When it comes to the movies, Hollywood has long since borrowed stories from other creative mediums. From adapting classic literature and plays and musicals to turning television shows into two-hour epics, the adaptation of content has been plentiful. While books have always been a source of inspiration for films too, it's only in recent decades that Hollywood has begun to really capitalize on the success of books published for young audiences.
While some adaptations are better than others, there is no denying that Hollywood has certainly struck gold when it comes to taking children's stories and putting them on the big screen. From exploring young wizards and hidden passageways to telling stories about the power of friendship, the characters and the moral lessons their stories -- both printed and filmed -- taught are genuinely heartfelt and entertaining, making them perfect for the big screen.
The Harry Potter Saga
Arguably the biggest children's book series to be adapted for the big screen is the Harry Potter franchise. The book series took the world by storm when Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first released in 1997. For almost every year after that until 2007, a new book was released with the seventh and final installment being published in 2007. It then branched out into various spin-offs, most notably Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
By 2001, the first film adaptation hit the big screen with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson skyrocketing to fame. The fact that the Harry Potter saga remained relatively untouched in the face of author J.K. Rowling's growing storm of controversy is proof of the generational impact it had on its audience.
Matilda (1996)
Before Mara Wilson was winning over the audience's heart as Matilda, book character Matilda had already won over the hearts of millions of people years before. First published in 1988, Roald Dahl depicted the story of a young girl who loves to read despite her family berating her for it.
Years after the book was published, the rights were acquired and Matilda hit the big screen, with Wilson landing the iconic role. Despite being a well-known story and a well-made film, Matilda was considered a box office flop making only $33 million against a $36 million budget. The film has since become a beloved cult classic.
The How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy
DreamWorks may have made Hiccup and Toothless a household name, but the studio wouldn't have had a story to tell if it weren't for Cressida Cowell's child novel series of the same name. The first How To Train Your Dragon book was published in 2001, nearly a decade before the story would hit the big screen. And while there are only three films in the franchise, Cowell wrote twelve children's novels revolving around Hiccup.
Hiccup and Toothless made their big-screen debut in 2010 and quickly became a commercial and critical success for DreamWorks. In fact, each of the three films was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, though none of them won.
The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Series
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series introduced a new way to tell stories to young children, merging the styles of traditional children's books but with an approach reminiscent of comic books. Jeff Kinney wrote and illustrated the series that reads like a journal rather than a traditional coming-of-age narrative.
In 2010, Kinney got to see his beloved Greg Heffley hit the big screen. The film was a commercial success that led to the creation of three film sequels that continued to draw upon the stories Kinney first wrote in the book series.
The Polar Express (2004)
While there are several published stories out there that center on the Christmas holiday and the mythos behind it, The Polar Express is considered one of the most popular to be told from a child's perspective. In recent years, the Chris Van Allsburg children's book has been hailed as a Christmas classic. In addition, he won the Caldecott Medal for the novel.
Several decades after its publication, The Polar Express made its big-screen debut, with Robert Zemeckis at the helm. The film utilized a new system of CGI animation and featured the voice acting talents of Tom Hanks, who played the memorable conductor in the film.
The Paddington Films
While stories are a big part of making a children's book successful, sometimes all it takes is a heartfelt and relatable character. Thankfully Paddington has both. Paddington Bear was first introduced to the world in 1958 and went on to be featured in more than twenty books written by Michael Bond.
In 2014, Paddington Bear moved to the big screen with the help of British and French production companies. While the film was released globally, it fared best with the European audiences who were already familiar with the story and the characters. Paddington got a highly regarded sequel in 2017 that's said to be better than the original, and a third movie is reportedly in the works.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
Originally published between 1950 and 1956, C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia has continued to be a popular children's book franchise generation after generation. In fact, the book series is now considered to be a piece of classic children's literature and has sold over 100 million copies.
The Chronicles of Narnia is no stranger to adaptions having been adapted for almost all entertainment forms but it wasn't until 2005 that the film hit the big screen for the first time. While the whole series contains seven novels, only three of them were adapted for the big screen, earning a combined gross of $1.5 billion.
Coraline (2009)
While most children's books are bright and offer a heartfelt tail, Coraline went against the status quo to create a dark fantasy that's beloved by millions. Written by Neil Gaiman in 2002, the novella went on to win the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella and several other awards.
After its success in the publishing world, the rights were acquired by Laika production company and thus the stop-motion film was created. Released in 2009, the film went on to earn $124.6 million at the box office to become the third highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time.
Charlotte's Web (2006)
E.B. White's Charlotte's Web is one of the most beloved children's books of all time. First published in 1952, Charlotte's Web went on to earn the John Newbery Medal in 1953. This timeless tale continues to be a fan favorite and has been adapted several times over the years.
One of the most successful Charlotte's Web adaptation was released in 2006 under Paramount Pictures. The film went on to earn $150 million at the box office and earned an additional $95.2 million in DVD sales, making it a huge commercial success.
The Winnie The Pooh Franchise
Before the world's favorite "silly old bear" was appearing on the big screen and in Disney Parks around the world, he was a character on the page of A.A. Milne's many stories. Milne published several short stories about Winnie the Pooh over the years with the first collection being published in 1926.
Realizing the potential Pooh Bear and friends had, the Walt Disney Company acquired the licensing rights to the series and adapted many of Milne's stories to the big screen in both animated and live-action forms. The franchise's most recent live-action endeavor was the speculative sequel Christopher Robin, which sees a now adult Christopher reconnecting with Pooh and friends, who've remained the same all these years.