History Main / AdaptationDistillation

* Cartoons based of DC Comics are ALL ABOUT this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes'' cartoon brought several outdated costumes and looks and made them sleeker and more futuristic. For example, Bouncing Boy newly sports spiky hair and goggles and his limbs disappear when he bounces, which looks a lot less ridiculous.
** Also, the comics explained {{Superboy}} being in LOSH despite PostCrisis Supes ''not'' having been Superboy as a teenager by way of [[VoodooShark a complicated explanation involving parallel universes that aren't really parallel universes since there aren't parallel universes anymore]]. Oooookay. The series? Teen Clark was a civilian when he was taken to the future, and only wears the spandex while there.

*** The prior Batman show, ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', also managed to get some of this trope in, the show's treatment of [[MagnificentBastard Hugo Strange]], [[EvilIsCool the Riddler]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist Poison Ivy]], and especially [[TragicVillain Clayface]] are among some of the most well-regarded things in the show due to boiling them down to their most basic natures and then adding elements that made them stronger characters.

* The [[TheDCAU DC Animated Universe]], from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' to ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', was generally of this kind.
** A more specific example would be the ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' segment of the episode "Legends of the Dark Knight", which perfectly encapsulates Miller's style and the tone of the book in five minutes of animation. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoZLPwRCjcQ watch it here.]]
** Another one is the ''Justice League Unlimited'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything" based on AlanMoore's story of the same name. It kept the spirit of the story while at the same time removed the dark elements present [[spoiler: in Superman's dream which made Superman breaking out of the LotusEaterMachine even more of a TearJerker.]]
*** Even better, it is the ''ONLY'' adaptation of his work that Alan Moore actually likes.
* Relatedly, the Robin from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' is essentially an amalgam of Dick Grayson (Robin I) and the better aspects of Jason Todd (Robin II, who doesn't exist in the {{DCAU}}), along with the costume and general look of Tim Drake (Robin III).
** Cyborg and Raven were also a bit more interesting in the cartoon. Both had far less {{Wangst}}, and Raven also had powers that were actually useful in combat (in the comic, she became nothing but TheEmpath and was often the first one taken out by bad guys despite her considerable power in her earliest appearances).
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' is a LighterAndSofter take on the greater DC Universe outside of the "Big Three," and gets the core personalities of the characters it features down pat while improving some others. Aquaman is a LargeHam BoisterousBruiser in the show, unlike the comics, but it fits better with the tone. The show's also packed aplenty with [[MythologyGag Mythology Gags]] ranging from references to the relatively recent ''InfiniteCrisis'' and ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' to long-forgotten [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Batman stories. It's essentially the "good parts version" of the entire DC Universe but is still accessible to non-readers of the comics.
** The show is also more respectful to characters who [[PassingTheTorch pass the torch]]. In the comics, BlueBeetle Ted Kord is shot through the head by a villain after refusing to give in; in ''B&B'', he dies stopping a missile attack on America. Likewise, Ray Palmer had a HeroicBSOD after his wife went nuts and became a murderous villain, handing the Atom mantle to Ryan Choi, who was later killed. In this series, Palmer handed the mantle without the tragedy and retired to South America, while Choi had a TenMinuteRetirement.
** The prior Batman show, ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', also managed to get some of this trope in, the show's treatment of [[MagnificentBastard Hugo Strange]], [[EvilIsCool the Riddler]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist Poison Ivy]], and especially [[TragicVillain Clayface]] are among some of the most well-regarded things in the show due to boiling them down to their most basic natures and then adding elements that made them stronger characters.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' manages to do this, using older characters like Dick Grayson as well as more recent ones like Miss Martian. The show also gives modernized redesigns to some of the campier DC characters. Like ''The Brave and the Bold'', ''Young Justice'' also uses numerous shout-outs and mythology gags, as well as a few nods to the [[Comicbook/YoungJustice 90's comic book of the same name]].

* The 1980s ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'' cartoon did make one notable improvement. The [[Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage comics by Eastman and Laird]], and most subsequent adaptations, depict Splinter as a rat who learned ninjutsu by copying the movements his human master made while training, before mutating and gaining human characteristics. In the 1980s cartoon, the human master himself is mutated by gaining rat characteristics, and retains all his ninja knowledge, which he then passes on to the Turtles.

* The manga adaptation of ''BreathOfFireIV''. This is a condensation of a 40- to 80-hour video game with a ''very'' large number of [[FetchQuest Fetch Quests]], two largely separate plotlines that don't interweave until close to the end, and MultipleEndings into a five-volume (and around 175 pages per volume) manga series. Just getting things sorted into a linear storyline was impressive in and of itself; even more impressive, they managed to incorporate both the Good Ending ''and'' the BadEnd into a linear plot.

-->--'''AllStarSuperman''', telling Franchise/{{Superman}}'s SuperheroOrigin in 4 panels.

