Let's be honest, it was never going to be easy, and any re-imagining would need to be exceptional to overshadow the 1972 film.
There are elements in this new adaptation that work well. The character of George, for example, is truer to the novel. The scene when Mr. Blunden puts his hand on Sara's shoulder was directed very well with credit going to India Fowler's superb performance. I liked the modern setting with references to WiFi and Google and Jamie taking a photo of the book of spells, Mark Gatiss script did not overplay of "hey look its 2021" but kept it relevant to a modern-day flavour. The ending with Mr. Blunden and Jamie at the staircase made me cry as it never fails to do with the original. So well done.
Where this adaptation failed to hit the mark came down to what I presume was lack of budget. Scenes were kept to a handful of locations and although the 72 film also kept location filming to a minimum, the live action scenes at the funeral, theatre, ale house and wedding all added spades of character. This backstory for both was told in monologue, where the '72 version spent money and filmed live action, the '21 version short-changed viewers with an animation. I suppose they had to work with what they got.
The cast of this version did a really great job, and I came away with the impression they all had fun. I especially liked the new version of Mrs Meakin and it was great to see Rosalyn Landor and Madeline Smith play characters from the book that never made it into the '72 version (as I recall).
I can see how the '72 version can suffer from pacing issues, especially for younger audiences today, but the '21 version I found is not ethereal enough which the original did so well. That could be due to the fact the '72 version was filmed on film, the wonderful music by Elmer Bernstein (which is perfect) and the sublime performance by Laurence Naismith, Diana Dors and David Lodge. There was a certain je ne sais quoi that was missing from the '21 version. It just did not feel "magical" enough. For example, the scenes in the original that lead up to and including the library when George and Sara find the book of spells is pure cinema magic. This version came across too much like a TV movie, and with that in mind, it was ultimately a flat reimagining when compared to the original.
There are elements in this new adaptation that work well. The character of George, for example, is truer to the novel. The scene when Mr. Blunden puts his hand on Sara's shoulder was directed very well with credit going to India Fowler's superb performance. I liked the modern setting with references to WiFi and Google and Jamie taking a photo of the book of spells, Mark Gatiss script did not overplay of "hey look its 2021" but kept it relevant to a modern-day flavour. The ending with Mr. Blunden and Jamie at the staircase made me cry as it never fails to do with the original. So well done.
Where this adaptation failed to hit the mark came down to what I presume was lack of budget. Scenes were kept to a handful of locations and although the 72 film also kept location filming to a minimum, the live action scenes at the funeral, theatre, ale house and wedding all added spades of character. This backstory for both was told in monologue, where the '72 version spent money and filmed live action, the '21 version short-changed viewers with an animation. I suppose they had to work with what they got.
The cast of this version did a really great job, and I came away with the impression they all had fun. I especially liked the new version of Mrs Meakin and it was great to see Rosalyn Landor and Madeline Smith play characters from the book that never made it into the '72 version (as I recall).
I can see how the '72 version can suffer from pacing issues, especially for younger audiences today, but the '21 version I found is not ethereal enough which the original did so well. That could be due to the fact the '72 version was filmed on film, the wonderful music by Elmer Bernstein (which is perfect) and the sublime performance by Laurence Naismith, Diana Dors and David Lodge. There was a certain je ne sais quoi that was missing from the '21 version. It just did not feel "magical" enough. For example, the scenes in the original that lead up to and including the library when George and Sara find the book of spells is pure cinema magic. This version came across too much like a TV movie, and with that in mind, it was ultimately a flat reimagining when compared to the original.