ian McEwan’s Atonement, and the many Agatha Christie adaptations. These are all pretty faithful, even if they might remove one character or a scene.
There are others that still remain faithful to the plot and characters, but the setting might change. (I’m thinking about Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, although well, adapting such a novel is quite an undertaking, so it’s easier to understand that more things don’t make the final cut).
I’ll skip animations because there are many (Gnomeo and Juliet, The Lion King, various Disney princesses based on or inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and more).
To name a few more that are on the looser side, the amazing 10 Things I Hate About You is based on William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew; O on Othello, and She’s the Man on Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Anyone but You has plenty from Much Ado About Nothing, and, well, the whole ShakespeaRe-told series by the BBC is…that.
Clueless is based on Jane Austen’s Emma and Bride and Prejudice is based on—you guessed it—Pride and Prejudice. Cruel Intentions is based on Les Liaisons dangereuses, while both She’s All That and Pretty Woman (yes, very different movies) are based on Pygmalion.
Where, exactly, the line is drawn between the “based on” and “inspired by” can be a bit subjective.
Netflix’s Persuasion is allegedly based on the novel of the same name by Austen, yet besides the main plot, the characters and tone are so different, I refuse to acknowledge it as such. (Really, just watch the 1995 or 2007 versions. No offense to anyone at Netflix [I guess here go my chances of ever selling my book rights to them for adaptations]).
Sherlock (yes, I know, a TV show) is based on, well, the various Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While they are pretty loose because of the change of setting, one thing annoys me: Irene Adler outsmarted Sherlock. Why was that changed!?
Children of Men is arguably inspired by the novel, given how different many things are—although I once read a comment about someone considering it a companion piece, and I liked the notion.
Easy A is a really loose adaptation of The Scarlett Letter, Hook is inspired by Peter Pan, and of course, there’s the masterpiece that is Shrek, inspired by many stories and characters. (Yes, I know what I wrote earlier about animations, but it’s Shrek. Can you blame me?)
Do you prefer more faithful or looser adaptations?
