Author Archives: stationmaster

Sense and Adaptability

Posted on March 14, 2025 by stationmaster

Was I overly harsh when I called screenwriter Andrew Davies’s 2008 miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility “so-so?” I admit it. I gave into the allure of alliteration, and I was trying to contrast it with his 1995 … Continue reading →

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This Special Is a Mixed Bag, Charlie Brown

Posted on March 8, 2025 by stationmaster

The 2011 animated special Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown came at a strange crossroads in the history of the Peanuts franchise. It was made neither by Mendelson/Melendez productions nor by Apple TV but by Warner Bros television. Despite … Continue reading →

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Ranting About Cyrano (2021)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by stationmaster

Cyrano (2021) is a movie adaptation of a 2018 stage musical which was itself based on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 tragic comedy-or comic tragedy-Cyrano de Bergerac. I’d better state upfront that this is going to be one of those blog posts … Continue reading →

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A Cinderella Musical That’s Not Rodgers and Hammerstein

Posted on January 17, 2025 by stationmaster

The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella is a 1976 cinematic musical retelling of the famous story of the siege of Orleans. Just kidding. It’s a retelling of Cinderella. There’s plenty to love about this film, starting (literally) … Continue reading →

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Is Return to Oz Really the Better Oz Adaptation?

Posted on January 3, 2025 by stationmaster

Whenever anyone does a parody or an homage to The Wizard of Oz, you can bet they’re really doing one to the 1939 MGM movie, not the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.[1]From what I … Continue reading →

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The Best Christmas Pageant Adaptation Ever

Posted on December 13, 2024 by stationmaster

I was delighted to hear that there would be a new movie adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s 1972 novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It’s a book that resonates greatly with those of us who have grown up in the American … Continue reading →

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Animation Station: A Wrapping Menace, an Exercising Cat and a Talking Christmas Tree

Posted on December 7, 2024 by stationmaster

I first came up with the Animation Station series because I realized there were movies and shows about which I wanted to blog, but which weren’t adaptations. Well, that’s not quite true. Many of them were adaptations of preexisting material … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) Part 11: This Is Our Last Time Here, Isn’t It?

Posted on November 30, 2024 by stationmaster

Remember that vast stretch of whiteness at the end of the last scene? It turns out to be a sea with lilies[1]Or lily-like flowers as Eustace the stickler for scientific accuracy insists. growing in it like a giant garden pool. … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) Part 10: Worst Nightmares

Posted on November 23, 2024 by stationmaster

It’s a gray, chilly morning and the Dawn Treader is sailing towards Dark Island. Minotaur: So what do you think is out there?Edmund: Our worst nightmares.Caspian: Our darkest wishes.Drinian: Pure evil. The dry way Gary Sweet delivers that last line … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010) Part 9: You’re a Star

Posted on November 16, 2024 by stationmaster

As the sun rises over the shore, MLG stirs from her sleep and sees something. She eagerly awakens Lucy and points out to her the elusive Blue Star hanging just above the horizon. The Dawn Treader sets sail in the … Continue reading →

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