From visionary director Tim Burton, and based upon the best-selling novel, comes an unforgettable motion picture experience. When Jake discovers clues to a mystery that spans alternate realities and times, he uncovers a secret refuge known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As he learns about the residents and their unusual abilities, Jake realizes that safety is an illusion, and danger lurks in the form of powerful, hidden enemies. Jake must figure out who is real, who can be trusted, and who he really is.
When they first announced they were creating Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children into a movie I was a little hesitant. I felt the story and it's heart would not be easily translated into film. However, I was excited to hear that Tim Burton was directing it, this story would work perfectly with his old style. While this movie might not be Burton's comeback it is a step in the right direction. And better than most of his current movies.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children starts with Jake, Asa Butterfield, witnessing his grandfather being murdered by a monster. After some encouragement from his therapist, Allison Janney, Jake and his father, Chris O'Dowd, go on a vacation to the island in Wales where his grandfather grew up in a children's home. Jake's grandfather used to tell him stories of the children in the children's home and all of their unusual powers, complete with old photographs of all of them. After arriving to find the children's home destroyed in World War II, Jake soon learns all of his grandfather's stories were real and the children still all live in the home in a time loop, hiding from the monster that killed his grandfather.
The movie deviates from the book quite a bit. I understood the changes to the story because it would be very hard to understand in film. However, I was a bit confused at all of the changes to the characters. They switched Emma and Olive's powers while aging Olive and making a majority of the teenager characters young children. I do not know why they felt that being lighter than air would make for a more interesting main character than creating fire balls. What is cooler than fighting monsters with fire? Overall, I felt the movie had the same heart as the books, which is what is really important. The cast did a great job balancing and bringing all the characters to life. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it for fans of the book and Tim Burton's older films.
The characters in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children are based off of old trick photographs that the author, Ransom Riggs,'s collects. Check out this video to find out more about his hobby:
I haven't read the book, but I have it on my iPad and mean to read it as soon as I can. I thought this post was great and made me even more excited for the film!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that this is not a film appropriate for kids. Would you concur?
ReplyDeleteI agree that it could be too scary for younger children. There were some very young children in the theater when I went and I could tell they quickly lost interest in the movie, probably because they could not easily follow it, and they were running in and out of the theater during the intense scenes. I believe the PG-13 rating is appropriate.
DeleteI agree. I read the book and going tnhe plot was already a bit extreme but I could tone it down a bit in my mind so it wasn't that big a deal but the movie was simply over the top. :/
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