The Enid Blyton Society

Film it in Scotland as a period piece and it could work.
But would the twins be Jill and Mary... or Pippa and Zoe?

The Adventurous Four would make a smashing TV or cinema film as it's a dramatic story with many exciting elements which would look fabulous on screen - a fishing-boat, a storm at sea, Scottish islands, ruined buildings, cliffs, caves, seaplanes, submarines, a raft ... And of course it's a wartime story, making the danger and darkness seem extra intense. The film would have to be set in the correct period in order to work (the background of the Second World War is important to the plot) and the two girls should be Mary and Jill because that's what Enid Blyton called them, and their names suit the period. It wouldn't be a cheap film to make though, on location in a remote part of Scotland with vintage-looking seaplanes and submarines!

It maybe wouldn't be a cheap film to make but I agree it would be terrific if the producers followed the story and the period it's written in. There is no need to change any of the names.

It would make a fantastic film/TV adaptation, as John and Anita have said. A very exciting storyline, as well as the interesting era, characters, and suspense packed plot.

But then - who would it attract? Most children's films, nowadays are animated or at least occur around todays date. Would four children, a fishing boat, storms, war time and adventure take many children's interest?

Poppy has a good point. Most kids wouldn't care about WWII. If they were told Hitler was Austrian they probably would confuse Hitler with Mozart.

Paul Austin wrote:Poppy has a good point. Most kids wouldn't care about WWII.

     Well, are Enid Blyton's *books* still popular with children today? I gather they are, albeit probably mostly in "updated" (i.e., censored) editions.
     If that is so, why shouldn't they be interested in T.V. adaptations of the same work, and of course dealing with the very same topics?
     But I would be quite pessimistic of the chances that they would stay true to the original story. Sadly, that seems exceptional, instead of the normal situation that it should be.
     And I think you can guess what I think of changing the twins' names to Pippa and Zoe!

Regards, Michael.

Paul Austin wrote:Most kids wouldn't care about WWII. If they were told Hitler was Austrian they probably would confuse Hitler with Mozart.

Talk about a rash generalisation - how do you know? Any reliable evidence that the majority of kids are really that ignorant? I wouldn't go confusing publishers' inclination to modernise everything (or simply dumb it down) with young people's actual capacity to understand about the past and want to learn about it.

I should think kids would be much more likely to have heard of Hitler than of Mozart, frankly - and I'd be more worried that they'd confuse Austria with Australia!!

MJE wrote:Well, are Enid Blyton's *books* still popular with children today? I gather they are, albeit probably mostly in .

That is a good point, Michael. As Enid's books are still popular today, that more or less proves that children are interested in the subjects she writes about, and this no doubt would be the same concerning a dramatization (more so perhaps). I wasn't expressing that children are not interested in WWII - I know a lot of children who are, but I wondered if it would involve a film (to watch out of choice).

My children showed a great interest in the Second World War, partly because they found it fascinating learning how the lives of children as well as adults were affected (evacuation, air raids, shelters, gas masks, the blackout, rationing, few new toys or clothes, schooling being disrupted...) I took them to three or four war museums when they were younger and I recently looked round the HMS Belfast with my son and some friends - informative and moving for visitors of any age. My daughter and son both read a number of books and watched several films set during the Second World War, which helped bring the period to life. And of course, they looked in detail at some aspects of the war during History lessons at school. One of my daughter's History textbooks for GCSE (about Germany between World War I and World War II) was so interesting that my son (then 11) read it from cover to cover for pleasure. If books/films/TV serials like Johnny and the Bomb, Carrie's War, Goodnight Mister Tom and (for young adults) The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas have done well, why not an adventure story with a World War II setting (which, unlike the other titles mentioned, was actually written during wartime)?

It might just work if they could change the plot unrecognisably,change the characters names/genders,create a love interest/love triangle ,don't mention the war and run it past and have be approved by the all wise and knowing 'mainstream writers' of course if it didn't succeed it would all be Nigel's fault!

Paul Austin wrote:Poppy has a good point. Most kids wouldn't care about WWII. If they were told Hitler was Austrian they probably would confuse Hitler with Mozart.

That isn't what Poppy said.

Poppy wrote:I wasn't expressing that children are not interested in WWII - I know a lot of children who are, but I wondered if it would involve a film (to watch out of choice).

I knew exactly what you meant, Poppy - and I tend to agree.

My 8 year old loves watching tapes of The Worst Witch and the 1970s version of the FF, so would have absolutely no problems with watching something that wasn't animated. She has also visited a local air raid shelter/museum so would probably find the WWII setting of the Adventurous Four easy enough to understand. She also loves Enid Blyton, so that in itself would be enough to make her want to watch any film version of the books.

I asked her if she knew who Adolf Hitler was, and she said she didn't know, which suggests that she may have heard the name before. She was certain she'd never heard of Mozart though, and didn't know what/where Austria was.

That's going to be my job tomorrow. I'll ask Jamie (7) and Robbie (4) who Hitler was, who Mozart was and where Austria is.

I imagine Jamie will know about Austria as he's quite into maps, countries, capital cities etc but I'm not sure he'll know either Hitler or Mozart. And Robbie will mostly likely look blankly at me and/or answer with something completely random like mummy horse is hungry.

But we'll see!

I think if it had Blyton's name emblazoned on it, that would be enough to garner plenty of interest. Whether or not it would in any way resemble her original work... well that's another matter.

The first book certainly could - Philip Schofield brings it to life brilliantly on audio...

The names would have to be the original - everything would....

When I win the lottery, I'll fund the project....

I'd love to see a proper adaptation - period-set with the right clothes, hairstyles, etc, and the original names, and no changes etc. It would be wonderful to watch, with the storm, the islands, the secret submarines, and all the adventure!

I would like to think that it would appeal to children, and I think it probably would to a lot. Of course I suppose there will be a few 'modern' kids who only want to watch modern cartoons/films etc, but I would hope that there are still lots out there who would like to see something more traditional like this!

And it certainly wouldn't be a boring film, with the danger involved and the enemies etc!