MISS PERGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN is an amazing book with its interesting story paired with strange photographs that author Ransom Riggs.  Director Tim Burton and screenwriter Jane Goldman bring the book to life as a movie that has great production design, a good cast (even though Samuel L. Jackson hams it up a little too much as Mr. Barron), and an adaptation that captures the spirit of the book even though changes in the third act will make it harder to do an adaptation of the second book (while providing a sense of closure for the movie if they never adapt the other two books).

 

Jake (Asa Buterfield) feels he is doing nothing special in his life and he grew up being told the strange tales of Miss Peregrine and her school of amazing children by his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp).  He once believed in the stories, but life and pressure from his family made him to stop believing in those tales.  His grandfather is killed one night and Jake is sent to a psychiatrist.  A postcard from Carrin Island off the coast of Wales sends Jake on a journey to that island with his father (as a sense of Closure), but soon he discovers his grandfather’s tale were all true with the danger of the Hollowghasts who want to become human again and immortal.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

THE PECULIAR STORY (around 12 minutes)- author Ransom Riggs, director Tim Burton, and producers talk about bringing the book to the big screen and Tim Burton wanted to have the movie be in spirit instead of following the book beat by beat

 

THE PECULIARS (64 minutes)- 15 featurettes on the various Peculiars including Abe, Miss Peregrine, Jake, Emma, Olive, Millard, and others that features screen tests, interviews with ransom Riggs, cast, and crew as they talk about the actors and characters in addition to changing Emma’s power to air for the movie adaptation

HOLLOWS AND EX-HOLLOWS- a focus on the Ex-Hollows such as Barron and Miss Edwards and the design and effects work for the Hollows (aka Hollowgasts).

MAP OF DAYS: MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME/ BLACKPOOL TOWER- a behind-the-scenes look at the locations used for Miss Peregrine’s house (which was in Belgium) and Blackpool, UK with both locations having some work done on sets to match the locations and to create what Tim Burton wanted to do

“WISH YOU WERE HERE” Music Video by FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

Galleries of Time Burton sketches and photographs (which compares the photos in the book to the photos in the movie)

 

Two Theatrical trailers

 

Movie in standard definition on DVD and a code to download/ stream a digital HD copy of the movie

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  MISS PERGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN captures the spirit of the book, but devote fans of the book will not like the changes done to the third act.  The movie doesn’t easily lead itself to a sequel like the book did.  The extras give good insight into the movie and remember it seems author Ransom Riggs is OK with the changes done to the book’s story for the movie.

 

This review is ©12-26-2016 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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