Beloved Children's Book Dimension
We kick off a new Movie Memory Machine dimension focused on films adapted from beloved children's books. They preview a run of forgotten, sometimes surprising adaptations and set the stage for a conversation about childhood reading, remembered novels, and movies that may have vanished from cultural memory.In this episode, they each compare the books they grew up with, tease the kinds of adaptations they expect, and reveal the first four films the machine selects for the dimension. The episode is light, conversational, and packed with references to childhood favorites, adaptation weirdness, and a shared suspicion that some of these movies were forgotten for a reason.
Key topics
The hosts introduce the new "beloved children's book" dimension and joke about being lost in space without control over where the machine sends them.
They reflect on the difference between being liberated by time travel and being trapped in endless, meaningless motion.
Truman talks about reading Beverly Cleary books like Henry Huggins, Ramona, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and Ralph S. Mouse.
Landen and Truman compare childhood reading habits, including picture books, chapter books, and whether they actually read the books still sitting on their shelves.
They discuss collecting habits from childhood, including keeping books uncracked, comic books in sleeves, toys in packages, and inherited collector instincts.
Truman explains that A Wrinkle in Time never really clicked for him, while Landen says he has revisited it and appreciates its uniqueness.
The machine reveals the first movie in the dimension: The BFG from 2016, directed by Steven Spielberg, prompting a broader discussion of Spielberg's later career.
They pivot to Bridge to Terabithia, with some confusion over the title and what exactly Terabithia is before identifying it as another adaptation from the era.
The next pick is The Tale of Despereaux from 2008, which leads to jokes about French titles, mouse heroes, and the likely marketing push of celebrity voice cast.
The final reveal is The Borrowers from 1997, which sparks talk of John Goodman, British children's fiction, and the hosts' overlapping memories of other tiny-people movies.
