Blog Reader’s Guide to Adaptations
/
image courtesy of Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams, was published in 1979. It found immediate success, selling 250,000 copies in three months. A novel like that was bound to get a screen adaptation. The novel received a TV series in 1981, and a movie in 2005. For simplicity’s sake, I will be reviewing the novel and the film.
There are many differences between the novel and movie versions of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. At the time, and based on the few people I talked to, it was a well-liked movie. It just didn’t work for me and many of the changes took away from the storyline, characters, and what the novel was.
Negative Thoughts
One difference I don’t blame the movie for; it does not show many internal thoughts and feelings. The characters in the novel showed a lot of emotion and internal feeling throughout that I don’t think translated well to the movie. A part that was left out entirely was Arthur’s internal, and eventual external panic that his planet had just been destroyed and had lost everything.
Arthur and most other characters were portrayed poorly. In the novel, Arthur is a confused, clueless Earthman who has occasional bright ideas that help the group in their mission. And Trillian is a smart, but kind and helpful voice of reason to Beeblebrox.
The movie ruins their characters by making the movie’s plot revolve around Arthur and Trillian’s love for each other. Suddenly Arthur knew what he was doing every step of the way even though he should have known nothing. Why? For love. If the novel made Arthur and Trillian have a romantic relationship, it was subtle and didn’t take away from the storyline.
image courtesy of Garth Jennings
Beeblebrox was a bit of a fumbling dummy in both. But the novel portrayed him as doing what he did because he could, and a part of his brain had been wiped. The movie gave him a real reason. You may think that’s a good thing, but he had something he shouldn’t have; tapes from a faraway planet that’s shrouded in legends.
I saw Ford Prefect in the novel as a smart man to help guide Arthur through the galaxy; it feels like the movie did the opposite. The only character I felt the movie got right was Marvin; he was still a lovable, depressed robot with many shining moments.
The other storyline I’d like to mention is Beeblebrox and his rival. The novel mentions nothing of a rivalry. The movie has them arrive at his rival’s home plant, cut off one of Beeblebrox’s heads (how without killing him? I don’t know) and make a promise (that I’m not sure they kept). The whole interaction felt unnecessary. If the movie wanted to do something with Beeblebrox’s rival, they could’ve met at Magrathea and raced to find The Question of Life.
Somewhat Positive Thoughts
What I liked about the movie was that it helped build upon what was in the novel. The definitions from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy were cleverly animated. I just wish they had also explained why a towel was so useful.
image courtesy of Garth Jennings
I also really liked how the movie had a visual representation when the spaceship, The Heart of Gold, wasn’t in normality. It switched between many different objects, and Arthur throwing up yarn when they were animated to look like it was a good touch. My biggest issue with The Heart of Gold is that they didn’t do a very good job explaining what was so special about the ship.
At the end of the movie, Marvin saves the day and has some sort of awesome badass moment that the novel didn’t have. Also, Earth Mark II was scheduled to be destroyed in the novel, which is why Arthur stayed with Beeblebrox, Trillian, and Ford exploring the galaxy. The movie version was scheduled to stay and, in a love moment I liked, Arthur chose to stay with Trillian.
When I first watched Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy over a decade ago, I found it to be a great movie. Over time, I feel it’s a solid standalone movie. But now knowing the amazing novel it was based on makes it such a letdown.
Matthew Sgabellone is an Algonquin College student in their Professional Writing program. He has never worked a muti-day job, so he typically has a lot of free time whenever he’s not in school. He uses this free time to do writing and watch movies and motor racing. A lot of books he has read have been transferred into movies, and he’s always curious how his favourites did. He watches movies every week with his family, and they often talk about their thoughts once the movie has concluded. He has always been curious about more books to screen adaptations, and would like to take you along the journey of his findings.
