Adaptation Personality Change / Film

Adaptation Personality Change in Films and Animated Films.

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Individual Pages

• DC Extended Universe
• Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Animated

• Batman: Year One: In the comic, Lieutenant Branden is still an antagonist but is a fascistic Rabid Cop who is used by the corrupt cops rather than directly aiding them. In the film, he's explicitly shown to be corrupt himself, as he conspires with Loeb and Falcone to kidnap Gordon's family.
• In the 2008 adaptation of Horton Hears a Who!, Rudy is altered to be much more social and skeptical of his mother's extremely uptight and arrogant worldview. While in the original short story his role consisted of merely echoing his mother's "Hmph!", in the film he is in fact the one who saves the clover and all of Whoville from falling into the boiling beezlenut oil.
• BIONICLE's Direct to Video films:
  • In Mask of Light, the protagonist Takua was written as a irresponsible, goofy and rather dim to contrast with Jaller's Straight Man, whereas in previous and arguably every other incarnation he is an adventurous Guile Hero.
  • Also from Mask of Light, Onua, who has always been depicted as quiet and wise, was instead depicted as a typical Boisterous Bruiser. Fortunately, further adaptations returned to his original characterization.
  • Lewa is originally a wisecracker who avoided teamwork as much as possible due to his immaturity and impulsiveness, but in the movie he's mature, emotional, laid back, very much supportive of teamwork and a Friend to All Living Things to boot. In essence, both Onua's and Lewa's characters took a total 180 in the film.
  • Web of Shadows changed Sidorak from a fierce Warrior King who personally leads his army into battle to a coward who is described as never dirtying his hands with combat.
• Done in spades for most Disney Animated Canon adaptations of novels:
  • In the Wind in the Willows half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Ratty is changed from the book's laid-back, free-spirited sailor into a stuffy, proper English gentleman.
  • In The Jungle Book (1967), Baloo and Bageehra essentially switch personalities (Baloo was a stern mentor and Bagheera was a laid-back friend in the book), Kaa becomes a clownish villain rather than a wise mentor for Mowgli, and Shere Khan is turned from a Smug Snake to a Faux Affably Evil villain.
  • In The Little Mermaid, the Sea Witch becomes a cunning, dishonest, power-hungry villain who tricks Ariel into signing a contract with her, rather than the neutral character in the original tale who warns the mermaid of the consequences of her magic. Also, in the original story, the little mermaid is quiet and thoughtful, in contrast to her livelier, bolder sisters, and is the only one who has no interest in collecting human-made objects from shipwrecks. In the Disney version, Ariel is the liveliest, boldest, and most adventurous of the sea princesses, and collecting objects from shipwrecks is her unique hobby. The original story describes the little mermaid as “demure” which Ariel is everything but.
  • In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, compared to their book counterparts, Quasimodo is much more gentle, Esmeralda is smarter and less naive, and Phoebus is more heroic, with his womanizer tendencies dropped. Meanwhile, Frollo gets Adaptational Villainy and loses all his redeeming traits (which are given to an original character, the Archdeacon of Notre-Dame). In the book Frollo is the Archdeacon, making this a case of a Decomposite Character.
  • In Tarzan, Kerchak is a stern, but benevolent leader of the apes, rather than the violent, abusive character he is in the books.
  • The villains get this when they are developed from their film personas into face characters in the Disney parks. In the films, they are often very dangerous, up to and including seeking to murder other characters just because; in the parks, though, they naturally have to be safe for casual family interaction, so instead they just have "attitude."
• Almost everyone in Ultimate Avengers is made much more like their mainstream counterpart, as opposed to their Ultimate version, since those guys are a bunch of assholes.
  • Iron Man only slightly exhibits signs that he's an alcoholic, drinking one glass when he is fired from the team. Other than that, he's his mainstream counterpart, aside from the part about still supplying weapons. Ultimate Iron Man is so much of an alcoholic that for a few years, you could not see him out of armour and not drinking.
  • Although still a rampaging monster, the Hulk is drastically tuned down from his Ultimate incarnation, which is literally a psychopathic manifestation of Bruce Banner's Id without any restraints period — Ultimate Hulk is a cannibal, and that's just for starters.
• In Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Mr. Peabody's feelings for Sherman are changed from treating the boy as merely his pet and assistant to the dog considering Sherman his dearly beloved son.
• NIMONA (2023)
  • In the comic, Nimona initially passes herself off as human and it’s implied that she may have pulled a Kill and Replace guise several times in the past. In the film she never tries to pretend she’s human, and aside from basing her human form on Gloreth she makes no attempt to live under someone else’s identity.
  • Ballister was raised by the Institute in the webcomic and was an established knight before losing his arm. Here he was from the streets who managed to work his way up to being a knight, which is short lived. A lot of emphasis is placed on his commoner background.
• In The Adventures of Tintin, this happens to Barnaby and Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine. Sakharine in the comics is annoying but harmless, and is implied to be nice enough to offer one of his ships to Captain Haddock's maritime gallery. In the movie, he is a vengeful and vindictive Big Bad. Barnaby in the comics was a spy for the villains who turned informer, and they shot him to keep him from revealing their activities. The film adapts him into a well-meaning Interpol agent who tries to warn and help Tintin, although Tintin doesn't realize this until after Barnaby is shot by Sakharine's henchmen.
• Coraline in the books is more stoic, mature and cerebral while movie Coraline is more belligerent and sarcastic.
• Disney Fairies:
  • Tinkerbell is toned down in Disney Fairies compared to Peter Pan. She isn't clingy and a jerk anymore, instead being a Plucky Girl. She keeps some of her jealous aspects in the books, though.
  • In the transition from page to screen, many other characters had their personalities changed as well. Most notably, Vidia became rude at worst and outright friendly at best; in the books, she once sold out her race because she was in love with a dragon, stole a wand others risked their lives to get, and was, in general, more of a Jerkass.
  • A less obvious example is Queen Clarion. Most of her Action Girl characteristics from the books were taken away and given to other characters, her duties were lessened with the addition of the Ministers, and she got a love interest with a tragic backstory, despite never expressing an interest in romance. She was also made much more motherly and removed from the main plot line, when she had previously been a main character.
• Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 depict Barbie as a peppy Genki Girl and, in the case of the latter, a Genius Ditz. Barbie is The Ace (just look at all the jobs she's had) but she's never been particularly energetic in the toy line. It wasn't until the Self-Parody Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse that something similar to Toy Story's depiction was seen in the Barbie line.
