History YMMV / TheBooksOfEmber

** Another excellent moment: the ending, where Lina and Doon tie a message to a rock and drop it down to Ember, so that the rest of the city can follow their path. The CGI is quite good for 2008, and the narration and music (the above-mentioned "One Last Message" come together to make it a genuinely awe-inspiring scene.
--->''Lina and Doon tied their hope to a rock and tossed it down toward the city. The rock could've ended up on a roof, or been kicked into a gutter. [[MeaningfulEcho But fate ran another course,]] and the message found its way. ''[Doon's father finds the message]'' Now the path was clear for all - all of us who [[MeaningfulName kept the flame of Ember burning]] through the darkness, so that we could live again on the Earth, in the air and the light.''

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-_13Z-r5m4 "One Last Message"]] perfectly fits over the credits and end sequences.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: "One Last Message", perfectly fits over the credits and end sequences.

-->'''''"It's my job!"'''''

* IdiotPlot: The events of ''The City of Ember'' could have been avoided had the Builders designed an immoveable vault to contain the instructions instead of a small, easily misplaced metal box. The book even specifies that the box was meant never to be removed from the gathering hall, and ''The Diamond of Darkhold'' further exacerbates this failing by revealing they ''did'' design a vault to contain the solar-powered technology left for the Emberites.

* ItWasHisSled: The fact that Ember is an UndergroundCity is not found out until the end of the first book, but good luck finding someone who treats that like a spoiler (Hell, it even says this on the main page!).

* IdiotPlot: There whole thing happens because the Builders[[note]]who are so talented that they could build an entire city underground and reasonably expect it to be sustainable for two centuries[[/note]]- thought it was a good idea to have the key to leaving the city sealed inside a box, and for it to be passed down from one mayor to the next despite none of them knowing what it was for. This admittedly is an AdaptationInducedPlothole -- in the book, the box with the instructions was kept in the basement of the town hall, until it was stolen and taken home by the seventh mayor, who died before he could tell anyone about it.

* WTHCastingAgency: Bill Murray as the BigBad is an odd casting choice. Toby Jones, who plays TheDragon, would arguably have been a better fit.

* OlderThanTheyThink: This predated the Young Adult dystopia genre that would come into popularity in TheNewTens. It comes four years before the film that popularized said genre, ''Film/TheHungerGames''. Toby Jones starred in both actually.

* FanPreferredCouple: Doon and Lina, though they are PlatonicLifePartners [[spoiler:for ''most'' of the series]].

* TheScrappy: This would be Poppy in both, but particularly in the film adaptation. Granted, much of her noisome behaviors - eating the directions, showing the general survival instincts of a turnip - could be excused by the fact she's quite young, her ability to somehow create obstacles and disruptions everywhere she goes is practically legendary. Doesn't even rise to the level of being The Load because she never actually deliberately contributes anything to the main characters' efforts.

* IdiotPlot: There whole thing happens because the Builders[[note]]who are so talented that they could build an entire city underground and reasonably expect it to be sustainable for two centuries[[/note]] and every single Mayor [[note]]up to the 7th[[/note]] thought it was a good idea to keep the key to future of ''entire humanity'' in ''one single piece of paper'', and limit its knowledge to only one person at a time, rather than treating it as the most important subject for the posterity to study.
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: The often gets this in comparison to the book.
%% * SpecialEffectFailure: The film's special effects are pretty good, but start to fall apart by the end of the movie. Either the budget started running out or they were banking on viewers being engaged enough to ignore the Conspicuous CG.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: "One Last Message", perfectly fits over the credits and end sequences.

* IdiotPlot: There whole thing happens because the Builders[[note]]who are so talented that they could build an entire city underground and reasonably expect it to be sustainable for two centuries[[/note]] and every single Mayor [[note]]up to the 7th[[/note]] thought it was a good idea to keep the key to future of ''entire humanity'' in ''one single piece of paper'', and limit its knowledge to only one person at a time, rather than treat it as the most important subject for the posterity to study.

%% * SpecialEffectFailure: The film's special effects are pretty good, but start to fall apart by the end of the movie. Either the budget started running out or they were banking on viewers being engaged enough to ignore the Conspicuous CG.

* {{Anvilicious}}: War is BAD. Organized religion is ''literally'' puppy-kicking awful, if you believe the third book.
* FanPreferredCouple: Doon x Lina, though they are PlatonicLifePartners [[spoiler:for ''most'' of the series.]]

* NightmareFuel: Well, in addition to the idea of being trapped in darkness without food or light for all eternity, the film has [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant carnivorous star-nosed moles]]. With prehensile tentacles for noses.

* SpecialEffectFailure: The film's special effects are pretty good, but start to fall apart by the end of the movie. Either the budget started running out or they were banking on viewers being engaged enough to ignore the Conspicuous CG.

* ParanoiaFuel: One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the situation in ''The Prophet of Yonwood'' (the U.S. battling a terrorist nation that threatens total war) is a natural progression from what the world is going through today.

* FanPreferredCouple: Doon x Lina

* {{Anvilicious}}: War is BAD. Organized religion is puppy-kicking awful, if you believe the third book.