Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury is a story about two boys who live in Greentown, Illinois. The two boys, Jim and Will grow up quickly in a few days when a carnival comes to town and they must try to help the lonely people of the town who long for something. The carnival feasts upon the town's people who long for something more and turns them into freaks that become part of the carnival. Disney also turned Bradbury's book into a movie that was released in 1983 and had Bradbury help write the screenplay. Disney's movie is less sophisticated than Bradbury's book because it over develops unimportant characters, it leaves out important elements from the book, and it undermines Bradbury's message. Disney's interpretationof Bradbury's
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evil and how good overcomes evil. The first idea of this that doesn't get portrayed in the movie is the idea of laughter. For example in the book when the dust witch tries to kill Mr. Halloway by slowing his heart we see the narrator say, "Charles Halloway snorted. Faintly, he giggled. (Bradbury)." His laughter ends up being too much for the Dust Witch to handle and she must flee. In the movie we do not even see this altercation between the two and thus the idea of laughter is completely undermined. The idea of laughter also shows up somewhere else in the book. When Mr. Halloway went to the mirror maze to save Jim and Will, this happens, "It was as if Charles Halloway, once more a choirboy in a strange sub-sub-demon church had sung the most beautiful high note of amiable humor ever in his life which first shook moth-silver from the mirror backs, then shook images from glass faces, then shook glass itself to ruin. (Bradbury)" Halloway's laughter destroys the mirror maze. In the movie the destruction of the mirror maze is portrayed but it is not destroyed by laughter, but by the Tom Fury and thus again Bradbury's idea of laughter is undermined. Disney also undermines two other ideas, those are fear and goodness. For example when Mr. Dark, in the form of Jed and Mr. Halloway meet in the end of the book, Halloway says this, "Strange hearing that from you, Jed. So it must seem. Good to evil seems evil. So I will do only good to you, Jed, I will simply hold you and watch you poison yourself. (Bradbury)" Halloway continues by doing good to him and embracing him which drowns him of fear and sadness. When Disney portrays Mr. Dark's death, we see him die by electrocution and old age by riding to far forward on the carousel, and thus or a third time we see one of Bradbury's messages get completely thrown out the window by Disney. Overall Bradbury's
evil and how good overcomes evil. The first idea of this that doesn't get portrayed in the movie is the idea of laughter. For example in the book when the dust witch tries to kill Mr. Halloway by slowing his heart we see the narrator say, "Charles Halloway snorted. Faintly, he giggled. (Bradbury)." His laughter ends up being too much for the Dust Witch to handle and she must flee. In the movie we do not even see this altercation between the two and thus the idea of laughter is completely undermined. The idea of laughter also shows up somewhere else in the book. When Mr. Halloway went to the mirror maze to save Jim and Will, this happens, "It was as if Charles Halloway, once more a choirboy in a strange sub-sub-demon church had sung the most beautiful high note of amiable humor ever in his life which first shook moth-silver from the mirror backs, then shook images from glass faces, then shook glass itself to ruin. (Bradbury)" Halloway's laughter destroys the mirror maze. In the movie the destruction of the mirror maze is portrayed but it is not destroyed by laughter, but by the Tom Fury and thus again Bradbury's idea of laughter is undermined. Disney also undermines two other ideas, those are fear and goodness. For example when Mr. Dark, in the form of Jed and Mr. Halloway meet in the end of the book, Halloway says this, "Strange hearing that from you, Jed. So it must seem. Good to evil seems evil. So I will do only good to you, Jed, I will simply hold you and watch you poison yourself. (Bradbury)" Halloway continues by doing good to him and embracing him which drowns him of fear and sadness. When Disney portrays Mr. Dark's death, we see him die by electrocution and old age by riding to far forward on the carousel, and thus or a third time we see one of Bradbury's messages get completely thrown out the window by Disney. Overall Bradbury's