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse:
  • Miles Morales is more social and assertive than in the comics, where he was shy and an introvert. ItSV also presents Miles's more withdrawn moments as more due to him being transferred from a normal public school to an elite charter school (Brooklyn Visions Academy) and having to dealing with various traumatic events like witnessing with the death of his Peter, discovering that his uncle is a supervillain, and having said uncle soon sacrifice himself to save him. His love of graffiti and hip-hop is also far more emphasized in the film.
  • Spider-Man Noir in the comics is a reporter with righteous anger and socialist leanings. This version is a comically serious private eye who's perplexed by any color that isn't in grayscale, leading to his fascination with a simple Rubik's cube.
  • Peni Parker is presented as a Genki Girl, not the moody teenager of the comics.
  • The Stinger sees Miguel O'Hara not above getting into an argument with the 1967 cartoon version of Peter about pointing, something his comic counterpart wouldn't do. Miguel's virtual assistant Lyla is also more sassy and snarky.
• None of the characters in the original folktales that inspired Son of the White Horse had much of a personality, and some versions of the tales would sometimes portray the same characters either as irredeemable villains or an imperfect heroes. The film put its own spin on them.
  • In the tale Son of the White Mare, the title character is a separate person from the three brothers or servants he meets, Treeshaker, Stronecrumbler (aka Mountainroller) and Irontemperer. The latter three are scummy villains and Treeshaker is the weakest. In the tale Treeshaker, Irontemperer, Mountainroller, Treeshaker is the main hero and the strongest of the bunch. The film went with the latter portrayal, combining Son of the White Mare and Treeshaker into one as a perfect upstanding hero. The only change is his shyness around sexy women.
  • Stonecrumbler/Mountainroller and Irontemperer are both ineffective heroes in the film but given stark differentiation. The former is a lazy, underachieving but jolly oaf who can never complete a task, while the latter is so brash and impulsive that he undermines his own efforts, but he's a lot more effective and sharp-witted than his elder brother.
  • In the tales, the three princesses or fairies are all interchangeable, kindhearted damsels in distress. In the movie, the eldest sister, the Copper-Haired Autumn Princess, is an immoral, slutty nudist and something of a vamp. The Silver-Haired Spring Princess is a hysterical, over-emotional, abused spouse who faints a lot. The Gold Haired Summer Princess is the closest to her original depiction, she's kind, supportive, and has no weaknesses, but in the film she actually helps Treeshaker in his final battle rather than being an observer.
• In his arcade ending in Mortal Kombat 11, Kano quickly grew to believe "Victory Is Boring" and "Wanting Is Better Than Having" after having a world under his control using Kronika's powers, so he resets the timeline again to makes things changeling for him. In Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, he's shown not only enjoying being a warlord, but he's used Kronika's power to keep himself in power.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie:
  • Princess Peach in the games is a kind, soft-spoken feminine Girly Girl (with a tomboy streak), benevolent ruler who mostly has passive roles and rarely directly attacks enemies (except in games where she's playable, of course, where she could be brave and join the action; especially Super Princess Peach where she's The Hero and saved the Bros. and the kingdom all by herself), acting as a standard Damsel in Distress more often than not. In the movie, while she is still quite kind, Peach is also a much more authoritative leader and a outspoken, assertive, more pronounced Action Girl that, outfits shared with the games aside, is more of a Tomboy than a Girly Girl; she directly confronts Bowser with a polearm when he attacks the Mushroom Kingdom, only lets herself be captured to further her plans to save her kingdom, and takes an active part in the final battle, even stunning Bowser with a jumping kick to the face.
  • The Lumalee from Super Mario Galaxy has his personality changed to the point of being Played for Laughs. In the games, he was a cheerful shopkeeper no different from other Lumas; in the film, he's a Cloud Cuckoolander Straw Nihilist.
• In the original Rocket Learns to Read book, the Little Yellow Bird was a teacher who showed up one day and taught Rocket how to read. In the TV movie Rocket Saves the Day, the Little Yellow Bird doesn't know how to read and learns together with Rocket.

Live-Action

• The Batman (2022) does this to the Dark Knight himself as Bruce Wayne. In the comics Bruce in his public persona is charismatic and outgoing, with his real personality Beneath the Mask being more serious and brooding. In the 2022 film even when not being Batman, Bruce simply has No Social Skills at all and besides Alfred has trouble communicating with people without coming off as awkward, shy and depressed. Similar to the MCU Mary Jane example, this can be seen as a pragmatic choice in portraying a young adult with severe trauma (parents brutally murdered) realistically.
• Bicentennial Man: The film expands the role of Sir compared to the original story. He begins mentoring Andrew, providing personal guidance and social instruction, In addition to changing his job, he also changes his reaction to Andrew's request for freedom, banishing him from the house instead of taking him to court to make sure Andrew is legally recognized as a free robot instead of a member of the Servant Race.
• Carrie:
  • In Brian DePalma's version, Norma Watson is made into Chris's gal pal and openly bullies Carrie as well as being in on the prank at the prom. This is due to DePalma being impressed with PJ Soles's performance and rewriting Norma to expand her role.
  • Again in the TV remake with Tina Blake. While she is one of Chris's friends in the book, she isn't as big a bully and she isn't in on the prank, which she is in the film.
    • Helen Shyres in the book is mostly just a background character as Sue's friend but gets combined with another girl Frieda Jason in the TV film and so has her scene where she is nice to Carrie at the prom.
• Grease:
  • Barry Pearl (the actor who plays Doody in the film) notes in this interview that the greaser boys' personalities are switched from adapting the play Grease to the film Grease. Specifically, film Doody acts like play Sonny, film Sonny acts like play Roger/Putzie, and film Roger/Putzie acts like play Doody.
• Harry Potter:
  • Cho Chang in the books was written to be excessively jealous and clingy when she and Harry are dating but none of this is shown in the movies.
  • The films also made Ginny noticeably more soft-spoken, in contrast to the Fiery Redhead she was in the books.
  • Narcissa Malfoy also has her Rich Bitch and haughty racism tendencies dropped from the films.
  • Albus Dumbledore, who provides the page image, is generally calm and unflappable in the books, which Richard Harris portrayed in the first two films. However, Michael Gambon's performance starting in the third movie due to Harris' death is more emotional and prone to occasional bursts of anger. The main page image illustrates the difference when Dumbledore asks Harry about whether he put his name in the Goblet of Fire; the book mentions that "he asked calmly," but in the movie, he accosts Harry and demands to know the truth. The younger version of the character in the Fantastic Beasts films is much more in line with the book characterization, however.
  • While Bellatrix Lestrange is still psychopathic and sadistic like her book incarnation, she is much more of a Psychopathic Womanchild in the films.
  • A common complaint among the fandom is the tweaking of Ron and Hermione's characters, since many of the former's shining moments from the books got given to the latter. The end result was a Ron which seemed generally less brave and competent, and a Hermione who comes across as being even more capable and understanding, without the more realistic flaws of the book version.
  • Professor Snape's Jerkass traits are toned down, and he's more cold and stoic than his violently emotional book counterpart.
• The Last Airbender:
  • Aang is a happy-go-lucky and eager kid in the series. Here he is a quiet, brooding, and somewhat angsty boy.
  • Sokka, being both the Plucky Comic Relief and The Smart Guy in the show, has little in the way of character traits in the film and does little beyond receive exposition.
  • Admiral Zhao is more confident and violent in the series, while in the film he is more indecisive to the point he often consults the Fire Lord on every decision and he runs away after Iroh makes fire from thin air.
  • Fire Lord Ozai, the de facto Evil Overlord, is shown as a curious individual in the movie. He doesn't appear as hateful and cruel, but contemplative and decisive. He even shows remorse for his son Zuko's banishment by warning Zhao that Zuko will be over him when he returns. In the show, he's a textbook Abusive Parent to both of his children in very different ways.
  • Master Pakku. Instead of being a sexist prick, he's just a wise martial arts sensei.
  • Iroh. In the movie, while he retains his role as mentor to the afflicted Zuko, he is not as comedic and laid-back as his series counterpart.
  • Zuko is the most similar to the series but he is not as deadset/blind in his chase of the Avatar. He barely lost his temper (a famous character trait for Season 1 Zuko) and actually felt remorse for others, which is shown when he apologizes to an unconscious Katara in the movie, whereas in the series he smugly rubs in his victory over her.
• Get Smart turned 99 into a Defrosting Ice Queen and Larrabee into a Jerk Jock, but the most noticeable change is that Max now a brain between his ears.
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004): Count Olaf was written as very sinister in the original books but in the film he is more over the top and hammy leaning closer to comic relief. Granted, it was Jim Carrey who portrayed the character after all.
• Jurassic Park: In the original book, Gennaro the lawyer ends up turning into The Lancer for Alan Grant, and he even punches out a Velociraptor! The film turns Gennaro into a Dirty Coward that gets eaten by a T-Rex whilst sitting on a toilet. John Hammond in the original book is The Scrooge and a tyrant who shortchanges people (giving fat programmer Dennis a reason to betray him), has a Never My Fault mentality, and then suffers Karmic Death. The film turns Hammond into a kindly old man who truly thinks that what he's doing is a good idea (which it isn't), and one result of the change is that Dennis comes off as more of a Jerkass for betraying him!
  • Though, to be fair, Genaro's characterization (and manner of death), mirrors Ed Regis, Ingen's PR guy from the book, making him more of a Composite Character.
• Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films:
  • Arwen's role is expanded and she becomes an Action Girl, Boromir is far less of a Might Makes Right Jerkass, Faramir becomes tempted by the ring and his Parental Favoritism issues are more played up.
  • Elrond is made to be bitter and cynical, thinking humans are useless.
  • Gandalf is more gentle and patient and less of a Grumpy Old Man who has a short fuse for foolishness like in the books.
  • Merry was also more serious in the book but in the films is more carefree and comical (though he is still the serious one between himself and Pippin).
  • Legolas displays no racism towards Dwarves like he does initally in the books and is more battle hungry.
  • Denethor gets a bit of Adaptational Villainy when he was simply Good Is Not Nice in the book, in particular his emotional contempt of Faramir likely feeding into the latter's own Adaptational Angst Upgrade.
  • Gorbag and Shagrat, two minor orc characters in the books, essentially got their personalities swapped. In the book, Gorbag is the one who covets Frodo's valuable mithril armor, and Shagrat rebuffs his claim out of loyalty, kicking off a brawl in the tower that leaves it depopulated in time for Sam to show up. In the film, Shagrat is the one who wants the mithril and Gorbag is the one who tells him to go shove it. As they aren't named in the film, the only way to notice this without resorting to All There in the Manual is to realize that their races are the same as in the book—Shagrat is a Black Uruk (a taller, more humanoid soldier-orc) while Gorbag seems to be the regular variety.
• The Shining:
  • Jack Torrance infamously is a far less complex character in Kubrick’s version. In the book he was a Doomed Protagonist who genuinely loved his wife Wendy and son Danny but a bad combination of alcoholism, anger management and psychologic damage thanks to his own abusive father has made him a deeply troubled man who eventually gets possessed by the Overlook Hotel’s ghosts. In the film on the other hand, Jack is just a cruel prick to his wife and his son long before they reach hotel. All the spirits did in Kubrick’s telling was nudge him From Bad to Worse.
  • Wendy in the movie is a casebook Hysterical Woman who’s initially submissive to Jack before she becomes frightened of his lunacy and knocks him out by accident. In the book Wendy is more assertive right off the bat, not willing to put up with her husband’s booze hounding and mood swings and is a fierce Mama Bear when it comes to protecting Danny.
  • Danny differs a bit from the page; in the book it’s made clear how much he loves his father and how seeing his hero fall to the Overlook’s power breaks him. In the film, in the few scenes he has with Jack, Danny is just plain freaked out by his dad and shows no reluctance leading him to his death in the maze. In the sequel Doctor Sleep Danny is more similar to how he is in the books.
  • Stuart Ullman is a Mean Boss in the book who antagonises Jack, in the film he’s just a pleasant Nice Guy.
• The movie of Forrest Gump does this with Jenny (making her a vapid party girl), Forrest's mom (who loved her son, but was much less in charge), and to an extent, Forrest himself, who in the books is an Idiot Savant and much less Inspirationally Disadvantaged.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks, as well as The Chipettes experience this with almost every new incarnation. While the characters have experienced some natural Character Development over the years (especially true of the 1980s cartoon series), they have also experienced complete changes in their personalities when it comes to the later live action/CGI movies. For example, Simon goes from being Deadpan Snarker with biting sarcasm to having a less cerebral sense of humor with a underlying perverted streak; Theodore's innocence and naivete not only becomes a thing of flanderization, but he also becomes more absent-minded (much like Jeanette usually is); and Brittany is hardly the Alpha Bitch diva that she's been known for in previous incarnations.
