Johnny Tremain

Ever since I was young, I would prefer watching movies to reading books. It was always more exciting seeing a character come to life on the big screen rather than having to conjure one up in my head. Of course there are some exceptions, such as Walt Disney’s film Johnny Tremain, directed by Robert Stevenson. It is difficult for a director to meet an audience’s expectation when creating a book-based movie, while also inputting his own take on the story. Though it is important to add some originality to a storyline, it is equally as important to stay true to the story itself. Robert Stevenson made decisions that weekend the plot by removing important characters, changing key events, and altering the interactions of characters during the …show more content…
Due to the absence of characters, Johnny’s interactions with various people in the movie differ from those in the book. Pumpkin, for example, was never seen in the film. Although he was a minor character, his meeting with Johnny lead to an important chain of events. In the book, Johnny made a trade with Pumpkin- a farmer’s disguise for Pumpkin’s uniform and musket. Without Johnny and Pumpkin’s exchange, Rab never would have gotten a musket, and Johnny would have never been able to leave Boston and look for Rab. Stevenson, once again, tries to substitute Pumpkin’s removal with other scenarios. Instead of receiving the musket from Johnny, Rab acquires the gun on his own, while Johnny escapes Boston by jumping over a fence guarded by two British soldiers. Pumpkin and Johnny’s meeting would have added a suspense factor to the movie because of the secrecy behind the trade. Merchant Lyte had countless interactions with Johnny throughout the movie, but they were not quite like the ones in the book. In movie, Merchant Lyte orders the “sugar basin” instead of Mr. Hancock. Another time, Johnny is summoned by Merchant Lyte as an invitation to come with him to Boston, but instead, gets into an argument with Johnny, to which Johnny gives Merchant Lyte his silver cup and leaves. If Stevenson kept Merchant Lyte and Johnny’s original meeting after the …show more content…
A director must think about characters (important and unimportant), events of a story, and the way characters behave and interact, all while making the movie his own. In the end, it all comes down to different preferences, opinions, and points of view. But, if ever a director wants to create an interesting, well executed film, it is best to avoid making certain