Movies You May Not Know Were Based On Books

Well we all know about Harry Potter, Little Women and The Hobbit being highly successful movies which were originally printed as booked, well here are may before that you may not have realised started off on the shelves before being adapted for the big screen.

1. Fight Club is based on the 1996 book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk.

There’s even a sequel!

2. The Parent Trap is based on the 1949 German book Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kästner.

The book has been adapted into film, TV, and stage productions over 20 times.

3. Shrek is based on the 1990 picture book Shrek by William Steig.

Steig, a former cartoonist for the New Yorker, who write the book when he was 83.

4. Psycho is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch.

The novel was inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein.

The plot and characters seem to follow the book pretty closely.

5. Blade Runner and, in turn, Blade Runner 2049 are based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.

The film was a loose adaptation using some of the characters.

6. Mean Girls is based on a 2002 parenting book called Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman.

The film is very loosely based on the book, which is a guide for parents with teenage daughters. Some of the behavior and the types described in the book (like the “cool mom,” though I don’t believe she was described in those words) do appear in the film.

7. Freaky Friday is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers.

The book has been adapted into a film five times, though the above 2003 version is probably the most famous. The basic premise and themes are the same, but the characters are very different, and there is much less focus on the mother in the book.

8. Meet the Robinsons is based on the 1990 picture book A Day With Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce.

The film is pretty different from the book, which doesn’t jump into the future at all and simply features the “meeting a strange family” aspect of the book.

9. The Boss Baby is based on Marla Frazee’s 2010 picture book of the same name.

The film is pretty loosely based on the book, as it has a much longer and more involved storyline.

10. Monte Carlo is based on the 2001 book Headhunters by Jules Bass.

The movie is pretty different from the book, which features older characters pulling a con from the start rather than three younger women getting a bit caught up in a scheme. The lookalike-royalty storyline also doesn’t seem to be in the book.

11. The Iron Giant is based on the 1968 book The Iron Man by Ted Hughes.

The book was actually adapted into a musical first. The film ditched the music, changed the setting, and added new characters.

12. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen is based on a 1999 book of the same name by Dyan Sheldon.

The plot of the book is super similar to that of the movie, except Stu never shows up to prove Lola right at the end.

13. Catch Me if You Can is based on a 1980 book of the same name by Frank W. Abagnale Jr.

The book, movie, and musical are all based on the life of con artist Abagnale.

14. Lincoln was based on the 2005 book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Obviously, Lincoln was based on history, but more specifically, it was based on this biography.

15. Silver Linings Playbook was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel The Silver Linings Playbook.

The movie made a lot of changes, but the characters and plot were overall the same.

16. And finally, The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under are based on the 1959 book The Rescuers and its sequels by Margery Sharp.

The first film was a loose mix of The Rescuers and Miss Bianca from the book series. Many of the characters were renamed and changed — the studio even considered making Cruella de Vil the antagonist.

Other notabe booked to films include: Forrest Gump, The Wizard of Oz, Bridget Jones, Matlida, Mary Poppins, The Godfather and The Green Mile.

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Dan Dunn
Dan Dunn
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Editor and Admin at MarkMeets since Nov 2012. Columnist, reviewer and entertainment writer and oversees all of the section's news, features and interviews. During his career, he has written for numerous magazines.

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