  • However, they seem to return to their 80s personalities in the 2015 series.
• Universal Horror and other Horror Films frequently give this treatment to famous horror monsters (and horror protagonists) changing their characterisation from the source books or previous film versions.
  • Frankenstein's Monster is the most famous case of this. In Mary Shelly’s original book The Wretch started off as a child-like beast but soon turned into a Genius Bruiser with a serious chip on his shoulder. The 1931 film Boris Karloff version of the creature stays Dumb Muscle for the majority of the film and its sequels, unfortunately this resulted in Pop-Cultural Osmosis with most people assuming the creature was always a lumbering brute.
    • The same applies for Victor Frankenstein himself, in the book Victor is The Woobie who immediately regrets playing god and spends the rest book angsting about the situation. In the film Victor cackles in delight at the creation screaming “IT’S ALIVE!” setting the standard for Mad Scientist in fiction.
  • Dracula in Bram Stoker’s original book while Affably Evil was still a complete monster who dipped into some Large Ham at a whim. Across the film adaptations Dracula is either more sensual and nicer, or on the other hand crueler and more monstrous. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula from the 1931 version is a skulking gentleman who prefers using hypnotism than outright attacking his victims. Christopher Lee’s Dracula from Hammer Horror is a Faux Affably Evil Magnificent Bastard who is cold and unfriendly in his countenance. Gary Oldman’s Dracula (despite the movie following the book more closely) is a hamtastic Fallen Hero who is more sympathetic due to his relationship with Mina, this contrasts to the book where Drac just sees Mina as a object and forcing her to suck his blood was an allegory for rape. Even the first adaptation Nosferatu is very different from the book with “Count Orlok” being little more than a prowling creep who lacks the affably traits of book Dracula.
    • Mina Harker is also a different character in the majority of adaptations. She generally gets Chickification and overall Adaptational Wimp as films ignore her assertive Team Mom status and critical role in Dracula’s defeat from book and just make her a Damsel in Distress. The Winona Ryder version in the 1992 film is closer to the book but is less enthusiastic about bringing Dracula down due to her ill-fated romance with him.
    • Lucy Westenra also gets this in the 1992 film. In the book Lucy (before getting turned into a vampire) is Purity Personified and modest. In the film she’s incredibly amorous and very much enjoys getting bitten by the count.
  • The Mummy aka Imhotep in The Mummy (1932) played by Boris Karloff is a calm and stoic Evil Sorcerer who disguises himself as a modern Egyptian man. In The Mummy (1999) version Imhotep played by Arnold Vosloo is a Large Ham Tragic Villain who becomes a Monstrous Humanoid and Dark Messiah. 1999’s version of Imhotep also makes little attempt to disguise himself when reawakened beyond a scary mask and black robe.
  • Adaptations of H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man alter the titular Invisible Jerkass Griffin’s personality a bit. In the book he is a callous and greedy Jerkass who robs his own father and upon becoming invisible descends into insanity at being unable reverse his condition. In the 1933 film Griffin is more sympathetic thanks to his relationship with his fiancé Flora. Griffin’s Ax-Crazy side is mainly attributed to the Psycho Serum affects of the invisibility formula and at the end of the film he explicitly regrets his actions to Flora while dying. In the 2020 film, Griffin is much less likeable than even the book version being a Psycho Ex and Yandere who can’t stand the heroine Cecilia escaping from their controlling and abusive relationship. Sebastian Caine, Griffin’s expy from loose adaptation Hollow Man, makes Wells’ Invisible Man look like a saint in comparison being a despicable mass murdering rapist, who was an asshole long before he even took the serum.
  • The 1943 and 1962 film versions of The Phantom of the Opera are quite different from Gaston Leurox’s book version and to a lesser extent the Lon Chaney’s 1925 silent film and the Broadway Musical versions. Notably the Phantom is much nobler and not the love crazed and deranged Yandere from the novel, who is desperately in love with Christine and willing to blow up half a Paris with gunpowder if she refuses to marry him. The 1943 version is willing to kill for Christine but isn’t involved in the Love Triangle with her and doesn’t plan to bomb Paris. The 1962 version is outright heroic and shows no romantic interest in Christine. The 1989 version of the Phantom played by the same guy as Freddy Kruger has no sympathetic traits or musical genius, just a monster who sold his soul to the devil and uses his victims’ skin for his mask.
    • Christine and her Love Interest Raoul generally have different personalities in film adaptations. In the book Christine is the courageous one and Raoul is the hysterical one, in most adaptations it’s the other way around.
  • The creature aka “Gill-man” from Creature from the Black Lagoon in its debut was little more than a murderous beast who kidnaps the heroine. In Guillermodel Toro’s The Shape of Water the creature is Not Evil, Just Misunderstood, has a romantic relationship with the heroine, has Healing Hands which it uses on it’s friends and only kills one man who very much deserved it.
  • Michael Myers from John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) is a soulless embodiment of evil, we don’t get a hint of his personality or why he kills people, even when he’s a child. In Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake, Michael is a more typical serial killer who was bullied and abused turning him into a monster, he even kills children whilst the 1978 character only targeted teenagers. The original ending of the sequel even had Michael talking.
  • Freddy Kruger played by Robert Englund in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and to a greater extent its sequels, is a Large Ham almost cartoonishly vile antagonist. In the 2010 remake Freddy played by Jackie Earle Haley is more quiet and skulking and a lot more creepy, being an outright pedophile who molested Nancy and her friends. The original Freddy‘s pedophilia only existed in Wes Craven’s original script before Executive Meddling got involved and his obsession with Nancy is generally more personal revenge rather than sickening lust.
• The Adventures of Milo and Otis: Otis the pug is depicted as a little stuffy and fastidious. In the original Japanese Koneko Monogatari, the narrator says that Otis (known as Puusuke in the original) is somewhat ditzy.
• In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Grover was written as more timid and shy. In the movie, he was more of a Casanova Wannabe.
  • In the books, Annabeth might've been a serious Action Girl, but she was also a Plucky Girl who valued brains more than brawn. The movie focused more on her toughness and made her a lot more abrasive, making her more like Clarisse from the books. In second movie Annabeth is also rude and racist to Tyson, unlike the book where she’s polite and sympathetic towards him.
• Dragon Ball Evolution does this to the entire cast being In Name Only to the source material.
