Ella Enchanted

It's so hard to watch a movie based off of a book you've read. For me, though, if I watch the movie before reading the book, there's a higher chance that I will enjoy both.

Ella Enchanted, for instance. It was written by Gail Carson Levine, and made into a movie. I saw the movie before I knew the book existed, and I liked the movie. Then I read the book and really liked the book - once I got past how incredibly different the plotlines were. Now I like the book the best, but I still like the movie too.

Had I read the book first, I probably would've been upset with everything the movie changed, which was pretty much the entirety of the book other than character names. The protagonists' personalities were even changed, as was the way Ella's curse worked. Granted, Ella's curse was changed to be more dramatic/movie-styled, but I think Ella's and Char's personality changes would have really bothered me if I had read the book before the movie.

I think the movie also removed a lot of fans' favorite scenes from the book, particularly some things that revealed bits about Char, or represented a "pivotal point in their relationship," as I believe one fan put it. In the book, I suppose the pivotal point was the scene of Char and Ella sliding down a banister in the old castle. In the movie, it had more to do with the giants' wedding party.

All in all, I find both versions of Ella Enchanted enjoyable. Maybe only because I saw the movie first, but I do recommend both versions to all you readers/viewers who have yet to read/view either version. =)