Worst Children's Fantasy Book Adaptations

rank title points votes your vote

1 Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat
The sex jokes here are so over-the-top, Dr. Seuss' widow vowed there would never again be a live-action Seuss movie. 26 50

2 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
This Johnny Depp vehicle is so creepy it scares away both kids and the adults who brought them. 15 61

3 Curious George
The Will Ferrell cartoon is a series of wacky and colorful monkey antics without any sort of cohesive plot to hold them in check. 9 39

4 The Golden Compass
In trying to remain too faithful to the book, the movie ended up a confused jumble of scenes without a proper ending. 5 51

5 The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
The book is a children's classic, but the adaptation gets bogged down by special effects that try to mask its thin plot. 4 34

6 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Jim Carrey movie sacrificed character development in order to cram the events of several books into one movie. 2 46

7 The Polar Express
Zemeckis' movie sacrifices a heart-warming Christmas classic in favor of shiny special effects and needless action sequences. 2 56

8 Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
What begins as a charming parable devolves into a flurry of zany action pieces designed to keep kids entertained. 1 39

9 The Spiderwick Chronicles
Despite focusing on a manageable number of characters, this movie still crammed too many events into a single chapter. -1 41

10 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
This first chapter was so excruciatingly faithful to its source, there was no room for cinematic artistry. -7 57

Which of these movies based on children's fantasy books do you think most missed the mark?

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