Tag: Cornelia funke

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

inkspell

the Inkworld series: book two

genre: children’s. fantasy.

The Review

Okay, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book so hold on to your hat here. This is such a classic series that I had a really hard time choosing a rating. In the beginning, I was all about this, but it just kind of went downhill for me.

Characters:

In comparison to the first book, Inkheart, I felt like Inkspell really let me down in the area of characters. Which was honestly a surprise to me. I really enjoyed all the characters in Inkheart, yet, for some reason, the same characters felt flat and uninteresting in the sequel. It seemed like Funke writes in limited third person with Meggie as the main character (at least that’s how Inkheart was). But in this book, Funke hopped around all over the place and I had a hard time keeping up with whose head I was supposed to be in. And, if Meggie is still supposed to be the main character, she didn’t have a lot of chapters.

One area where Funke succeeds is the covering the unlikeable, but natural emotions of her characters. Meggie and Farid acknowledge their unfounded jealousies. Fenoglio is a whole mess in and of itself (he’s the main villain of this story in my opinion, I hate him). And even Roxanne, in the end, can lash out when she’s in pain. However, the problem is that the positive aspects of her characters can get lost because of her emphasis on the negative. This really made it hard for me to attach to and root for the characters.

Set-Up:

This is the main problem with this book. It is way too long. And I don’t mean page length — I have no issue reading a long book. But man this book felt like it took FOREVER. There were a lot of parts in here that weren’t really important and they took up pages and pages of this story. I understand wanting to flesh out your characters and fill in gaps to give your story substance, but there were so many parts that dragged on for no reason. I loved Elinor in the first book, but her chapters, specifically, were completely unnecessary. She and Darius had no influence on the story at all. If Funke wanted to still have her in the story, she could have stuck with just one chapter and been done with it.

The middle chunk of this book is really where I got stuck. It felt as though nothing was happening and the story was just bouncing around between characters. Chapters that were 3 – 10 pages in length and just adding a ridiculous amount of background or scenic descriptions.

Additional notes: This isn’t a bad book. The Inkworld series is rich and creative, but I find it hard to think of this as a kid’s book. In comparison to Inkheart it feels like it’s on a whole different level. It’s violent, it’s wordy, and it’s long. If anything this is a young adult fantasy story about a 13/14 year old and her experiences in a cruel fantasy realm.

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

My biggest complaint is that my favorite character dies in the end. Honestly, Dustfinger was the only reason I kept struggling to get through this. Why did this have to happen haha.

approx read time: 23 days (I told you this took me forever. yeesh.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Previous in the series: Inkheart

Ownership: I was going to keep this series, but I’m pretty sure it will be donated now 😂

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Inkheart (2008) movie adaptation

inkheart

based on Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The Review

So, this review will be very different than what I’ve done previously on this page. Obviously, this is not a book review. This is a review of the movie adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s book, Inkheart. If you’re looking for the book review, please follow the link at the end of this post. This review will follow a different structure than the book reviews. Similar to the graphic novel adaptations, this review will discuss the portrayal of the characters and scenery, the faithfulness to the original work, and the quality of the film in general.

If you have not read the book, this review will contain spoilers!
Portrayal:

Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany are pretty much the best things that happened in this movie. I thought Elinor was a little dull in the book, but Helen Mirren portrays her amazingly. Elinor is crazy in this movie and I love it.

Dustfinger was always my favorite character and Paul Bettany really brings out that duality of his character in this movie. Plus…

dustfinger

Now, don’t get me wrong. I acknowledge that they made Dustfinger’s ugly, disformed face and completed dismissed that…but I’m okay with it haha. The problem, for me, with Dustfinger in this adaptation was not in Bettany’s portrayal, but in how the movie changes his decisions around. In the book, I could really sympathize with Dustfinger’s character and understand (although not approve) of his choices. In the movie, his actions are much more harmful to those around him. He clearly has the opportunity to better the situations that they’re in and chooses not to. Most of these parts are unique to the movie as well.

Meggie’s actress is pretty good. She wasn’t really memorable to me which…she’s supposed to be the main character so I don’t know what that really says about her. Although, it would be hard to shine amongst a cast like this.

