History AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / Film

** In the Gene Wilder version, Willy Wonka comes off as a MadScientist who is genuinely unconcerned how dangerous his environment is. In the JohnnyDepp version, Willy Wonka is shown meticulously planning and organizing events, which make the various accidents come off as the machinations of a DiabolicalMastermind. The original novel can support either interpretation.

** In the book, the Oompa Loompas are an explicit case of ValuesDissonance -- they're ''pygmies''. In the Gene Wilder version, Wonka sees them as completely dependent on his good will, so much so that he chooses his successor solely on how he believes that successor will treat them; this could make him the leader of a ''{{cult}}''. In the JohnnyDepp version, they're privacy-loving immigrants; given that Wonka's a CloudCuckooLander, it must be a laid-back job.

* An interesting one during the production of ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': Saavik, a Vulcan character from the second through fourth movies, was supposed to feature heavily in the plot. But ''Franchise/StarTrek'' creator GeneRoddenberry insisted that Saavik [[spoiler:would never play a part in an assassination plot]], even though screenwriter/director Nicholas Meyer countered that ''he'' created the character in the first place. The role ended up going to a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute named Valeris.

* Is ''Film/SkyHigh'''s Stitches just another Mook, or is the greatest henchman in any medium? [[spoiler: Royal Pain is de-aged into an infant, and out of pure loyalty, takes her in and raises her as his own daughter. And once she's old enough for her powers to manifest, he willing resumes his old position as her henchman.]]

** Which one's "Dumb" and which one's "Dumber"?

** Caleb: Although Caleb is the nicest of the four and seems to be a genuinely good person, how much of his wanting to help Ava was based out of genuine empathy and how much of it was [[spoiler: based on him desiring to enact his pornographic fantasies - Ava's face having been designed off of Caleb's preferences? What really does Caleb watch and how does it inform how he thinks of women? A case could be made for all his good intentions, he would be just as controlling and abusive to Ava as Nathan, and she left him behind because leaving with him would be trading one jailer for another]].

* HAL 9000 from ''TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. WordOfGod said that he went kill-crazy because he was given conflicting orders about how to treat the crew members. There are two other theories for his motives: he was aware he was going to crash/go nuts and was trying to drop hints to Dave to figure out the secret purpose of the mission; or he, being a perfect computer, felt threatened by the monolith and wanted to keep mankind from acquiring it and reaching a point in evolution where they don't need tools like himself. Naturally, the film itself gives no hints at all.

* Depending on which fanfic you read, Dr. Frank N Furter from ''RockyHorrorPictureShow'' is either A.) an abusive, psychotic, heartless jerk who only manipulates and hurts (both physically and emotionally) other people for his own personal amusement, or B.) [[DracoInLeatherPants a misunderstood person who only acts the way he does due to some mysterious past tragedy.]]

* The radiation-scarred pursuers from ''Film/ChernobylDiaries'' seem like your standard schlock-horror CannibalClan ''TheHillsHaveEyes'' Expys ... except that they're never actually seen killing ''any'' of the tour group on-screen. They grapple with Michael (who was shooting at them) and one is captured on video carrying off Natalie, but the former's death is not shown and the latter is actually found again later, physically unharmed. Because the Exclusion-Zone guards had apparently been hunting them down with automatic weapons, it's possible that these "mutants" were merely defending themselves by mobbing the intruders, particularly as their vision must've been damaged by radiation (so they couldn't see that the group weren't in uniform) and they couldn't understand the tourists' English (which, if they'd been held in isolation since the disaster, would've sounded like the language of a UsefulNotes/ColdWar enemy). As for the implied cannibalism, Yuri could've been killed and half-eaten by feral dogs, which also injured Chris; and Natalie was hauled away by the "mutants" in order to ''save'' her from the bear when it returned to flip over the van, having smelled out Chris's blood.

** Caleb: Although Caleb is the nicest of the four and seems to be a genuinely good person, how much of his wanting to help Ava was based out of genuine empathy and how much of it was [[spoiler: based on him desiring to enact his pornographic fantasies - Ava's face having been designed off of Caleb's preferences? What really does Caleb watch and how does it inform how he thinks of women?]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkMU1mKdwPI This Youtube video]] makes a decent case for the alternative interpretation that The One, who was destined to return to the Source and thereby end the war between humans and machines, isn't Neo, but is actually [[spoiler:Agent Smith]].

