Charles Dickens' Influence on Modern Entertainmant
Charles Dickens has always been an influence in the entertainment business. Countless movies and shows have been made based on his books. This is due to the fact that his stories are timeless and are relatable to in any time period. Below are some examples of pieces of entertainment in the 90's base on Dickens' stories.
A Muppet's Christmas Carol- Jim Hensen Productions and Disney, recreated Dickens' masterpiece in this children's move. All the parts are played by muppets, another name for colorful puppets. The story stays very close to the original novel, though.
Great Expectations- The story of Pip's search to become a gentleman was made into a movie that was released in 1997. The part of Finnegan Bell (Pip) played by Ethan Hawke and Estella is played by Gwyneth Paltrow . The setting of the story has been transplanted from London, England to Florida and New York. The story has been "updated." In the movie, Finn is a stuggling artist who gets a secret benefactor. He goes off to New York and hopes to become a world famous artist, mainly to impress the snobby Estella. The movie focuses more on Finn and Estella's love story and less on the evils of greed and corruption. The characters were interesting when they lived in the Victorian Era. The characters being transplanted into the 90's makes them appear awkward and unbelievable. For example, Miss Havisham and her home in the movie appear to wierd and out of place to ever actually exist anywhere. The movie is not anywhere near as good as the book.
Oliver and Company- The Disney animated movie "Oliver and Company," is based on Dickens' Oliver Twist. It is an interesting movie that is loosely based on the book.
The characters are now animated animals trying to survive on the streets of New York City, the book took place in England. Oliver is a cat that is able to go from being an orphan to being the pet of a rich and sweet little girl. His happiness doesn't last long when his old animal friends come to take him back. He is then torn between loyalty and living a privileged life. It is an enjoyable movie that is very loosely base on the book.
Pip from "South Park"- "South Park" is a show on Comedy Central. It is the story of 4 foul-mouthed first graders, named Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny, and their lives in the town of South Park. One of the minor characters in the show is an english boy named Pip, from "Great Expectations." He goes to the school with the other boys. He is hated by all the other students, though. They constantly hit him and spit on him. When the son of the Devil, Dameon, came to the school, everyone hated him too. He was able to win everyone's approval when he used the powers of Hell to scorch Pip.
He is a sample of a conversation that Pip has with Cartman that perfectly demonstrates how everyone feels about him:
Kyle- What kind of stupid name is Pip anyways?
Pip- Well, my father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both...
Cartman- we don't give a rats @$$... French people piss us off!