  • Goku in the manga and anime of Dragon Ball is the archetypal innocent All-Loving Hero as well as a Boisterous Bruiser who’s very sociable and bold. In the movie Goku is an angsty introverted teen, who is bullied and wishes he could take revenge. His love for fighting is also less pronounced and he’s more interested in romance, unlike original Goku who initially thought "marriage" was some kind of food and just looked confused when his future wife Chi-Chi kissed his cheek. Dragon Ball Evolution Goku is also properly educated as he goes to high school unlike his Idiot Hero anime counterpart who was illiterate until Master Roshi taught him the basics.
  • Chi-Chi in the source material dislikes fighting and only learns and teaches martial arts out of necessity. In the movie Chi-Chi happily enters multiple tournaments and is ironically more battle oriented than Goku and even encourages him to learn how to use ki and get stronger, whilst in source material Chi-Chi wishes Goku would stop fighting and training all the time and do some honest work. Movie Chi-Chi also lacks her anime version’s Hair-Trigger Temper and is quite glamorous, unlike the show’s Chi-Chi whose wardrobe greatly disappointed a plundering female cyborg.
  • Bulma is a vain, bossy, City Mouse scientist in the series. In the movie she’s stoic, patient and comparatively more mature than her manga and anime counterpart. Although this results in making Bulma a far less fun character overall. Her wish for Dragon Balls is also different, rather than a lifetime supply of strawberries, later amended to a perfect boyfriend, in the movie she more practically and dully wants to use the Dragon Balls create a “unlimited source of energy”. Movie Bulma is also more courageous, willing to be a part of the fray, instead crouching by the sidelines.
  • Roshi is the Trope Codifier for Dirty Old Man and Lovable Sex Maniac in the manga and anime. The movie has a Lighter and Softer approach with Roshi’s perversion being limited to a few girly mags and accidentally touching Bulma’s butt when she falls into his arms and he chivalrously removes his hand (i.e drops her) quickly. This is probably a pragmatic choice given portraying Roshi as perverted as he is in the series would’ve be very problematic. Roshi is also a more willingly mentor to Goku than he was the original series.
  • Yamcha is less of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and more of a Jerkass. He’s also got no spine and is more of a Plucky Comic Relief pushover compared to his anime self who despite being regarded as a weakling still bravely battles the forces of evil time and time again. The biggest change is that Dragon Ball Evolution Yamcha is a Casanova Wannabe whereas in the original series Yamcha Cannot Talk to Women due to shyness and wanted to use Dragon Balls to cure himself so he could get a girlfriend, but ironically he gets one (Bulma) anyway without using the Dragon Balls. In the movie he just chats up Bulma and they have a Almost Kiss.
  • Mai is a stone cold Dark Action Girl with zero compassion unlike the show where she’s a Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain who eventually Took a Level in Kindness in Dragon Ball Super and became an ally of the heroes.
  • King Piccolo also differs from the source material. In the movie, he considers Earth a “diseased rock” and cares little for his inhabitants. In the original show, King Piccolo treated Earth like his personal playground and he actually admires a certain group of humans namely criminals and actually implores them to run rampant when he takes over the world for the second time. This could be due to making King Piccolo a Composite Character with other villains who disliked Earth and humanity, such as Radtiz, Vegeta (initially) or Frieza.
• Joker (2019): In most depictions, The Joker is just a horrific Jerkass Sadist who kills people for his twisted amusement and has no redeeming qualities. In this film, he is given a name and a sympathetic backstory; Arthur Fleck is a struggling street clown with severe mental health issues who became vengeful and angry at a society, and eventually goes down a path of delusion and twisted self-discovery that sees him become the psychopath clown we all know. However he only kills people who specifically went out of their way to wrong him, not random bystanders (but as he becomes crazier his tolerances and reasoning for why you deserve to die becomes flimsier, and eventually he gives up on rationalising his murders altogether).
  Murray: Let me get this straight, you think killing those guys is funny?
  Joker: I do. And I'm tired of pretending it's not. Comedy is subjective, Murray, isn't that what they say? All of you, this system that knows so much, you decide what's right or wrong, the same way you decide what's funny... or not. [...] I killed those guys because they were awful. Everybody is awful these days, it's enough to make anybody crazy.
  Murray: So that's it, you're crazy? That's your defense for killing three young men!?
  Joker: No. They couldn't carry a tune to save their lives! [audience boos him] Oohh, why is everyone so upset about these guys!? If it was me dying on the sidewalk, you'd walk right over me!
• Shall We Dance (2004): Beverly gets some scenes of eloquent contemplation about marriage that Masako never did in the Japanese film, and is also more willing to directly confront her husband about how hurt and angry she is over his secret keeping in the final act.
• Star Trek: The Original Series is not the same Kirk as the one from rebooted movies. The Continuity Reboot is an Alternate Timeline of the original in which Kirk's father dies seconds after Kirk is born, and his mother remarries a Jerkass; this results in a very different childhood for young Kirk, and thus a different space captain as an adult. Curiously, though, the films portray Kirk as a Flanderization of his original personality; the plot and interactions suggest that the filmmakers weren't trying for this trope, but simply weren't as familiar with the original as they ought to have been. They portray Kirk as The Casanova and a Cowboy Cop, which is what Pop-Cultural Osmosis suggests he was in the original. But in the original, he was described as "a walking stack of books" as a cadet, remained highly respectful of women (even if he wasn't shy about using his charisma), and generally reflected a lot on the moments where he bent the rules to do what was right, earning Starfleet's respect for that (outside of the Obstructive Bureaucrats he annoyed, who would badmouth him in later Star Trek series, exacerbating the Flanderization). In the films, he constantly clashes with authority, gets in trouble by rushing into situations without thinking, and neither Starfleet nor the women he hits on respect him very much (at least at first).
  
  The third film, Star Trek Beyond, depicted him in a manner virtually identical to his TOS characterisation, losing all the less sympathetic and more controversial elements of his earlier reboot portrayal. This could be justified in-canon as him maturing after a couple of years in command of the Enterprise.
• X-Men: Apocalypse changes the already-established characterizations of certain characters from earlier in the series. This was probably a deliberate attempt to show how they'd turn out in the altered timeline created in the previous movie.
  • Ororo Munroe in the comics and the early films is a passionate and heroic figure who seeks protect her own Mutantkind as well as the innocent. In this movie she willingly joins Apocalypse and becomes one of his Horsemen, killing hundreds of people in the process.
  • Warren Worthington III in X-Men: The Last Stand was presented as a wholesome Nice Guy; in this film, he's an angry and cocky rebel. He later becomes a Horseman of Apocalypse.
