Film adaptations can be either great or terrible, depending on who’s in control of the project. more often than not, the movies made based off books are actually pretty good, though if you ask a bookworm… the book was better. Obviously.

Still, that doesn’t mean that film adaptations aren’t good. The main reason I feel many aren’t as good as the book is because of time constraints. Films can’t possibly fit the entirety of a book into them in only 2 hours. That’s probably why some are now deciding to go with Netflix series rather than films so they can fit more of the book in. Smart, but sometimes a 2 hour glimpse at our favorite characters is all we need.

Unless it’s Harry Potter.

I personally like seeing characters come to life on screen for the most part. Sometimes I find out I imagined the characters differently, which can throw me off a little, but 9 times out of 10 the characters’ looks are pretty spot on. So for a bit of fun, I thought I’d share my favorite film adaptations that I’ve seen over the years.

Harry Potter

I mean, yes, a lot of details from the books were left out in the adaptations. Again, consider the time contraints and the fact that each book got bigger as they went on. There was so much that hardcore Harry Potter fans would have loved to see in the films (Winky, Peeves, backstories, etc.) but with only two hours per film… there’s no way they could have fit it all. Still, I think the movies are pretty great!

All the Bright Places

Talk about a film doing the book justice! I was so excited when this one finally hit Netflix and watched it the day of release (something I hardly ever do). I thought the actors did an excellent job of bringing Finch and Violet to life and the movie itself was amazing.

The Outsiders

The amount of talent in this film is what makes it a great film. The story stayed pretty spot-on to the book, which wasn’t too hard since the book is under 200 pages long. They definitely chose the right actors for each role, making you fall in love with all the boys and tear up in the right places.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

A classic, and made into not one, but three movies! Obviously the classic cartoon is the best, as the Grinch is portrayed as he’s written, but I do love the Jim Carrey live-action film, and the newest animated one is pretty cute.

Skipping Christmas (Christmas With the Kranks)

This might be an instance where I like the movie more than the book, but with comedic geniuses like Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, you really can’t blame me. The book is cute and a very quick read, but Allen and Curtis really bring the story to life (along with the other characters) and make it a fun holiday movie to watch with the family!

What are some of your favorite book-to-movie adaptations?