Watch and Read: Spotlight on Media Tie-ins
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Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 6/16/2008 12:04:00 PM
Summer Vacation Destination
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (PG), a motion picture from Walden Media and New Line Cinema based on the Jules Verne classic, will premiere on July 11, 2008. Directed by visual effects wizard Eric Brevig, this is the first live-action feature film to be shot and released entirely in digital 3D.
Brendan Fraser stars as Trevor Anderson, a scientist whose brother Max disappeared 10 years earlier while researching plate tectonics. When Max’s son, 13-year-old Sean (Josh Hutcherson), arrives for a summer visit, he and Trevor come across Max’s dog-eared copy of Verne’s book. Inspired by the scientist’s handwritten annotations, Trevor and Sean make an impromptu expedition to Iceland, where they enlist the help of mountain-guide Hannah (Anita Briem), the pragmatic daughter of the late Sigurbjörn Ásgeirsson, a volcanologist and Vernian (fanatics who take Verne’s writings as fact). Hiking atop Mount Snaeffels, the three adventurers stumble upon a portal that plummets them into a spectacular subterranean world filled with unusual creatures and unexpected dangers.
Kids who can’t wait to embark on this journey can visit the official Web site for film photos, clips, and more. They can also view brief “featurettes” that offer a behind-the-scenes look at the movie—including video shot during production—and introduce the cutting-edge 3D technology. A “Vernion Log” icon links to the home page of the fictional Ásgeirsson Institute for Progressive Volcanology, a realistic-looking site packed with interesting scientific and personal tidbits that extend the movie’s plot and premises.
Movie Tie-in Books
Adorned with vivid earth-toned covers showcasing the movie’s
main characters, four related titles for middle-grade readers are available from Price Stern Sloan/Penguin. The Movie Photobook recaps the plot with dynamic full-color stills, a brief text, and snippets of dialogue, while a gatefold section offers a few insights into the making of the motion picture. With appealing layouts, this book is a good choice for browsers and for sharing aloud with younger fans. In Journal from the Center of the Earth, Sean recounts his amazing experiences in hand-lettered diary format, supplemented by sketches, “taped-in” movie photos, and loose-leaf pages. Told in a believable teen voice, this quick-reading book crackles with attitude and wisecracks: “It all started with a lame trip (so I thought) to stay with my nerdy Uncle Trevor….”
With straightforward language, brief chapters, and breathless suspense, Tracey West’s novelization is appropriate for a wide range of ages, spanning from newly confident readers to older reluctant readers. Chapter heads feature black-and-white movie stills depicting related plot elements, and an eight-page insert presents full-color film photos. Taking a page from the interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” series (Chooseco), Choose Your Own Journey puts readers in charge of navigating the story’s twists and turns as they decide which course of action the characters should pursue, resulting in a variety of outcomes. Small black-and-white movie stills highlight the scenes described in the text.
This motion picture, with its emphasis on Jules Verne’s classic tale, will inspire older fans to seek out the source. Dust off your copies of Jules Verne’s 19th-century sci-fi groundbreaker and put them on display. If you need to stock up, consider purchasing the Sterling “Unabridged Classics” edition of the novel (2007), a sturdy hard-cover with a dramatic cover and striking black-and-white illustrations by Scott McKowen.
Pub Info
FONTES, Justine & Ron Fontes, adapts. Choose Your Own Journey: The Search for Earth’s Surface. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3305-9.
MCCARTHY, Rebecca, adapt. The Movie Photobook. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3228-1.
MASON, E., adapt. Journal from the Center of the Earth. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3231-1.
WEST, Tracey, adapt. The Novel. pap. $4.99. ISBN 978-0-8431-3230-4.
ea vol: (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D Series). Penguin/Price Stern Sloan. 2008.
VERNE, Jules. Journey to the Center of the Earth. illus. by Scott McKowen. Sterling. 2007. Tr $9.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-4337-5.