  • Jean Grey is more shy and soft spoken compared to her assertive older self or truly badass comic counterpart. She's also more of a Broken Bird (especially in Dark Phoenix) while she was far more confident in the previous movies as well as on the page.
  • Scott Summers is a bad boy instead of a "boy scout" (as he calls himself in the first movie). He encourages a few of his classmates to skip school, and he steals one of Xavier's fancy cars to drive them to the mall.
  • Kurt Wagner no longer goes hammy to remind everyone that "in the Munich circus, I was known as The Incredible Nightcrawler!", as in X2: X-Men United. This film also drops his Catholicism which was integral to his X-2 and comic book versions.
  • Psylocke, much like those mentioned above, is heroic and compassionate in the comics (although she does have a ruthless side); in the film she's a ruthless enforcer for Caliban and then willingly joins Apocalypse and tries to kill the X-Men, even sadistically attempting to strangle Beast.
  • Apocalypse himself only hams it up at certain moments like making a point or being angry, instead being more soft-spoken and calm, whereas Large Ham is his comic counterpart's default setting.
• Escape to Witch Mountain: The owner of the orphanage in the movie was a kind lady while in the book, it was more of a home for orphaned juvenile delinquents run by a former police woman who took no guff from anyone.
• In The Addams Family films the girl, Wednesday, is usually a scowling Creepy Child and the boy, Pugsley, is usually smiling. In the original panel cartoons it's the other way around.
• Asher is consistently happy and cheerful throughout The Giver (where he's assigned a recreational position), while in the film he starts off that way but becomes more serious and unsmiling after being assigned drone pilot.
• Into the Woods:
  • Because Rapunzel's Prince's affair with Snow White was cut, he comes across as less of an unlikable womanizer. He's still boastful, but his interactions with Rapunzel are sweet and dorky at times.
  • Likewise Rapunzel herself is The Ophelia in the play. None of these traits show up in the film and she doesn't commit suicide by running into the Giantess.
• The Blade Trilogy had two examples:
  • The titular Blade himself was The Stoic, whereas in the comics, he was more talkative and conceited.
  • Hannibal King in the comics was somewhat older, and more serious and reserved; in Blade: Trinity, he's Ryan Reynolds.
• Bean in the film Ender's Game is made to be a peer of Ender's class, not a younger trainee like he was in the book. As a result he takes on some of book!Alai's traits, including being a bit of a bully to Ender before becoming his friend. This is quite a contrast to Bean's personality in the books, where he wouldn't taunt anybody due to being the smallest student and so preferred to be ignored.
• The Amazing Spider-Man Series:
  • Captain George Stacy was a supporter of Spider-Man from the start in the comics. However, in The Amazing Spider-Man, he starts off distrustful of the webhead and wanting to arrest Spidey before he warms up to him. Additionally, as he's dying, he asks Peter to stay away from Gwen for her own safety, whereas comics!George asked Peter to look after her.
  • In some ways, Gwen Stacy is the opposite of her comics counterpart, including being accepting of Spider-Man and not blaming Spdiey for her father's death as her classic and Ultimate Marvel counterparts did.
• In the graphic novel Watchmen, Silhouette was rather unpleasant and vaguely racist and she was killed after her identity was exposed. In the Watchmen movie, none of those moments are shown.
• Hannah Swensen: Moishe and Delores (her cat and mother, in order), can barely interact, even over the telephone... let alone when Delores is there in person. The best that can have expected is Clothing Damage. But in the film adaptations, almost none of this happens.
• It (2017) and It: Chapter Two:
  • Bill Denbrough is the idealistic and competent leader of The Loser’s Club in the book and is motivated to kill Pennywise out of revenge and a degree of guilt for death of his little brother Georgie. In the films Bill is a troubled and flawed leader whose stubbornness and aggression spilt the party apart and he frequently goes off alone which is the opposite mentality he has in the novel. Bill is also more guilt driven having faked sickness so he wouldn’t have to play with Georgie that stormy day. As a result Bill is more a Rounded Character and less of a Stephen King Wish-Fulfillment Author Avatar
  • Stan Uris was painfully inferential in the novel, doggedly refusing to accept the reality of a shapeshifting Monster Clown and as result was more susceptible to Pennywise’s power than the rest of the Losers. Stan was also an emotional doormat to his overly pressuring Jewish family, and eventually he commits suicide rather than go back to Derry and finish IT off. In the films, Stan eventually stands up himself and defies his demanding father showing a good deal more heroism and self confidence despite being especially tormented by Pennywise.
    • The sequel adds more justifying Stan’s taking his life by turning it into a Heroic Suicide that would draw his friends together and he even writes them letters explaining his decision, apologising and expressing his love for them. In the novel he forgot all about them and became suicidal upon remembering.
  • Eddie Kaspbrak was a docile and weak willed Hypochondriac in the book, in the films Eddie is almost as jokey and snarky as Richie. He also doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to calling out his suffocating mother like he does in the book where he still pities her. Eddie is also a Neat Freak in the film while he wasn’t in the novel.
  • Beverly Marsh while quite the Plucky Girl in the novel was far more scared than she let on and very emotional at times. In the movie she’s an incredibly brave Tomboy with a Girly Streak, movie Bev is also clearly disgusted and fearful of her Pervert Dad while in the book she can’t help but love him despite his physical abuse. Bev’s sexual awakening is also toned down and her relationship with the boys (aside from Bill and Ben) is more platonic.
  • Ben Hanscom is less of a Dogged Nice Guy like he was in the book due to aforementioned Beverly actually reciprocating his feelings much sooner. Also in the book Ben mostly forgot about Bev after he left Derry, in the films Ben never stops loving her and is able to get over his Cannot Spit It Out and reveals his feelings to her which saves both their lives.
  • Richie Tozier isn’t nearly as hyperactive as he was in the book though it’s hinted in the films that his parents don’t care about him while he in the novel he and Mike easily had the best parents, compared to certain other members of the Losers’s Club. The sequel makes Richie more tragic as he has a closeted love for Eddie but couldn’t reveal it before Eddie was killed.
  • Mike Hanlon as an adult is a desperate and half crazy man who lies and leads his friends into a ritual that would get them all killed in order to destroy Pennywise. In the book Mike has a sensible approach to dealing with the titular creature and would never endanger his friends like he does in the second movie.
  • Butch Bowers, in the book he was a one note racist, abusive and crazy ex-vet. In the film he’s a fairly decent (albeit alcoholic) cop, who actively searches for the missing kids and prevents his bullying son Henry from tormenting the Losers Club and shooting a cat. On the other hand Butch is still abusive to Henry in both the book and film.