Brendan Fraser, on the other hand, certainly looks like Mo but his acting was spotty and flat. I was so disappointed with him. He doesn’t really read aloud too well, which is kind of the whole point of the book/movie?

I was really excited to see Andy Serkis as Capricorn but it just wasn’t what I wanted. He was a fine enough villain, just not Capricorn. In the book, I thought Capricorn had this horribly intimidating presence, but Serkis didn’t portray him that way.

We shouldn’t talk about Basta and the Magpie. They’re atrocious.

I liked the idea of Jim Broadbent being Fenoglio but he wore on me as the movie went on.

Faithfulness:

The general story is faithful. It’s obvious what book this is based off of. However, because of the adjustments they made to “pick-up” the pot, the story feels weak. This is especially true once they escape Capricorn’s village. All the characters just end up bouncing around and filling in parts of the plot like weird, unfitting puzzle pieces that don’t really match up.

My biggest issue with this adaptation is how reckless they were with Mo and Meggie reading things out of the books. The book spends pages and pages emphasizing how harmful it was to the characters to be read out of their stories, yet this movie attempts to up its actions sequences by ripping things out of their stories without a second thought. What is the Wizard of Oz going to do without Toto or the tornado? This was the most egregious “error” in my opinion because it completely went against the lesson the book was trying to teach.

Resa’s whole character is very odd in this adaptation. The movie makes it seem like her and Dustfinger have known each other for years, but somehow Resa only asks him about her family during the events of the movie. It’s very confusing and doesn’t fit right.

The ending was woefully different. I understand that they wanted to emphasize Meggie’s part in the ending, considering she’s supposed to be the main character, but I thought it made the story collapse in on itself. Meggie was the main character in the book and I liked that she wasn’t responsible for everything in the end. Meggie literally fixes everything in the end by writing a few words on her arm??? It felt corny and made the “rules” of the Inkheart world feel fake. However, Helen Mirren riding in on a unicorn was the best part of the movie.

elinor

Quality:

A lot of this movie felt hokey to me. I get that this is a children’s movie, but its got a PG rating. They could have made the Black Coats and Capricorn m much better. This really had potential. The CGI is good, the acting is decent. I just — how could they make something so bad with a cast like this?

Rating: 4 out 10 wish I was actually ded™ instead of watching this

ded

book review: Inkheart

IMDB

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Inkheart

the Inkworld series: book one

genre: children’s. fantasy.

The Review

I haven’t come upon a book like this in quite a bit. I’d been meaning to reread this for awhile because I wanted to get it out of my bookcase. But, I have a feeling that after reading the rest of the books again, these will be staying.

Characters:

Honestly, where I think this book shines the most is with its characters. I liked Meggie and Mo both. I fell in love with Dustfinger immediately. Elinor is hilarious and it’s so fun to see that reluctant, “normal” character in stories like this. She doesn’t want to be there at all and is constantly questioning the sanity of everyone around her. The main characters all have their own personalities and motivations.
The only characters I didn’t attach to were the villains. Capricorn is intimidating, but Funke could have taken his character further. However, this is done for a reason that I appreciate. Inkheart goes out of its way to reduce the amount of violence within its pages. The villains, although ruthless, shy away from it.

Set-Up:

I read Inkheart when I was very young and think that’s the reason I didn’t really care for it. I was reading a lot of fast-paced, action-packed books like the Harry Potter and Charlie Bone series. Inkheart is more densely packed with descriptions and explanations. It’s a calmer book. A more realistic type of fantasy story when it comes to the action and the conflicts. There are certainly plenty of high-danger interactions, but this story is more subtle than most in this genre. That’s what really makes Inkheart so precious. Inkheart is one of those classics that never ages. It’s a staple for any child (or adult!) who loves the fantasy genre.

Additional notes: I think I’ll be doing a review of the film adaptation eventually. So keep your eyes out for that!

approx read time: 10 days

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Next in the series: Inkspell

Movie adaptation review: Inkheart (2008)

Ownership: I own this. I was going to donate it, but I have a feeling I’ll be keeping it once I finish the series.

Links: Author. Goodreads.