Fans of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series were apprehensive at the news that a movie adaptation was on the way. After all, for every less than kind.
In bringing Artemis Fowl to the screen, writers and producers took a lot of liberty with the source material. While there are some familiar pieces that remain from Eoin Colfer's novel, there are also a lot of changes in place.
Changed: Commander Root Is A Woman
While it should be applauded that an effort is made to bring more female characters (especially when played by Judi Dench) into the story, this is one change that affects more than simply Commander Root.
In the novels, Holly Short is the first female LEPRecon officer. She puts up with the doubts of the male officers around her, constantly having to prove herself. Commander Root is incredibly hard on her, though he eventually grows to trust her judgment.
The Same: Holly's Desire To Protect Everyone
Holly gets reprimanded quite a bit in the novels for her desire to protect everyone, not just the fairy community, despite her distrust of humans. That's also true of the movie.
Holly takes precious time to save a little girl instead of subduing a troll. She also risks her own life to save a fisherman caught in a temporal shift as the result of the fairies stopping time. Other fairies might be completely focused on secrecy, but Holly is focused on protecting all life.
Changed: Artemis Fowl Isn't A Criminal
Artemis might declare himself a criminal mastermind in the movie, but it doesn't entirely ring true. His motivations in the novel and the movie are very different.
The book sees him researching fairies and capturing Holly because he's after treasure, not a way to save his father. He's not as altruistic as he is in the movie. The intelligence is still there, in which he's the smartest person in any room he's in, but the criminal element, not so much.
The Same: Artemis Quickly Outsmarts The Fairies
Because Artemis Fowl is possibly the smartest person in his fantasy book series, there's not a problem he can't solve, a logic puzzle he can't defeat. He always does his homework.
Artemis proves that very quickly when Commander Root brings in forces to retrieve Holly. Not only is he familiar with their language and the different types of fae folk that might be brought into the standoff, but he also has already read everything his father knows about their technology. He prepares for everything and even relies on the way they respond to his threat, ready for Mulch Diggums to help him.
Changed: The Aculos
At the center of Artemis Fowl is a device called the Aculos. It's the movie's MacGuffin as Artemis, Opal Koboi, and fairy law enforcement are all on the lookout for it. Book fans won't it.
That's because it doesn't appear in any of the books in the series. The idea of having to exchange the Aculos for Artemis Fowl Sr.'s life is completely invented for the movie. Even Artemis' father being kidnapped isn't something that happens in the first book out.
The Same: Magical Abilities And Technology
One thing the movie takes straight from the book is the combination of magical abilities and technology from the fairy world.
Mesmerizing and healing are skills the fairies have in the books as well. While Foaly doesn't get as much screen time, his combination of magic and science is also spot-on. It's that combination that allows for things like stopping time and wiping memories. Even Mulch Diggums' abilities are book-accurate.
Changed: Mulch Narrates The Story
The events unfold in the movie through the eyes of Mulch Diggums. That's a drastic change from the novels since Mulch doesn't enter the picture until his skills are needed.
Instead, the books have a third-person all-knowing narrator who can give an unbiased of events. With Mulch as the one telling the story, it's likely he's not the most reliable of narrators, but with a sequel unlikely, that detail will probably never come to light.
The Same: Artemis And Holly Are Reluctant Allies
Artemis begins his scheme in the movie by kidnapping Holly. That doesn't exactly endear him to her. She's not thrilled with him in the novels either.
Holly sees him as egotistical and selfish at the start of the series. They do, however, work together repeatedly over the series of eight novels to save both the fairy and human worlds, becoming reluctant allies before eventually becoming friends.
Changed: Opal Koboi's Place In The Story
Opal Koboi is revealed pretty early on as the person behind all of the bad things that happen in the movie. She wants the Aculos, kidnaps Artemis Fowl Sr., and gets in the head of a power-hungry LEPrecon officer to go up against Commander Root.
While Opal is behind a lot of the sinister acts in the novels as well, she doesn't actually have anything to do with the first of Artemis Fowl's stories. Even the Fowl kidnapping is different in the novels as Artemis Fowl Sr. is actually kidnapped by the mafia in the second book.
The Same: Artemis' Ego
One of the reasons Holly doesn't particularly like Artemis in the novels is that he's always one step ahead of everyone. The movie gives the audience the perfect taste of his ego during his therapy session - though that exact scene isn't from the books.
Artemis assuring the therapist that he knows the textbook answers to give, and then properly dressing him down by proving his family heirloom chair is a fake, is exactly how the Artemis Fowl of the books would play a similar situation. His ego might be based on knowing how smart he is, but it definitely exceeds his intelligence.