  • Pennywise is more animalistic and monstrous in his clown form than he was described as in the book or previously portrayed as in the 1990 version.
• The Resident Evil Film Series does this to loads of the characters from the games. The standout however is Jill Valentine whom in the games is a compassionate and righteous heroine, while in Resident Evil: Apocalypse Jill gets Adaptational Jerkass being bitchy and rude to pretty much everyone including innocent civilians. It also doesn’t help Jill’s heroism and competence is given to Canon Foreigner Alice.
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit massively changed virtually every main character's personality from Who Censored Roger Rabbit? The biggest example of this is Jessica Rabbit who goes from a cold-hearted Femme Fatale who marries Roger only because she was magically compelled to do so by a genie and promptly dumps him for a rich man when the wish expires in the book to a subversion of the Femme Fatale archetype who turns out to genuinely love Roger.
• Conan the Barbarian (1982):
  • Due to the major changes to his backstory, Conan is mostly The Stoic nursing a grudge instead of a free-wheeling Emotional Bruiser.
  • The Cimmerian deity Crom is said to be a tough but benevolent laughing god who is pleased by valour instead of a Perpetual Frowner who doesn't care about his people apart from giving them strength at birth; while Conan's first prayer to Crom despite having "no tongue for it" is a high point of the film, originally Conan didn't pray to Crom because it invites punishment for bothering him.
• Spider-Man Trilogy:
  • Peter Parker himself is more moody both in-costume and out, generally being less prone to make jokes than the Peter of the comics, and is even an Extreme Doormat out-of-costume, whereas even in the early stories, Peter had a chip on his shoulder and was more confrontational.
  • In part due to being a Composite Character with some of Peter's other love interests, Mary Jane Watson is more somber and reserved, whereas the comics version was witty and charming, and eases Peter up when he gets too serious. Although granted, more than a few writers tend to portray MJ as more grounded like her movie version.
  • Norman Osborn, while still deeply unpleasant, tyrannical, misogynistic and insane like the comics, still gets some Adaptational Nice Guy in the Raimi film. Notably his relationship with his son Harry is much healthier as it’s shown he does genuinely love his son, unlike the comic where he’s an abusive father to a disgusting degree. It’s also shown before taking Psycho Serum, Norman is a more affable man, unlike the comic where as Spidey notes all the Goblin serum did was turn Norman From Bad to Worse.
  • Dr. Otto Octavius similar to Doctor Doom is a notoriously for being a ridiculous petty villain in the comics on top of being a egotistical Mad Scientist. In the film, he’s witty laidback loving man who turns into a Tragic Villain after his wife’s death but partakes in delightful Large Ham as a supervillain later in the film, unlike the comics where he’s a No-Nonsense Nemesis.
  • Eddie Brock is a very flawed Anti-Hero in the comics who has done villainous things but still cares about innocent people and his disgraced journalist career was more an accident. In the film, Eddie is a Smug Snake who happily partakes in shady journalism and goes to church to pray for Spider-Man’s death unlike the comic, where he was praying for mercy after just being diagnosed with cancer.
• Power Rangers (2017):
  • Billy and Trini are now respectively autistic and questioning her sexuality with the issues that come with those, with Trini additionally being far more snarky; and Zack is a "bad boy" who fears his mother dying from her illness.
  • Rita lacks many of her series counterpart's more comedic traits.
• Tomboyish, Deadpan Snarker Leslie from the 1970s book Bridge to Terabithia becomes a girlier Blithe Spirit Cheerful Child in the 2007 film.
• Jem and the Holograms (2015): The normally straight-laced Aja mentions having gone to juvie for unknown reasons.
• In the film version of Middle School: The Worst Year of My Life, the villainous characters get quite some personality changes, as their existing personalities were hard to make work in a kids’ comedy:
  • Principal Dwight and Vice Principal Stricker. In the books, Dwight was mainly a background character while Stricker took a more direct antagonistic role. In the film, Dwight is the main villain while Stricker was his right-hand woman. Also, in the book they were both no-nonsense characters, if not the nightmarish caricatures in Rafe’s imagination, while the film version has them more cocky and bumbling.
  • Bear, Jules’ boyfriend in the first book. The book version portrayed a violent and cruel Bear who did nothing but yell at his wife and kids, hence his nickname. In the film, he’s portrayed as a narcissistic sleazebag to better fit Rob Riggle.
  • Miller the Killer was a typical cartoon bully a la Francis in the books. He’s more of a tough-guy rival whose bullying mostly consists of shoving and taunting in the movie.
• RoboCop (2014):
  • While Alex Murphy could be a bit of a Cowboy Cop in the original trilogy, before he became RoboCop, he was generally a Nice Guy. In the 2014 film, even before he became a cyborg, Murphy was a hothead and rougher around the edges.
  • Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop (1987) took sadistic gleee in his actions. His 2014 counterpart Antoine Vallon was more professional and like a businessman in his work (included delegating the task of taking out a pre-RoboCop Alex Murphy to underlings, whereas Boddicker literally delivered the first and final shots to Murphy and watched his men do the rest).
• Mortal Kombat (2021):
  • Sonya while still a hero in the games and other media is Married to the Job and a bit of a Defrosting Ice Queen who was initially very skeptical and disbelieving of the supernatural aspects of Outworld. In the film, she’s an energetic and empathetic woman who actually knows all about Outworld, providing exposition with her String Theory wall. She’s still regains some of her violent Hot-Blooded nature from the games, but in only regard to the villains.
  • Liu Kang is quite righteous and Hot-Blooded in the games, leaning towards Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy a few times in later games. In the film he’s a Nice Guy, who nurses the wounds of heroes and isn’t at all cocky about his martial skill, being a Martial Pacifist for most of the film before killing Kabal at the end.
  • Kung Lao was stoical in early games before characterised as a righteous fighter who’s at worst got a bit of chip on his shoulder being Always Second Best to Liu Kang. In the film, he’s definite Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy who is impatient and belittling to the Earthrealm heroes except his cousin Liu Kang.
  • Raiden is usually portrayed as benevolent and polite Mentor Archetype in the games and other media. In the film he gets major Adaptational Jerkass, being condescending and unfriendly to the Earthrealm fighters. He’s even willingly to shoot lightening bolts over the pettiest of insults and nicknames.