* The film version of ''Film/TheHungerGames'' seems to present the possibility that [[spoiler: Foxface purposefully killed herself with Peeta's nightlock berries. During the training montage, a scene of her matching and identifying plants from memory is shown, indicating that perhaps she knew all along what she was doing, and didn't actually make a fatal mistake.]] Since she was weak and starving anyway, and knew she couldn't match the other remaining four tributes, she opted for a quick, painless way out instead, and covered it up as an accident so that her family back home didn't get in any trouble.
** Goes all the way into HeroicSacrifice. In eating the Nightlock berries before [[spoiler:Peeta]] does she stops him from accidentally poisoning himself and [[spoiler:Katniss]]. Whether this is intentional is anyone's guess but quite posssible.

* The 1976 version of "Film/{{Carrie}}" portrays Margaret, Carrie's mother, as a psychotic woman who has made up her own version of Christianity and follows this version to the letter, even misquoting the Bible. She is abusive towards Carrie and never shows her any love, going so far as to say she never wanted Carrie RIGHT IN HER FACE. In the 2013 version of the film, Margaret is still a firm believer of her own version of her religion, but it's made abundantly clear that Carrie means the world to her, even if she can be rude to her at times. An even more important change is the infamous prom sequence. In the 1976 film, Carrie is never shown practicing her telekinesis and goes into a trance-like state when shit hits the fan at prom. This makes her character helpless from start to finish, she's not doing anything yet she causes all this mayhem. The 2013 version solves this problem masterfully: Carrie can be seen practicing her powers (moving flags while in class, looking up videos on YouTube) and actually has fun with it. She sees it as a gift rather than a curse. In the prom sequence, it's not just Carrie losing control. It's rather the opposite. Carrie takes control by simply having enough of everyone's shit and decides to use her powers against everyone who has wronged her. She simply has had enough and doesn't care anymore, taking matters into her own hand, standing up for herself at last. This completely turns her character around, much like the film did with her mother Margaret. Carrie isn't a helpless victim in this version, she's the hero (or maybe anti-hero, YMMV on that one). Carrie 1976 is the tale of a woman scorned, Carrie 2013 is the tale of a woman scorned and not having any of it.

* Captain Nascimento in "Elite Squad" has been described as either hero/anti-hero cop relentless in his quest to stop crime or an inhuman psychopath whose objective is to exterminate slum dwelling criminals. A third and more interesting interpretation is that he is neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a victim: the training to which he was subjected in order to be an elite cop and his job take a serious toll on his psychological well being and ultimately his personal life, yet another casualty of the War on Drugs.

* Captain Nascimento in "Film/Elite Squad" has been described as either hero/anti-hero cop relentless in his quest to stop crime or an inhuman psychopath whose objective is to exterminate slum dwelling criminals. A third and more interesting interpretation is that he is neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a victim: the training to which he was subjected in order to be an elite cop and his job take a serious toll on his psychological well being and ultimately his personal life, yet another casualty of the War on Drugs.

*** See ''{{Tremors}} 2'' for a parallel situation. They may simply seem smart in some cases, but are acting purely on instinct.

* In ''Film/{{Cinderella 2015}}'', Drizella either really believes Cinderella spoke Italian or makes it up so she won't have to admit she didn't understand what Ella spoke in French.

** Nathan: It's hard to tell whether we're seeing the 'real' Nathan or the predatory, misogynistic, and threatening bad guy he's deliberately presenting himself as in order to get the reaction he wants out of Caleb. How bad he looks also has to do with what you think about his robots. If you ask yourself WhatMeasureIsANonHuman and decide that he's technically just working with advanced programs, then it's hard to accuse him of more than being a person of poor character who indulges in sick but ultimately victimless fantasies. If you think that his creations are really sentient, then he looks like a serial killer of the worst kind.
** Ava: Is Ava really capable of human consciousness, emotion, and moral judgement? Or is it a product of her hyper competence as a robot? If so, then was her reaction understandable given the abuse and manipulation she had suffered or unforgivable because [[spoiler: she betrayed Caleb after he freed her]]? If not, then is she even really responsible for her actions since it was her creator's fault she turned out that way? [[spoiler: Did she betray Caleb because she doesn't care about him, or did she come to actively not like him during their sessions?]]

