We have a three-in-one post today, from Demigods and Monsters contributor Elizabeth Wein and kids, 12-year-old daughter Sara and 9-year-old son. They all share their thoughts on the recently released film, The Lightning Thief.

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From Elizabeth Wein

My daughter Sara, age 12, is a HUGE Percy Jackson fan. She was 10 when she discovered the books, and we fought over them while I was writing my essay for Demigods and Monsters. She’s now lost count of how many times she’s read The Lightning Thief but she reckons it’s about 10, and she can actually recite the chapter titles without looking. She’s also in the middle of reading Demigods and Monsters (I did ask her to mention the book in this essay but it was her choice to mention my contribution to it!). So I’ve asked Sara to review the film as well. I figure Sara’s got more authority than me—not only does she know the books better than I do, she’s in the target audience.

Just for a bit of contrast I also asked Sara’s brother Mark, age 9, to write a review. He hasn’t read any of the books and he thought the film was great!

And me? I was just baffled by some of the changes. Why make Athena’s daughter red-haired—what is up with that? Why cut out the prophecy? (Presumably because they’re not banking on a sequel.) Why cut out the Mist? (I know, everyone who’s read the books says this.) Why cut out the cool mystery over who Percy’s father is? A couple of lines in the film really made me squirm, like when Percy asks Grover to hand over his jacket to wrap Medusa’s head in and Grover says “Why my jacket?” And Percy answers, “Because you’re my protector.” It really was just one itty bitty step away from, “Because you’re my servant.”  It didn’t need to be there.  Especially since in the book they wrap the head in some old grocery bags. Just cringe-making dialogue. And WHY ARE THESE KIDS ALWAYS STEALING CARS??? Is this OKAY?

There were a few things I really I did love about the film, though. The water effects were fantastic—every bit of Poseidon’s and Percy’s water magic was good enough to watch over and over. Despite the advanced age of the main characters, I thought that Grover was really well-cast. He was a natural. And the appearance and assistance of Persephone in the Underworld was unexpected, but I sure did like her.

Finally—I do love a movie with a punchline in the credits.

Take it away, Sara and Mark!

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From Sara Gatland, age 12

After reading the books, I had high expectations for the film. I was very disappointed with how much was left out and added in.

For a start, important characters like Dionysus, Ares, Thalia, Clarisse, and lots of other specific campers were left out. Big chunks of the story were abandoned without Ares, and Annabeth seemed to play the part of Clarisse.

Percy’s dyslexia only showed up when it was convenient (e.g., reading Greek writing in a museum to help him answer Mr. Brunner’s question), and his ADHD was mentioned at the start of the film but no examples of it were shown after that. Annabeth and Percy, who are also supposed to be dyslexic, are both very quick to read the writing on the pearl map. (That’s another thing—where did the original quest to find the lightning bolt disappear to?) I think the reason they forgot his ADHD is because the parts in the book that he mentions it—on the bus with the Furies, for example—were cut out in the film. Rick Riordan was a bit sloppy about Percy’s special needs, as Elizabeth Wein points out in her essay “Not Even the Gods are Perfect” in Demigods and Monsters, but nowhere near as much as the filmmakers.

In The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan explained very clearly about Mist and what it does.  In the film, they left the Mist out—but they didn’t need it, because very few scenes were in public.  In the public scenes, nothing strange happens, like at the Parthenon (which, in fact, isn’t in the book), where it was too crowded, so one of them suggests they wait until everyone was gone. The hydra at the Parthenon, by the way, shouldn’t have shown up until The Sea of Monsters.

Little things in the film don’t look like much, but they can irritate some people (my mom, for instance). My mom was annoyed that when the map pointed to somewhere near Illinois, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover would get off a bus that said “Atlantic City” in bold lettering. She also noticed that the hydra had five heads, instead of seven. I noticed that Mrs. Dodds was switched from being a math teacher to English. This may have, however, been to introduce Percy’s dyslexia. Why do Annabeth and Athena have blue eyes and brown hair?  This is the “gray-eyed goddess.”  She’s also meant to have blond hair. Another strange thing was, if Percy already looks 16, then what is the prophecy age? This may have been why the characters didn’t mention the prophecy.

A lot of the humor was lost in the film because in the book, most of it was what Percy was thinking, whereas in the film you don’t hear any thoughts.  There could have been some voice-overs saying these thoughts, or Percy could have said things to his friends out loud instead.

Throughout the whole film, I kept whispering to my mom, “Look, they’re buying hamburgers, Ares must be coming soon!” (and, of course, he didn’t) or “They’re going to a tourist attraction, do you think they’ll meet Echidna and the Chimera?” (they didn’t).

I guess that if I had not read the book and saw the film I’d think the film was pretty good. Since it happened the other way round, I don’t think too highly of it.

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From Mark Gatland, age 9

When the movie first starts, it wasn’t like I imagined it to be. It was rather strange.  After they drove to “Camp Half Blood” it was how I expected. Fighting, and that stuff. When they go to Medusa’s place (Auntie M’s garden gnome emporium) and they find Medusa and use an iPod instead of a mirror, I was surprised. Also, I like it when they find the hydra. When they go to the Lotus casino, I was a bit “weirded.” Using flowers as food?…

When they arrive in the underworld, it is a bit nice seeing Percy’s mom. But I love the next bit… Luke fights Percy, using the lightning bolt. At the end of the fight, Luke gets covered in water, and Percy (like Moses) just pushes it away from him.  At the very end, Percy goes back to the camp and stays there. RATING: 7/10

I liked this movie.

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In Demigods and Monsters, guest posts, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan