Book vs. Movie: The Beastly Movie Trailer

At the prodding of my students* I read Alex Flinn's Beastly over winter break.   I knew it was set to release as a movie in 2011, and I always try to read the book before I see the movie, so it was perfect timing.  Overall, I found it to be a spectacular modern take on the story of Beauty and the Beast and thoroughly enjoyed the incorporation of chat room interludes featuring other fairytale favorites airing their troubles between sections of the novel.

This month's rotating display in the library features books that have been made into movies, and I included both Beastly and I Am Number Four in the "Coming Soon" section.  A student who was browsing the display noted to me that she'd seen the Beastly trailer and asked about the tattoos on Beast's face.  Tattoos?  Wha?  Turns out the story Alex Flinn wrote just wasn't good enough for the big screen and odd and completely unnecessary changes have been made in the film version.  Why, oh why must Hollywood do this?



Here are the unnecessary changes I found in just the two and a half minute trailer alone:

* The witch is blond (not to mention played by one of the Olsen twins) and thin and beautiful, instead of, well, not any of that.
* Beast is not furry, but is instead completely hairless and has weird tattoos (or something) all over his body
* Beast rescues Beauty from danger and takes her into captivity instead of taking her as his prisoner in exchange for not calling the cops on her attempted-home-robbery-druggie-father
* Beast grows a rose garden (on his roof instead of in his yard) for Beauty once she arrives, instead of growing it for himself, prior to her arrival

And yet...and yet all of my anger over these changes dissolved when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Neil Patrick Harris as the tutor.  Swoon!

*I'd been planning to read it anyway, but when it was delivered to my faculty mailbox with a note requesting I read it as soon as possible, how could I decline?


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