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Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight (Netflix)

WHY SEEING MY FAVOURITE BOOKS COME TO LIFE ON SCREEN IS EXCITING (BUT DISCONCERTING)

If, like me, you possess a beloved selection of books that you often return to, connecting with the characters in such a way that you can’t imagine anyone else knowing them in the way you do, then you’ll understand the feeling of anticipation mixed with trepidation that greets a new screen adaptation of one of your chosen ones.  If not and I just sound crazy, I’ll try to explain why sometimes a potentially brilliant production can go unwatched in my house for months while I gear myself up for the experience!

I don’t usually have a problem with the story changing (so long as it’s not totally butchered) as I appreciate watching a word for word dramatization of a 90,000 word novel would be frankly dull, so I’m always prepared to be disappointed if certain sub plots are re-worked or left out altogether. Messing with the characters is a whole different ballgame though…

It can be easy to forget that the iconic film Jurassic Park (and the thread of increasingly ridiculous sequels) was born of the fantastic book by Michael Crichton, written in 1990.  While I embraced the film in all of its dinosaury splendor, it took me a while to get over the casting (if I ever did).

Why was Lexi now the older, more sensible sibling?  Why were Alan and Ellie suddenly a couple when they should be student and Professor? What happened to Ed Regis?!  And don’t get me started on the lovely old man Hammond whose monstrous behaviour in the book is spine chilling.

Still, maybe that’s Spielberg and Hollywood for you.

Conversely Case Histories, the televised version of Kate Atkinson’s fabulous Jackson Brodie series made more sense with Jason Issacs and Amanda Abbington convincing me effortlessly that they were my ‘will they/won’t they’ Jackson and Louise.  Maybe it’s because, as the screen writer for the series Ashley Pharoah explains, he ‘loved writing the script.  The heavy-lifting had already been done by Kate – the characters, the story, the tone – so my job was to smash up the novel and re-imagine it as a screenplay. A fresh mosaic.’

Another of Atkins’s masterpieces Life After Life was also brought to life by the BBC in 2022 and navigated the sometimes surreal hops and skips through time and place beautifully.

One of the most terrifying yet exhilarating experiences of my life was witnessing The Silence of the Lambs in the cinema when I was 17.  I already felt guilty for sneaking into an 18 certificate film so perhaps that added to the tension but when I emerged blinking a couple of hours later I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say that I was a changed person.

Since then I have become worryingly desensitized to the world of true and fictional crime, but the iconic sight of Pembury’s grisly end following Lecter’s brutal escape to a haunting Bach soundtrack was imprinted on my brain and haunted my sleep for days.

On this occasion I saw the film before reading the book but it had the effect of compelling me to do so and I was then, as they say, hooked.  I followed it up by reading the (arguably better) Red Dragon,  in which we are first introduced to Dr Lecter but of course my mental images had by now already been fully formed.

However the 2002 version of Red Dragon came out after I’d read it, and I’m sorry to say that much as I love Ralph Fiennes, he was as far removed from my Francis Dolarhyde as I could imagine.   But despite Dr Lecter being portrayed first on screen by Brian Cox in the 1986 adaptation of Red Dragon Manhunter (in which Tom Noonan’s Dolaryhyde felt much more fitting), Anthony Hopkins will always be my (and I imagine most people’s) definitive monster.

Moving from one extreme to another, from brutal murder to cartoon japes.  Of course, I didn’t have to imagine what my childhood heroes Tintin, Asterix and their associated friends looked like because they leapt out from the page in all their glory to me as I devoured the books as a child.

But making them move and talk?  The potential horror!  The 1990s French/Canadian version of Belgian Herge’s Adventures of Tintin did a pretty good job but Tintin is most definitely NOT Canadian (I know, he wouldn’t have a British accent either, but of course he does in my head).

However I’ll forgive Spielberg for his Jurassic Park casting, as his 2011 animation of  The Secret of the Unicorn was a fairly faithful rollercoaster with enough nods to the books for us die-hard fans to accept it.  There was just one fly in the ointment.  Captain Haddock is NOT Scottish and I’ll die on that hill…

Of all the adaptations I’ve mentioned, I’ve been surprised to realise that perhaps my favourite was the recent animation of Asterix and the Big Fight on Netflix.  There have been several attempts at recreating Asterix and Obelix over the years, (including a live action version starring Gerard Depardieu as the latter) but none of which, in my opinion, managed to capture the wit and humour of the original books.  This version was a game changer and I truly felt as though I was replaying the story with old friends.  I loved it.  Like Getafix, it was magic.

I’m sure there are countless others in the ether which have passed me by but there are three in particular which I really need to get to grips with in the hope that they fall into the ‘they’ve done it proud’ category.

While The Secret History by Donna Tartt probably takes the top spot as my favourite and therefore most re-read novel,  I also dove into her epic and at times heartbreaking The Goldfinch.  Rightly or wrongly, I’ve been swayed by reviews of the 2019 film, one of which says that although it is ‘beautifully filmed yet mostly inert The Goldfinch mishandles its source material’ which has scared me firmly away from viewing.  Tartt also allegedly disowned the movie as she was ‘not given the chance to write the screenplay’ which explains a lot.  I don’t honestly think I’m ready to be disappointed so I’ll take it on the word of others that it’s not up to scratch.  My fellow readers know their stuff.

So does my Mum, who, like me, is a fan of the irrepressible, precocious and witty Flavia de Luce created by Alan Bradley.  She has given the green light to the recent adaptation of the first in the Buckshaw Chronicles so in this case I’m really just waiting for the optimum conditions to present themselves to sit down and embrace it.  The problem is that sometimes I just don’t want to virtually share my friends with the millions of other people. Selfish I know.  But it’s got Martin Freeman in it, so I can’t not watch it.

Lastly is the inimitable classic Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (Aged 13 ¾) by Sue Townsend which was ironically my first experience of seeing characters in my head appear on screen.  It was first serialised in  1985 and 12-year-old me thought it was perfect.  A new version has just been announced (co-written by Caitlin Moran and Caroline Moran so it should be in good hands) but this has now left me with a different dilemma – should I be more worried about it living up to the book, or the original series?  Time will tell.