You know when you watch a movie that was a book first, how the movie just completely ruins the book? Well, maybe that’s true nine times out of 10. But not always. Because sometimes, movies are actually better than the books that inspired them. These adaptations may not be the best films of all time. But whether the source material is a classic or trash, some stories are just better on the screen. With a little VFX magic, some poetic cinematography, or a script that expands on the source material, these are the top movies that are better than the book.
Where The Wild Things Are
Now don’t think for one second that I’m disparaging Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book, which is and will always be an absolute treasure. However, Spike Jonze’s adaptation – which he worked with Sendak to bring to the screen – takes the source material and goes way, way beyond. In addition to being visually breathtaking, the emotionally explicit film is perhaps the best movie ever made about a child’s experience of family and divorce.