adventures in Liliput, as the giant in a world of
tiny men. It is this facet that has been overwhelmingly
and almost exclusively focused upon. While, there
are very little doubts over the fact that the Liliput
part is the most memorable and visually exciting part
of the book, there are other adventures too that would
have made for great on screen experiences and still
await realization.
But, complaints apart, the release of Gulliver’s
Travels over the last weekend has once again stimulated
thoughts about the evergreen classics that have been
repeatedly made into cinema without ever giving the
impression of being a rip-off from a former movie
based on the same story. Some of the top names in
this list would be Alice in Wonderland, The Chocolate
factory envisaged by Roald Dahl, Kipling’s Jungle
Book, Peter Pan and a few other such classics which
always bring alive the child within us. Now, all the
names given above may not have been very successful
movies. But, the fact is that they have repeatedly
lent themselves to visualizations by different creative
minds over different points of time spread over a
better part of the last century; be it through cartoons,
other TV formats or cinema. Yet, they still seem fresh
and good enough for newer and better adaptations without
any major changes in their plots.
Some of the classics that one feels have missed out
on such rich and vivid visual imagination consists
of Kenneth Graham’s The Wind in the Willows,
some of Enid Blyton’s visually most imaginative
works like The Magic Faraway Tree, or the delightfully
mischievous escapades of William as narrated by Richmal
Crompton. Now, one does not know whether these books
have ever been visually interpreted. If they indeed
have been, then they have not been greatly popularized;
at least in this part of the world.
On a more Indian note, the visualization of the Vikram-Vetal
stories remains fresh in the mind, though it has not
been attempted too many times and one feels that it
has the quality to transcend eras and capture even
a new generation of audiences if presented appropriately.
There are a host of other literary classics that have
been visually presented through various mediums and
still continue to captivate us in spite of having
been first conceived decades back. Have you ever noticed
that some of the things that never change (in spite
of the rapid alterations that are being made to school
syllabi all round) are the classics that are recommended
for children or the nursery rhymes that are recited
to them. ‘Twinkle Twinkle’, ‘Snow
White and the seven Dwarves’, ‘Beauty
and the Beast’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Aladin’
are still the works of choice when it comes to initiating
a child into the world of books, imagination and fantasy.
However, it is not just the kids who are drawn into
it; it is also the kid within every adult who is attracted
towards such creations where the imagination knows
no boundaries. One thing is for sure; we have not
seen the last of Gulliver; nor Alice or Mowgli. The
classics will live on.
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