  • Mileena is a Psychopathic Woman Child in the games who Really Gets Around and is desperate to be adored and worshipped like her sister. In the film by contrast she’s very mature, quite stoic and doesn’t show interest in anyone beyond a prolonged stare at Liu Kang. She even questions Shang Tsung over his plan in Deleted Scene, unlike the games she’s unquestionably loyal to the villain team.
  • Reiko is a formidable kombatant in the games and especially comics where’s quite the Genius Bruiser. In the film he’s entirely Dumb Muscle.
  • Shang Tsung is mainly portrayed as a Large Ham Laughably Evil sorcerer in the games and other MK media. In the film, he’s Cold Ham.
• Comic book and cartoon Grouchy in The Smurfs barely speaks except to recite "I hate..." The live-action Smurfs film and its sequel have Grouchy as being very outspoken and opinionated, and sometimes very snarky.
• Judge Dredd turned Fergee from "The Day The Law Died" from Dumb Muscle, whose Heroic Sacrifice takes out Cal and saves the city, to a Dirty Coward comic relief sidekick played by Rob Schneider, essentially the polar opposite.
• The titular character of Ophelia is a downplayed. We don't really get to know much about Ophelia in Hamlet, so the film attempts to flesh out her character. Notably, she comes across as far less submissive and less emotionally/psychologically frail. She's less of a tragic, too good for this sinful earth-type, and is more of a misunderstood spirited young lady; notably she doesn't go mad and drown herself from grief and heartbreak, but actually fakes insanity and death to escape the toxicity of the Danish court and whatever evil plans Claudius has for her.
• In the film adaptation of Bill Bryson’s book A Walk in The Woods Bryson’s travelling companion Stephen Katz is a world-weary grizzled old man who occasionally dispenses wisdom, as opposed to the obnoxious tantrum-throwing manchild he was in the book. Possibly justified by the Age Lift, both Katz and Bryson are somewhat older in the film than they actually were during the events of the book.
• The Running Man: While Killian's crimes are more or less consistent between the book and the film, being the one in charge of the Network and the Running Man show, the original Killian was just a Corrupt Corporate Executive who doesn't seek out the limelight, and generally gives the impression of a restrained, calculated villain who at least makes a sincere attempt at being Affably Evil. This version of Killian is a Smarmy Host who is far more interested in gratifying his ego than lining his pockets, is more Faux Affably Evil, and at the end of the day is really just a Smug Snake.
• Seeing as how Straight Time is a Pragmatic Adaptation of No Beast So Fierce, a few characters had their personalities altered in the film.
  • In the original book, Max Dembo was a brash, outspoken, and virulently racist and homophobic Jerkass. Likely to make him more sympathetic, here Max is a fairly shy and amiable man and something of a charmer. However, he's still shown to be just as violent and impulsive as his book counterpart, and many of his Pet the Dog moments from the original novel are excised, making him come across as a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
  • In the book, Joseph Rosenthal was a self-righteous Jerkass, but he was very uptight, not entirely without compassion, and tended to come across as Innocently Insensitive. In the film, Earl Frank is a Slimeball who clearly enjoys lording his power over Max and tormenting him.
  • In the novel, Selma Darin clearly didn't like having Max around her family, but she never outright said so and came across as something of an Extreme Doormat. Here, she's much more proactive, politley bur firmly telling Max to stay away from Willy and doing her best to keep her husband on the straight and narrow.
• Emma. (2020) portrays Isabella and John Knightley's marriage as fractious and bickering. In the book, they were Happily Married and when John gave in to the temptation to be snarky with her, it flew over her head anyway. Also, much of John's status as Emma's Obnoxious In Law was because he hated traveling and so he was already disposed to be crabby if he was at Hartsfield.
• Persuasion (2022): The book's Anne was sensible, pensive and considerate, keeping most of her negative thoughts to herself. This Anne is not only a First-Person Smartass to the audience, but she's also more playful and more prone to moaning about her doomed engagement with Wentworth.
• The film adaptations of The Dollanganger Series make changes to some of the characters:
  • Corrine Foxworth is shown to be colder and more cruel than her book counterpart, who is minaly motivated by fear and stress.
  • Malcolm Foxworth is even worse in the films than in the book; in addition to the terrible things he does in the book, the films also make him more of a rapist, have him be the indirect cause of his first son's death by seducing his fiancee (who didn't exist in the book), having his second son's boyfriend (who also didn't exist in the book) arrested because he didn't approve of the relationship and then throwing said son into a sanitarium, and treating his younger half-brother like hired help at first. Also, unlike the book, he never forgives Corrine, nor does he ever have any sort of redemption, as opposed to his book counterpart who has both.
  • Olivia Foxworth becomes a kinder person than her book counterpart. Whereas the book's version of Olivia victim-blames Alicia for her own rape and enjoys having her under her control out of pure jealousy, the film version does neither of these things. The book version of Olivia is also much colder, even from the beginning, and it is revealed eventually that she is the main cause of what happened to the Dresden Dolls, as she hides their existence from Malcolm knowing that he would eventually soften towards them just like Corrine believed and convinces Corrine that Malcolm would never accept them. Olivia is also shown to more given to petty jealosuy, as compared to the film version, who rarely behaves this way.
  • Joel Foxworth is turned from a manipulative religious fanatic into a more sympathetic character; the entire movie storyline of him being gay and in a relationship with a black person at a time when neither of those things would have been accepted, specially for a man of his background, was entirely added by the film.
• In The School for Good and Evil, Agatha was a sullen Goth, abrasive towards Sophie and her superficiality. Agatha carried around headless birds killed by her cat and matches because of her Pyromaniac tendencies. She also was a Nightmare Fetishist, and a Sweet Tooth. All of this was dropped in the movie, except when Agatha mentions she likes to read ghost stories.
• Nightfall (1988):
  • Aton, astronomer and scientist, is now the local city leader. He spends the first part of the movie obsessed with a mysterious woman, and stubbornly insisting that they live in a city of light.
  • Sor, religious leader and off-screen antagonist, is now given screen-time equal to Aton. He seems to encourage archeology and preparations for the coming Darkness, but he is still obsessed with his cult, and ritualistically blinds his followers by having hawks eat their eyes.
• Wonka: Justified since this is Willy Wonka when he's trying to start his career, instead of in the book or previous adaptations where he is an older and more cynical businessman. Nearly every negative personality trait common across adaptations has been removed in favor of focusing on his whimsical creativity and kindness towards others. He was even willing to give up on making chocolate forever just to make sure that his friends would be freed from their debts, an act that is a sharp contrast to other versions of the character who are obsessed with ensuring the future of their chocolate factory.

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