From Page To Screen (29) Percy Jackson & The Lighting Thief


For this weeks From Page To Screen (formerly Book To Movie Monday) I have decided to cover The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1).


First Let's Discuss The Book. Below Is The Cover:

Now for a little back story in case some of you aren't familiar with the Novel. The Lightning Thief is a novel written by Author Rick Riordan. The Lightning Thief was published July 1,2005 by Miramax Books. Author Rick Riordan originally created the series at the request of his son. A former Greek Mythology teacher, Riordan began narrating new tales featuring Greek heroes to his son nightly before bed and thus Percy Jackson was born. The book has gone on to sell over 1.2 million copies and has won several literary awards.


Let's look at some of the characters now shall we.

Main Protagonists

Percy Jackson- Percy is described as being 12 years old and suffering from ADHD and Dyslexia. After being expelled from his 6th school he finds out that he is the son of Poseidon and a Demigod. After being attacked by a fury he is sent to Camp Half-Blood to be protected along with his best friend who as it turns out is a Satyr who has been watching over him for many years.

Annabeth Chase- Percy meets Annabeth after arriving at Camp Half-Blood. He later finds out she is the daughter of the Goddess Athena. Annabeth has a love of architecture and is great at planning strategies which is why she is Captain of the camps capture-the-flag team.

Grover Underwood- Percy's best friend and protector, Grover met Percy at Yancey Academy and spends much of the year watching over him. Grover is later found out to be a Satyr.





Major Differences Between The Book and the Movie

In the Book Annabeth and Percy are 12 years old.
vs.
In the Movie Annabeth and Percy have been aged up to 16.

In the Book Clarisse is the camp bully.
vs.
In the Movie her character is omitted.

In the Book Percy fights three separate furies on several different occasions.
vs.
In the Movie he only fights one fury, Alecto. Her sisters Megaera and Tisiphone, are never mentioned.

In the Book Persephone is shown spending time with her mother since it is Summer.
vs.
In the Movie Persephone is being held hostage by Hades.

In the Book Medusa is fought by looking at her through a glass ball.
vs.
In the Movie Medusa is fought by looking at her through an I-pod touch.

In the Book Grover isn't crippled though he does have a slight limp in mortal form.
vs.
In the Movie Grover needs crutches to walk and is rarely shown running.

In the Book the only Gods shown are Dionysus, Ares, Hades, Zeus, Poseidon and Hestia.
vs.
In the Movie Dionysus is removed completely yet Hera, Demeter, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus, and Persephone are added with the above mentioned.

In the Book Hades wears long black robes.
vs.
In the Movie Hades is given the rock star treatment even being jokingly referred to as having Jagger style.

In the Book Hades has contempt for the Gods but makes no move to overthrow them.
vs.
In the Movie Hades wants to use Zeus's bolt to overthrow him and become King of the Gods.

In the Book Hellhounds are described as being large and demonic.
vs.
In the Movie they are rodent sized and only understand Greek.

In the Book the Gods may interact with offspring if they desire to.
vs.
In the Movie Zeus commands no God or Goddess shall interact with offspring even if they wish to.

In the Book Kronos speaks to Percy in his dreams recruiting him to join his war against the Gods.
vs.
In the Movie Percy has no dreams and only occasionally hears Poseidon guiding him.

In the Book Percy is shown the many realms that inhabit the Underworld such as the Elysium fields, Asphodel, Tartarus, and the Fields of Punishment.
vs.
In the Movie the Underworld is depicted close to the Christian version of hell (fire, brimstone, etc...). No different areas are shown and it's made clear all lives placed in the underworld end in suffering and tragedy.

The above mentioned are the most significant changes I felt between the book and movie though their are many,many, more that I left unlisted. I guess the question that remains is which do I prefer? This week my answer is easy, while I liked the aged up Percy and the visual aspects of the film the book is just so much better. Definitely see the movie first and then read the book. If you go against my advice (Don't know why you'd want to) and read the book first be prepared to find yourself annoyed at all the changes as they are blatantly obvious if you've read the book beforehand.

Want to see for yourself? Check out the Trailer below!


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Well that about wraps up this weeks From Page To Screen. Have a recommendation for an upcoming From Page To Screen, let me know in the comments below! Have you read the book or watched the film? Which did you like better? Why? Whose your favorite Greek God or Goddess?

Leave your answers in the comments below, I love to read your responses.Like what you see? Please share!

Comments

  1. I loved this book series the movie on its own was okay but compared to the book it was horrible!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely, way to much creative licensing was used for the film. I think the director had to much vision after doing the Harry Potter films. Just my opinion though :)

      Delete
  2. I never read the books or saw the movie, but I can appreciate the detail that went into these observations. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never started this series, but I quite enjoyed the movie. And though that means I have no basis for comparison, if I enjoyed the movie, I'd probably really like the books, right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have seen the movie so now I can go read the book :)

    ReplyDelete

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