* The movie ''TheToweringInferno'' was based on ''two'' books, ''The Glass Inferno'' by Scortia and Robinson and ''The Tower'' by Stern, because studio executives correctly realized that the market would not have supported [[DuelingMovies two simultaneous films about buildings going up in flames]]. There is enough material left out to make at least another whole story.

* The film adaptation of the graphic novel ''RoadToPerdition'' merges all the anonymous hitmen sent after the protagonists into a single character.

* ''LayerCake'' definitely comes across as a distillation of the novel, being much more tightly plotted, and notably, when the author of the novel, J.J. Connoley, attempted writing a screen play, it was several hundred pages long, and thus he wisely left this task to Mathew Vaughn.

* The original ''ConanTheBarbarian'' stories were somewhat unsuited to adaptation to film, and the original script for the movie of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' featured lots of huge fight scenes that would have been expensive to shoot. John Milius took both as inspirations for writing the movie, preserving some of the feel of R.E. Howard's world without the [[AncientAfrica unfortunate tropes]].

* ''[[Anime/TheIdolmaster The Idolm@ster]] - The anime combines story elements from all of the game routes, and Miki, Takane, and Hibiki are already part of 765 Pro from the start instead of eventually defecting from 961 Pro.

* The anime version of Manga/AxisPowersHetalia, while having a number of differences from the source material, does try to stay close to the manga.

* The anime adaptation of the light novel series ''LightNovel/HidanNoAria'' removes quite a bit of the GunPorn as well as the protagonist's FirstPersonSmartass tendencies; and his general inner thoughts. While the gun info wasn't really necessary the anime never gives a real reason why we should like the protaganist; it makes what was justifiable dislike for his situation seem like plain old angst. This is due to the character being the type convey his reasons in his thoughts rather than explaining his circumstances to other people; which the Anime never really displays properly.

* The first season of the 90's TheMoomins series combined selected contents from both Tove Jansson's novels and her comics into a single episodic narrative while merging [[CompositeCharacter characters]] and events, simplifying and streamlining TheVerse and adding some [[AdaptationExpansion original contents into the mix]]. The result is something of a more consistent middle ground between the mood of the comic and the [[CerebusSyndrome various moods of the novels]].

* Film/TheIncredibleShrinkingMan: While this film adaptation of the book largely reflects many aspects of the plot, there are a couple plot points not included. The first one was that Scott had a daughter. The second was when Scott encountered a group of boys who recognize him as that ''shrinking man'', they [[spoiler: express the desire to remove his pants to see if EVERY part of him had shrunk]]

* The NobutaWoProduce J-drama was based on a book whose titular character was an overweight, unattractive boy, and the main character was a cold-hearted {{Jerkass}} who only wanted to produce Nobuta because he was bored. In the drama, Nobuta was a lovable {{Woobie}} girl who wasn't even capable of smiling properly, Shuji was misguided and selfish rather than a cold jerk, and the character of [[{{Keet}} Akira]] was introduced. The resulting drama had an ending that was not saddening as the book, had beautiful cinematography, and mind-blowing plot and characterization.

* TheHardyBoysNancyDrewMysteries cuts most of TheHardyBoys book series' supporting cast. The Hardys' mother, Laura, is dead, and the boys live with their widowed father and Aunt Gertrude, and the only friends from the books that show up are Callie Shaw and Chet Morton — and Chet, only in two episodes. In second season, the series is distilled even more, with even Aunt Gertrude and Callie getting cut.
* ''Smallville'' takes several cues from the Silver Age (friendship with Lex, Clark having a sort of heroic career while in high school, supporting cast getting powers every other week) as well as Post-Crisis (Clark playing football, Clark getting his powers on the on-set of puberty) and the films (Several MythologyGag s)

->''Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple. Superman.''
-->-- '''AllStarSuperman''', telling {{Franchise/Superman}}'s SuperheroOrigin in 4 panels.

* The arcade version of ''VideoGame/GIJoe'' sets the game around the time of [[DICEntertainment the DiC series]] of ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' (the show's overall third and fourth seasons). However the Joes, and with the exception of Metal-Head, all the Cobra bosses came from [[SunbowEntertainment the Sunbow series]] (the first two seasons). This is especially notable, when encountering the game's first bosses, Tomax and Xamot, who didn't even appear in the Di C series.

-->--'''AllStarSuperman''', telling {{Franchise/Superman}}'s SuperheroOrigin in 4 panels.

** Some scenes in the book that were left out of the first movie appeared in later movies. The book opens with a scene of a family having a picnic on a beach. A child chases a tiny dinosaur into the forest and then gets attacked by a swarm of them. Another scene has the female character jumping from roof to roof being chased by velociraptors. Those scenes were shown in ''TheLostWorldJurassicPark''.

