Being a bibliophile makes me very cautious of books-on-video. "Curling up" with a television or a computer doesn't sound very cozy, but the reality is, video and CDs are here to stay. I have to admit they can enhance a story if they are well-done.
"Well-done" means that they stay true to the plot and make the characters relevant and meaningful. Many media adaptations cut and slash at the story until it is hardly recognizable. Little wonder that children and young adults often are confused about the way books have been used and misused. When "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien was animated for film, many children turned "thumbs down" on it with the exclamation that it wasn't like the book at all. It wasn't, either.But when "Sarah Plain and Tall" was adapted for video, the author, Patricia MacLachlan, was invited to be a part of the team. She was thrilled with the cast and the final screenplay script. The same was true of the sequel, "Skylark."
That was not the case of the cherished "Charlotte's Web." Author E.B. White fought (and unfortunately lost) the battle to have the book animated by a company that finally bought the rights to do so. Even though he worked over the screenplay for the movie version, annotating it carefully, Hanna-Barbera paid little attention to his suggestions. In his letters and conversations he denied that the cartoonlike film even existed. "The movie of Charlotte is about what I expected it to be. The story is interrupted every few minutes, so that somebody can sing a jolly song. I don't care much for jolly songs. The Blue Hill Fair, which I tried to report faithfully in the book, has become a Disney world, with 76 trombones."
As for Disney and his characters, White said, "He made them dance to his tune and came up with some great creations, like Donald Duck. I preferred to dance to their tune and came up with Charlotte and Wilbur."
White hated the film and refused to allow the audiotape to be read by anyone but himself. His need to have the characters "true to themselves" was his first complaint: "No `motivation' is needed if you remain true to life and true to the spirit of fantasy."
There are very few video adaptations of literature that stay true to life, so few in fact that the Selected Films and Videos Committee of the American Library Association has recently listed its favorites for young-adult viewing based on the highest quality and the most potential interest. It is the concern of the committee that those in classrooms, homes and libraries provide opportunities to compare the video to the written piece so that youngsters will be motivated to read or re-read the story.
The following are some of the novels, screenplays, folk tales and short stories that the committee has recommended:
Ray Bradbury's short stories are often adapted on video. "All in a Day" (Learning Corporation of America films), "And So Died Riabouchinska" (Atlantis Films) and "Skeleton" (Atlantis Films) were considered unique because of the extraordinary portrayal of emotion, suspense and drama.
"Abby My Love" by Hadley Irvin (Allegra Films) reveals Abby's sexual abuse by her father and how she confronts the issue with the help of her friend Chip. The committee felt that "the sensitive handling of the painful topic of incest provide an excellent viewing experience."
Richard Chase's "Ashepet: An American Cinderella" (Davenport Films) is a variant of the traditional Cinderella story . . . and not a Disneyized version. Tom Davenport has done some marvelous work with tales called "From the Brothers Grimm: American Versions of Folktale Classics." Others by the Davenports are "Mutzmag," an Appalachian variant of a Scottish tale, "Molly Whuppy" and "Soldier Jack" (or "The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack") from a collection of Jack Tales.
"Bambinger," based on a short story by Mordecai Richler (National Film Board of Canada), is a tragic portrayal of war and persecution in which a child learns the consequences of violence and suffering.
Two videos dealing with gender issues are "Boys and Girls," from a short story by Alice Munro, and Jack Hodgin's "Concert Stages of Europe" (both by Atlantis Films). In the first, siblings are pitted against each other with father stating, "Never mind, she's just a girl." In the second, a mother wants her son to be a concert pianist. Both videos are terrific for discussion of life-styles and growing up.
"The Day They Came to Arrest the Book," adapted from Nat Hentoff's novel (Ruby-Spears Pictures), describes freedom of speech after the censoring of "Huckleberry Finn." This would be a good choice anytime but especially during Banned Books Week.
"Kiss Me, Petruchio" (New York Shakespeare Festival Productions) is a performance of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" with Meryl Streep as Kate and Raul Julia as Petruchio. This Americanized version will delight everyone.
A video available in English or French is "The Man Who Planted Trees" ("L'Homme Qui Plantait Des Arbres." Distributed by Direct Cinema.) It is based on a story by French author Jean Giono and won an Academy Award in 1987 for Best Animated Short Film. It tells of a man who plants seeds with no recompense, only to see the land grow healthy again - a visual delight.
Another video winning an Academy Award for the Best Short Film (1984) is "A Shocking Accident" (Direct Cinema), based on a novel by Graham Greene.
Marlene Fanta Shyer's "Welcome Home, Jellybean" has been adapted by Coronet/MTI and tells of a family caring for a mentally disabled child.
"Welcome to the Monkey House: All the King's Horses" (Atlantis Films) is adapted from a story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. It gives young adults a taste of what it means to act consistently with one's philosophy. This is a film that certainly could stir up heated discussion.