This article will be a response to the new Mrs. Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, which I have now seen. This article will also be a response to my past article I posted before I saw the movie.
Since the last article, I have also read all of the Peculiar series, which will make my link of articles conclusive on how the movie was portrayed.
Warning, spoilers ahead.
Now that the Mrs. Peregrines movie has finally come out, directed by Tim Burton, I am finally able to conclude my original open thoughts towards Burton's choice. I still love Burton and his films, but the movie was simply just based on the book rather than being an exact portrayal of the book. The ending of the movie and how the wights were defeated were not even remotely close to the book ending. However, I understand Burton's changes.
Rigg's novels were just too detailed to include everything in the movie, and the ending of the first book leads into the second book, and based on how he ended it, Burton clearly did not want to make another Peregrine's movie.
Also, I am no longer disturbed in the switch of Olive and Emma's powers since it seemed to fit the movie's storyline; the movie itself was a bit rushed, but overall a decent watch. I loved how Enoch was given to Olive as a love interest, since the fate of Hugh and Fiona's relationship is cut short when Fiona is assumed dead, leaving a wound inside Hugh irreplaceable. Both Enoch and Hugh are spared being filled with bitterness, with Enoch finding another aside from Emma, and Hugh being still a young child. Burton's ending, while not accurate, was still very entertaining and quickly got the point across that the children and Mrs. Peregrine do indeed survive and live happily ever after, without the details of the extra two books and added characters of Caul and Bentham to further complicate the film.
If all Burton wanted to make was one film on the novel, then I understand, and he did a decent job with how he composed it all. Burton also used plenty of moments to insert his signature symbols, like animating Enoch's creepy (not clay) dolls, the boots that held Emma down (very dark and gothic), the eye balls being eaten and not souls, and many more. All in all, I appreciated Burton's film. Alas, it was just that and not a perfect portrayal of Rigg's books. However, standing as a Tim Burton film, it is a success in my eyes and I would recommend the film to those who haven't read the books. I would also recommend the film to those who have read the books, but ask them not to nitpick and obsess over the discrepancies, it would be enjoyed better that way.
