Book VS Movie

Book V.S Movie 

 The book I chose to compare and contrast with the movie is the book Holes by Louis Sacher.  Though the book and the movie are different, the movie did a pretty good job at following the story line and was actually done well. A lot of the fans of the book Holes are fans of the movie as well. The reason I chose Holes was because I really enjoyed reading the book as a kid, and I loved the movie when it came out! For me this was the first time that I actually liked a movie that was done after a book. Here is the story plot for those of you who haven't read the book.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holes_(novel) Here is also a trailer for the movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1peixRfNzo&feature=related

•  The first difference that stood out was Stanley's weight. In the book Stanley was over weight while in the movie Stanley was shown as skinny. This is a huge difference considering in the book it talks about Stanley's insecurities about his weight, and it plays an important role with his character. 

• In the book Stanley was in school when he was arrested while in the movie he was walking down the street. 

• In the book Stanley's father is trying to figure out a way to recycle sneakers when he comes up with sploosh, while in the movie Stanley's father is trying to invent a way to get rid of foot odor. 

• In the book Sam and Kate are caught kissing by a girl in the town named Hattie Parker, while in the movie they are seen by Trout instead. 

• In the book it keeps it a mystery why Stanley is at camp Greenlake until around the second chapter. While in the movie it explains why he's there right away, and does not begin with him at camp Greenlake. 

   

         In the movie Holes there are mainly minor changes from the book. The book uses more detail to describe things and situations, but this is expected to change in most movies that are based on books. In the movie there is one large change, which for me had the potential to ruin the movie and then there are other changes that are important but minor.

    The largest difference between the book and the movie to me would be Stanley's weight. Don't get me wrong I think Shia Labeouf is a good actor for the role of Stanley but he's skinny. I don't think that Stanley's weight was necessary for the producer to change at all. In the book Stanley's weight is huge issue for him, and as the book progresses Stanley becomes more confident about himself, and his weight as well. I think that this was a very important part of the book that should not have been left out of the movie. In my opinion the only reason that the producer made this choice was so that Stanley would be more of an appealing character in the movie, this was purely a superficial Hollywood change. 

                The second change that is noticeable in the movie is the way it starts. In the movie it immediately shows why Stanley is arrested and sent to camp Greenlake. In the book it starts with Stanley describing camp Greenlake, but you have no idea why he is actually there until around the second chapter. In the book this makes it more interesting because it grabs your attention, you want to know why Stanley is in such a horrible place and what he did to be there. In the movie they grab your attention with the actual arrest. I think the producer chose to do this in order to make the film more exciting and make the reason Stanley was in camp Greenlake more obvious and clear and less mysterious.

     The next change that was noticeable in the book was that Stanley was arrested in school, in the book,while in the movie it shows Stanley being arrested on the street. In the movie the arrest happens immediately because the shoes literally land on Stanley, while in the book he is arrested later in class. I think the producer changed this in an effort to save time, that's why in the movie the arrest happens instantly, though I think being arrested in school in the book demonstrated the situation being more of a shock for Stanley. However in the deleted scenes of the movie there was a scene that showed Stanley being arrested in school. The next change that occurs in the movie has to do with Stanley's father and his invention. In the Movie Stanley's father is trying to invent a way to eliminate foot odor when he discovers a solution that finally works. In the book Stanley's father is trying to invent a way to recycle shoes when he  accidentally invents a foot odor eliminator. I think that the producer made this change in order to make the story line in the movie flow better. Its easier to explain Stanley's father finally inventing what he has always wanted to, than to show him come up with foot odor eliminator while trying to find a way to recycle sneakers. Although in the book it makes Stanley's wacky father seem even more different.

        Another change is in the book is that Sam and Kate are caught kissing by a girl in the town named 

     Though in the beginning I said the movie was well done, I did want to point out some of the more obvious changes, and give my opinion on why I think the producers chose to make the decisions they did, whether they were positive or negative.