Movies Adapted from Novels That Ended up Being Better Than the Book

Adapting a book into a film is a tricky endeavor that often results in disappointment. Fortunately, this isn't always the case. Sometimes, Hollywood does right by fans of the original literature. Here are the most successful adaptations that manage not to butcher the original source material—and, in these cases, improve it substantially.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Lauren Wiesberger gained fame and notoriety for her debut novel, The Devil Wears Prada, chronicling a somewhat-fictional account of her time spent as an assistant to Anna Wintour. Weisberger’s plight is brought to life by Meryl Streep’s iconic performance as Miranda Priestly, who serves as the perfect counterpart to timid, sweater-wearing Anne Hathaway. Aline Brosh McKenna rounds out the screenplay by adding crucial depth and complexity to the characters—something they were desperately lacking.

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The More You Know

  • The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life.
  • Eight of the ten largest statues in the world are of Buddhas.
  • An oyster's sex is fluid.
  • The sun and moon appear to be the same size in the sky because of an astonishing coincidence: the moon is 400 times smaller but 400 times closer.
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