1-0 to the cartoon
Apparently, an adaptation being wildly different from the original isn't always a bad thing.
My previous post made me look up some of my old cartoon favourites, including Quest for Camelot. Which is a crappy movie in so many ways, but as any true fan, I look at what could be rather than at what is. :-)
Anyway. One of the points that I've always felt that the movie gets right is that Garrett remains blind at the end. It would be very easy for him to get cured in the Deus ex Machina moment that fixes everything else, but it would also have been a betrayal of the film's basic idea: don't mess with the underdogs, 'cause they'll kick your ass. It's not about being so good you'll be taken out of your circumstances (hello Beauty and the Beast, which I rewatched yesterday, and which remains 99% great and 1% OMFGNO), but about being so good you can make your dreams come true anyway.
I've always known that the film was very loosely based on Vera Chapman's The King's Damosel. Only now have I found a plot description on wikipedia. It turns out "loosely" is an understatement - I think there are fewer things the stories have in common than what sets them apart!
It also turns out that this is the book's ending:
Eventually, the witch sadly informs Lynette that Lucius is dying. Lynette is completely horrified, and decides that she will seek out the Holy Grail, so that Lucius can use it to save himself. She sets out with her travelling companions from before, and after a very long and decidedly strange journey, she actually manages to retrieve the Grail. She hurries back with it to Lucius, resolving that she will let him do with it as he pleases. Upon receiving the Grail, Lucius wishes for sight rather than life, so that he can finally see Lynette. Upon opening his eyes, he cries out with delight, telling the startled (and heartbroken) Lynette that she's beautiful over and over.
The pair have a little more time together, which Lynette tries very hard to make the best of. Lucius dies, and she and the witch bury him before she sets out once again, to resume her post as the King's Damosel.
What? No, really, WHAT!? *seethes with rage*
You know, it's bad enough when (mostly in older stories, thank God), the disabled character dies and people declare that, Oh Well, This Ends His Sufferings, Probably All For The Best. To have the character himself declaring it All For The Best by voluntarily choosing death over blindness... it's incredibly offensive.
But I don't know why I'm even surprised. This is the world, after all, in which it's seen as a good thing that Denmark has 50% fewer children born with Down Syndrome since Nuchal translucency testing was introduced. Surely, it's much better not to exist than not being able to do all the things we can do! (Am reminded of Monica Zetterlund's gypsy song about Becoming Swedish: "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished, to be as bloody perfect as they are.")
So, you know, kudos to WB - not only did they make the right choice, they made it on their own.
My previous post made me look up some of my old cartoon favourites, including Quest for Camelot. Which is a crappy movie in so many ways, but as any true fan, I look at what could be rather than at what is. :-)
Anyway. One of the points that I've always felt that the movie gets right is that Garrett remains blind at the end. It would be very easy for him to get cured in the Deus ex Machina moment that fixes everything else, but it would also have been a betrayal of the film's basic idea: don't mess with the underdogs, 'cause they'll kick your ass. It's not about being so good you'll be taken out of your circumstances (hello Beauty and the Beast, which I rewatched yesterday, and which remains 99% great and 1% OMFGNO), but about being so good you can make your dreams come true anyway.
I've always known that the film was very loosely based on Vera Chapman's The King's Damosel. Only now have I found a plot description on wikipedia. It turns out "loosely" is an understatement - I think there are fewer things the stories have in common than what sets them apart!
It also turns out that this is the book's ending:
Eventually, the witch sadly informs Lynette that Lucius is dying. Lynette is completely horrified, and decides that she will seek out the Holy Grail, so that Lucius can use it to save himself. She sets out with her travelling companions from before, and after a very long and decidedly strange journey, she actually manages to retrieve the Grail. She hurries back with it to Lucius, resolving that she will let him do with it as he pleases. Upon receiving the Grail, Lucius wishes for sight rather than life, so that he can finally see Lynette. Upon opening his eyes, he cries out with delight, telling the startled (and heartbroken) Lynette that she's beautiful over and over.
The pair have a little more time together, which Lynette tries very hard to make the best of. Lucius dies, and she and the witch bury him before she sets out once again, to resume her post as the King's Damosel.
What? No, really, WHAT!? *seethes with rage*
You know, it's bad enough when (mostly in older stories, thank God), the disabled character dies and people declare that, Oh Well, This Ends His Sufferings, Probably All For The Best. To have the character himself declaring it All For The Best by voluntarily choosing death over blindness... it's incredibly offensive.
But I don't know why I'm even surprised. This is the world, after all, in which it's seen as a good thing that Denmark has 50% fewer children born with Down Syndrome since Nuchal translucency testing was introduced. Surely, it's much better not to exist than not being able to do all the things we can do! (Am reminded of Monica Zetterlund's gypsy song about Becoming Swedish: "Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished, to be as bloody perfect as they are.")
So, you know, kudos to WB - not only did they make the right choice, they made it on their own.