*** The [WebAnimation/[HowItShouldHaveEnded HISHE]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-5tMPInetg parody of ''First Class'']] has a unique interpretation of Erik as a complete dick. Not even a heroic dick, like in the film, but just a dick full stop. Their reasoning is pretty convincing, pointing out how Erik is wearing the helmet of the man who killed his mother, who he spent his entire life trying to avenge, and even adopting his life philosophy and motivations. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he also decided to make a speech about his plans for mutants]] [[KickTheDog immediately after]] accidentally paralyzing Charles without even considering getting him to a hospital, something that their version of [[ObviouslyEvil Azazel]] [[WhatTheHellHero called him out on]].

*** The [[HowItShouldHaveEnded HISHE]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-5tMPInetg parody of ''First Class'']] has a unique interpretation of Erik as a complete dick. Not even a heroic dick, like in the film, but just a dick full stop. Their reasoning is pretty convincing, pointing out how Erik is wearing the helmet of the man who killed his mother, who he spent his entire life trying to avenge, and even adopting his life philosophy and motivations. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he also decided to make a speech about his plans for mutants]] [[KickTheDog immediately after]] accidentally paralyzing Charles without even considering getting him to a hospital, something that their version of [[ObviouslyEvil Azazel]] [[WhatTheHellHero called him out on]].

* Characterization being a little thin in the ''Film/{{Tron}}'' movies (and games), this tends to make some really interesting fodder for character questions.
** Can Kevin Flynn be considered heroic or "one of the good guys" at all? He's established as a guy who has a natural gift for business, programming, and persuading others to do what he wants, but is otherwise a full-blown ManChild. His primary motivation on the first film is to get revenge on Dillinger for stealing his ideas and a ton of money. Defeating Master Control is the only way he would be able to get back to analog so he could enjoy the credit and cash. Anyone else's concerns could be a second thought at best. Even right before he makes his attempt at HeroicSacrifice, he kisses a Program woman who is a doppelganger for his ex-girlfriend (and who he knows is happily attached to his new Program best friend). After he ''does'' get back to analog, he proceeds to ''steal'' his friends' work (Lora's laser, Alan's Program) and conduct highly irregular and dangerous experiments in his arcade's basement, all the while lying to his friends and ''even his wife'' about what he's really up to! And what is he doing in {{cyberspace}}? Millions of sentient, artificial life forms with their own society, goals, thoughts, and feelings, and he explicitly refers to their world as a "game," and "[his] gift to the world," with little if any consideration for them. And when the Isos come along, he's so delighted by them that the Programs seem secondary concerns at best. When things inevitably go south on him, he saves Quorra (last Iso), but throws ''millions'' of Program lives (''including Tron's'') under the proverbial bus in the process. Quorra says he fought against Clu, but there is no evidence of it in ''TronUprising'' and his idea of "fighting" in ''TronEvolution'' was to code up Anon to do battle for him and die to rescue Quorra. As for his in-universe defenders? Quorra has a loyalty to him that is, to put it bluntly, fanatical. To her, he is her master and her god. Well, to Sam, he's the long-lost heroic father he's spent a lifetime missing.
** Clu (2.0) himself: Was he just [[JustFollowingOrders doing exactly what he was told to do]], but taking the most draconian method to accomplish it? Was his coup over Flynn done out of malice, or because he felt it was the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo only way to save the system]] from a [[GodIsFlawed negligent and foolish creator]]? Remember, ''Betrayal'' established that the Grid was riddled with bugs, near-fatal crashes, glitches, and instability. Flynn was pulled in too many directions at once to see how bad things on a cycle-to-cycle basis were becoming, and still overly in love with the idea of the Grid over its reality. Furthermore, Clu would do the work, but Flynn got the credit, and there was just enough of Flynn in Clu to be angry about it. Worse ([[VillainHasAPoint horribly, horribly worse]]), after Clu murdered the Isos and a large chunk of the Program population in his purges, the system went from unstable and barely holding together to [[TheExtremistWasRight running for nearly 21 years without a hitch.]]
** TronUprising seems indicate that Clu's reign wasn't as hitch-free as CLU was eventually seeking to [[{{Brainwash}} "repurpose"]] every program in the Grid whether they resisted or not. Maybe CLU's real motivation was that he was a ControlFreak (admittedly, he was created to be one by Flynn) who came to resent the system he was supposed to manage. Then there's the father/son parallels between Flynn and him, especially the vicious SiblingRivalry between him and Sam when they meet, and you can extend that to Flynn's coddling of the Isos.
** As for Alan, did he really believe Flynn was alive, or was he giving the proverbial middle finger to Flynn's enemies by refusing to state his friend was dead? Alan would also be all too aware of Flynn's faults, but could be blinded by UndyingLoyalty, NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead (especially after doing the lion's share of raising Sam), or [[HoYay something]] [[OT3 else]] [[ThreesomeSubtext entirely]]. Furthermore, in raising Sam, and helping to keep the kid's controlling interest in the company, is he really trying to do right by his former ward, or does he want to put Sam (who is every bit the ManChild his father was at that age) in charge and then act as TheManBehindtheMan? (This interpetation has a lot of weight if you've played ''[[{{Tron20}} Tron 2.0]]'', since his EstablishingCharacterMoment was in pulling strings to try and force his own son into a higher-ranking position in Encom). Furthermore, is his bi-coastal marriage to Lora a case of HappilyMarried, HappyMarriageCharade, or even TheBeard?
*** The 2.0 AlternateContinuity also throws a disturbing question. In that timeline, Flynn still vanishes, but Lora ends up killed by her laser project. It's implied several times in-game (and outright stated in the comics) that the AI Ma3a is actually what's left of Lora that was trapped in the system. Was this an accident? Did Alan do that ''deliberately?'' And if it's the latter, was it the action of a grieving man doing what he could for his lost wife, a borderline insane grief where he could not let her go (so he uploads her to an AI), and the comics even proposed a RonTheDeathEater scenario where Alan killed Lora in a jealous rage, and Ma3a was a way to cover up the crime. [[spoiler: That last one was proposed by a nasty character trying to MindRape a Program who believed he was Jet, so it's ''probably'' not the case...]])
** And Tron himself: Is his devotion to Users something he chose, or did Alan make him ThreeLawsCompliant in response to The [=MCP=], which was a classic AIIsACrapshoot? Was his erratic behavior in ''TronUprising'' a reasonable response to a system that was even ''worse'' than Master Control's? Was he trying to chase Beck off, after losing so many apprentices already (Beck was his sixth apprentice at ''least''). Was he slowly going mad without a User to serve? Was he slowly succumbing to the effects of [[BrainwashedAndCrazy rectification]] without being entirely aware of it? And when did the Rinzler programming start to crack? Was he FightingFromtheInside all that time, or was he freed by User power?
** Ed Dillinger Jr.: Whose side is he on? Creator/CillianMurphy tends to say he doesn't play "bad guys," but Junior's talk with what appears to be Master Control 2.0 definitely raises eyebrows.
** Are the Isos really as important as Flynn thinks? Both ''Legacy'' and ''Uprising'' don't reveal why Flynn thought so, except that disease itself would be eliminated, so if they are important enough that Quorra was worth risking everything to save CLU was condemning millions of Users to death with his Purge. Considering his actions and big speech in ''Legacy'', [[KillAllHumans it may even have been part of the plan]].

