Roald Dahl's 'Esio Trot' is a simple but charming tale about a shy, middle aged man called Mr Hoppy who harbours a crush on his downstairs neighbour, the kind-hearted and glamorous Mrs Silver. When Mrs Silver casually mentions that she wishes her beloved tortoise Alfie would grow a bit faster/larger, Mr Hoppy devises a cunning plan to try to win the woman of his dreams
The difficulty with adapting 'Esio Trot' into a full length feature is that the story is very short and must be 'fleshed out' in order to fill 90 minutes or more. Hence, this adaptation introduces new characters that were not in the original book, including the narrator and his family (the book has no narrator as such), the eccentric pet shop owner (Mr Hoppy does visit a number of pet shops in the book but the owners are not described), and various bit parts that have been added such as Mrs Silver's friends at the dance marathon. Most notably there is the addition of the obnoxious Mr Pringle, the next door neighbour and Mr Hoppy's rival for Mrs Silver's affections; in the original story, Mr Hoppy has no rival other than Alfie but the addition of one does increase the dramatic tension.
And with additional characters come additional scenes, some of which do help explain what the book does not cover e.g. how Mr Hoppy can afford to buy all the tortoises, or expands upon what the book only touches on such as Mrs Silver's feelings for Mr Hoppy (in the book she does indicate after Mr Hoppy's proposal that she's always felt the same way about him but this is confirmed in the film when it is revealed that Mrs Silver has been actively trying to attract Mr Hoppy all along).
Finally, purists of the book may disagree with the filmmakers decision to change the ending. In the book, Mrs Silver - who accepts Mr Hoppy's proposal straight away - never finds out about the switch and continues to believe for the rest of her life that the larger tortoise is Alfie, while the original Alfie was returned to the pet shop where he was bought by a family (and double in size after many years). In the film version, Mrs Silver discovers the switch (and gets Alfie back) and does not immediately accept Mr Hoppy's proposal. Moreover, Mr Hoppy is led to believe that Mrs Silver has begun a relationship with Mr Pringle. But perhaps the filmmakers felt that it was too dishonest for Mr Hoppy to forge a relationship with Mrs Silver after having lied to her and – effectively – stolen her tortoise! But personally it didn't really bother me and meant that the story could have a more dramatic ending with Mrs Silver finally realising the lengths that Mr Hoppy would go to for her.
All in all, an enjoyable adaptation, beautifully acted by Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench and while mainly aimed at children, there is still plenty for adults to enjoy.
The difficulty with adapting 'Esio Trot' into a full length feature is that the story is very short and must be 'fleshed out' in order to fill 90 minutes or more. Hence, this adaptation introduces new characters that were not in the original book, including the narrator and his family (the book has no narrator as such), the eccentric pet shop owner (Mr Hoppy does visit a number of pet shops in the book but the owners are not described), and various bit parts that have been added such as Mrs Silver's friends at the dance marathon. Most notably there is the addition of the obnoxious Mr Pringle, the next door neighbour and Mr Hoppy's rival for Mrs Silver's affections; in the original story, Mr Hoppy has no rival other than Alfie but the addition of one does increase the dramatic tension.
And with additional characters come additional scenes, some of which do help explain what the book does not cover e.g. how Mr Hoppy can afford to buy all the tortoises, or expands upon what the book only touches on such as Mrs Silver's feelings for Mr Hoppy (in the book she does indicate after Mr Hoppy's proposal that she's always felt the same way about him but this is confirmed in the film when it is revealed that Mrs Silver has been actively trying to attract Mr Hoppy all along).
Finally, purists of the book may disagree with the filmmakers decision to change the ending. In the book, Mrs Silver - who accepts Mr Hoppy's proposal straight away - never finds out about the switch and continues to believe for the rest of her life that the larger tortoise is Alfie, while the original Alfie was returned to the pet shop where he was bought by a family (and double in size after many years). In the film version, Mrs Silver discovers the switch (and gets Alfie back) and does not immediately accept Mr Hoppy's proposal. Moreover, Mr Hoppy is led to believe that Mrs Silver has begun a relationship with Mr Pringle. But perhaps the filmmakers felt that it was too dishonest for Mr Hoppy to forge a relationship with Mrs Silver after having lied to her and – effectively – stolen her tortoise! But personally it didn't really bother me and meant that the story could have a more dramatic ending with Mrs Silver finally realising the lengths that Mr Hoppy would go to for her.
All in all, an enjoyable adaptation, beautifully acted by Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench and while mainly aimed at children, there is still plenty for adults to enjoy.