Never quite as it seems
I intensely dislike Disney’s A Little Mermaid, while I love the Hans Christian Anderson version. I remember that I traumatized a student once by telling her that the unnamed mermaid does not marry the prince, but dies. I’m not sure that she’s forgiven me yet, and I’ve had my niece ban me from telling her about books that were made into movies because I might cause her the same shock. It’s true that I, like many other members of the book-loving public, am often disappointed by the film adaptations of my favourites. I understand, at least intellectually, that a book cannot be perfectly translated into a visual medium, and that there is a need to edit and adapt to fit the medium, running length, audience appeal, and a range of other factors. I accept that my tastes may not be the same as the general public or even others who are generally similar to me (my friends will tell you that I am never one to go to a “chick flick” with all the angst that accompanies the storyline). However,