*** If the videogame sequel ''VideoGame/TheThing'' is to be taken as canon, then Childs freezed to death, and Mack went missing. [[spoiler:He reappears at the end, but it's subtly implied that he's actually become a Thing. And he's heading for the mainland...]]

** Augustus Gloop: He's relatively unchanged between the films, but is meaner in the 2005 version. In the 1971 version, he offered Charlie a pen to sign the contract. In the 2005 version, he offered Charlie some chocolate and then yanked it away.

** Aside from Augustus Gloop, who is relatively unchanged between the films (aside from coming across as meaner, since in the original he offered Charlie a pen to sign the contract whereas the later one offered Charlie some chocolate and then yanked it away), this also applies to the naughty children:

** One could also argue whether his fall at the end of {{Thor}} was a suicide attempt or an escape route to plan more evil deeds. Depending upon the character interpretation, whether Loki is a MagnificentBastard or a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, Odin's telling him that what he did would not make him proud could either have been the final straw that drove him to suicide or that drove him to full out, unredeemable evil.

* In ''Film/{{Truth2015}} Truth'', were Mary Mapes and Dan Rather simply following a lead and got hoodwinked by a con man? Were they rabid partisans willing to use forged documents to influence a presidential election? Or were they martyrs who were hounded out of their jobs for exposing a truth certain powerful people tried to hide?