Worst Children's Fantasy Book Adaptations
AMC Movie List

Worst Children's Fantasy Book Adaptations

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

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. 134 228
2 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. 49 165
3 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. 33 135
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. 27 197
5 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
This Johnny Depp vehicle is so creepy it scares away both kids and the adults who brought them. 19 243
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. 8 192
7 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. 7 175
8 The Spiderwick Chronicles
Despite focusing on a manageable number of characters, this movie still crammed too many events into a single chapter. 5 157
9 The Polar Express
Zemeckis' movie sacrifices a heart-warming Christmas classic in favor of shiny special effects and needless action sequences. -3 205
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. -73 243