Is the book always better? 5 Live-Action Disney Movie/Book Challenges

The book vs. the movie? Pair up these five live-action Disney movies & original books for some homeschool fun.

I remember the summer when one of my kiddos could be found buried under a sea of the classics. One of the first he read was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The adventure & the setting made it a perfect summertime book. His 11-year-old self devoured it in just a couple of days.

Then, we watched Disney’s adaptation of it.

Anger, disrespect, gobsmacked. He felt them all. And talked about it for days. This was his first experience with book-to-movie adaptations, and it would be his last for many, many months!

We’ve all had that experience of being gobsmacked at the misalignment of a book & a movie. I think Forrest Gump, Stand by Me & The Hunt for Red October are all better movies. But I’d put the book versions of The Kite Runner, Charlotte’s Web, and A Man Called Otto better than the movie. I’d even argue that there’s no clear winner in the Harry Potter series.

Setting aside 20,000 Leagues (may the ride rest in R.I.P.!), how do other Disney movie adaptations compare to their books? Check out this list of ideas.

Activity Ideas

I chose this set of books with middle school kiddos in mind. Our elementary years are spent ‘free reading’ for literature, but I start assigning books and introducing formal analysis in the middle school years. Making that leap with books that may be a little easier and/or with their preferences in mind has helped each of my kiddos.

While I did choose books aimed at this age group, the books are appropriate for younger or older ages, too.

Keep it simple

As homeschool moms, we often make learning far more complicated than necessary. Not every trip to the zoo, book vs. movie face-off, or cooking activity needs to become some big unit. Read the book, watch the movie, and have fun discussing the two.

Just a little more

If you want to expand it *just a bit,* you could use the following questions to add more discussion, as a short writing project, or even an oral presentation.

• Which version handled ___________ better?
• Which one got you more excited/drawn in?
• Where did you get bored in each version?
• Would you rather be a character in the book or the movie?

Dig Deeper

Dig even deeper if you want to use these as a mini-literature unit. For teens, this could be the start of an exciting English course. There are so many ideas for final projects. Here are some ideas to get you started, but don’t let this list limit you or your teens.

• Choose a science from either the book or the movie to rewrite. The new version should align closer (but not exactly!) to the other version. Consider how the tone, setting & dialogue would all need to change.
• Analyze a shared theme or scene in that all-important five-paragraph essay style.
• Create a visual comparison of the two versions. Examples could include a PowerPoint presentation, a movie, or a Venn diagram.
• Film a review of the book & movie. A short ‘Instagram Reel’ type of video forces kids to be succinct & get straight to the point. A longer one allows for more analysis & details. Both are important for better writing & communication!
• Pick a missing scene from either version. Consider how it would be depicted and write or draw it.

If you have kiddos of various ages, you could use one book and adapt the output for each of their ages. The littlest ones could just read and watch. Pick an expansion topic for the middle years. Let your teens choose a dig deeper project. Even with a children’s book, a dig deeper project could take it to a more age-appropriate level for your teens.

Book vs. Movie Suggestions

One & Only Ivan

The One & Only series is one of my absolute favorites. Based on a true story, Ivan is a gorilla living in a mall zoo alongside his friends Stella and Bob. When a scared baby elephant joins their family, Ivan sees their stories in a different light. The story is sweet, the characters are endearing, and the short chapters are great for reading aloud in small chunks of time.

A Wrinkle in Time

If fantasy or science fiction appeals to your homeschool, then A Wrinkle in Time is a must. Mr. Murray needs help, and Meg, Calvin, and Charles travel via a tesseract — a wrinkle that lets you travel between space & time — to rescue him. First published in 1962, Disney brought it to life in 2018 in a modern adaptation.

Mary Poppins

I won’t spoil it for you, but if you’ve never read the Mary Poppins series by P.L. Travers, you’re in for a surprise. The two versions of this classic story of the nanny, her charges, and their antics are vastly different from each other. (If you’ve ever watched Saving Mr. Banks, you’ve gotten a hint of this.)

Mary Poppins is one of my least favorite Disney movies, so I was hesitant to try the books. We listened to them when my kiddos were in elementary school, and they were an absolute delight. But, if you ask the internet, it seems that opinion is switched by many. So, you decide, the book or the movie?

Tuck Everlasting

Set in the late 1800s, 10-year-old Winnie meets the Tuck family and learns their immortal secret. Along the way, she encounters greed, the ‘dark side’ of our wishes, making her own big choices, and experiences the cycle of life. But that summary is far too boring for one of my favorite books! If you’ve not read it, I promise, it’s fantastic.

It’s a rare book that was enjoyed by all three of my kiddos, but Tuck Everlasting is one of them.

Beauty & the Beast

A tale as old as time. Or 1740, when the tale was written? Or 1991, when Disney brought it to life on the big screen? 2017 with Disney’s live-action remake? The 1946 black-and-white film?

Whichever date you give it, Beauty and the Beast is a classic tale with so many differences that you’ll be talking about them for days. And with so many versions, you could do multiple challenge pairs.

Have you read + watched any of these pairings?

About Tricia

Tricia is a 40-something mom to three. She loves Netflix, people, and laughter. And she firmly believes that homeschooling should include all three.

After years of ‘doing life’ — homeschooling, military life, homemaking — like others, she’s charting her own way… and loving it!

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