* Surprisingly, Chuck Palanick himself, after viewing the adaptation of his already-cult novel FightClub by David Fincher, said the movie worked more efficiently than the book, was more tightly structured and handled the finale better. Then again, this is David Fincher we're talking about. An example of true distillation: considering the complex task of even beginning to dramatize the disjointed Palanick's writing, Fincher used an astonishing array of temporal, visual, point-of-view and narration devices to cram a good deal of the original material into the film.

* In the Hebrew translation of the Disney version of "Tarazan", the words used for "Son of Man" (בן אדם, "Ben Adam"), literally mean "Son of Man" but also simply "Human Being", making the entire song a powerful play on words.

* The 1980 ''Film/FlashGordon'' film cut out the extraneous parts of the original comic book and adventure serial, making for a better adventure movie. It also cut out racism against black people, but oddly enough, [[YellowPeril not Asians]], although even that was done so [[RefugeInAudacity over-the-top]] it had to be [[{{Camp}} tongue-in-cheek]], which, apparently, [[RefugeInAudacity makes it okay.]]

* The film versions of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' and ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'' retain the dialogue almost word for word and every important scene from the books is left in, with a few merged with other scenes or removed from the story.

** the context of that first scene was drastically changed, though; the original version of that scene takes place on a Costa Rican beach, thus showing us that dinosaurs have already escaped the island. in the movie, however, the family just happens to unknowingly weigh anchor for a picnic on the island, where the dinosaurs are apparently safely confined.

* ''BlackButler'': The anime diverges from the manga very early in the series, having little material to work with at the time. This ends up with the entire cast being tame & simple, lacking the mangas years of character development. Grell has the most notable personality difference between the two mediums.

* The animated version of the {{Batman}} arc "Under the Red Hood" compressed several issues of story into one animated movie. It removed several of the more outlandish moments and origins and created a tighter storyline.

* Over time, DCComics has released various novels over its various popular events and as such, even they have had certain events removed. For instance, ''[[TheDeathOfSuperman The Death And Life of Superman]]'' keeps most of the events of ''Doomsday, Funeral For A Friend'' and ''Reign of the Supermen'', but removes a number of events, mostly because it was written while ''Reign'' was still being worked on. Among the events removed include more involvement with the rest of the DC heroes outside of the required appearance of the JusticeLeague and brief appearances by WonderWoman and {{Batman}}, condenses a number of side story events and, for some odd reason, ''removes'' ComicBook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan despite Coast City still biting it.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' combines and rearranges elements from ''many'' famous ''Batman'' storylines over the course of three films.

-->--'''AllStarSuperman''', telling {{Superman}}'s SuperheroOrigin in 4 panels.

** ''Film/TheAvengers'' draws heavily from not only the mainstream Avengers comics, but ''TheUltimates'' as well. Loki is still used as the reason behind the team's formation, but a number of elements (such as {{Hawkeye}} and Comicbook/BlackWidow being {{SHIELD}} black-ops agents and founding members of the team) come from the Ultimate universe.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' looks to be doing this. It's based off a storyline from EdBrubaker's run, but CaptainAmerica can be seen sporting his recent ''SecretAvengers'' costume, while TheFalcon looks like his [[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] incarnation.

* The first ''LeftBehind'' movie makes the opening attack less of a non-event (by condensing the amount of time between it and the Rapture), plays up the mystery in the first half, puts Buck in a position where he has a lot more influence over the nation, and streamlines the book's rather ping-pong opening sequence. That said, it's still not well-liked.

* Multiple reviewers of [[Film/IronMan the film adaptation of]] ''ComicBook/IronMan'' had claimed this, saying the film to be a distillation of everything that makes Iron Man intriguing: all the JerkWithAHeartOfGold and TheAlcoholic tendencies, with none of the changes that have happened over time.

* The film adaptation of PeterBenchley's novel ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' stripped away most of the book's land-bound subplots and condensed the climactic shark-hunt to a single voyage. It also made the shark a far more shadowy nemesis in the early going, although this was due more to special effects restraints than artistic vision. All of this significantly increases the viewer's tension.

* The film adaptation of PeterBenchley's novel ''Literature/{{Jaws}}'' stripped away most of the book's land-bound subplots and condensed the climactic shark-hunt to a single voyage. It also made the shark a far more shadowy nemesis in the early going, although this was due more to special effects restraints than artistic vision. All of this significantly increases the viewer's tension.

* ''TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' drew on not only the classic Silver Age stories, but a number of the modern elements and bits of ''TheUltimates'' as well.

* ''Film/Watchmen'' combined the two Ozymandias plots of getting Dr. Manhattan of Earth by framing him for causing cancer in people and thus removing him from the picture in time for the second plot, the fake alien attack on Earth. Instead he was framed for causing the cancers, resulting in public anger that drove him away, and then framed for striking back in response.