Josh Gad as Mulch Diggums cracking a safe in Artemis Fowl
By
Craig Elvy
Published 3 minutes ago
Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.
Craig is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-elvy-5b31a3381/
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The immense success of the Harry Potter franchise spawned a slew of imitators - some of which were really rather good. When the Harry Potter movies came to an end, therefore, Hollywood found itself blessed with a wide selection of potential replacements to choose from. One book series in particular stood out as a worthy candidate, and movie producers soon set their sights on Ireland.
First published in 2001, four years after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl was cut from similar "young boy gets embroiled in a secret world of magic and mythical creatures" cloth. Fortunately, Fowl was no mere clone. His air of intellectual superiority, Sherlock-esque deductions and Bond-like gadgets set Artemis Fowl apart from the growing pack of Potter pretenders.
The Artemis Fowl Books Were Perfect For Movie Adaptations
It's no exaggeration to suggest Colfer's Artemis Fowl books were ideally suited for the big screen. Inherently cinematic in scope, the author's knack for penning grand locations and exhilarating set-pieces immediately felt ready for a live-action transfer.
Fowl himself, meanwhile, was the anti-Harry Potter the world needed. Rather than a sweeter-than-Bertie-Bott's-beans approach to heroism, Fowl was never far away from delivering a withering insult to those unfortunate enough to be less intelligent than himself. He came good when it counted, but Fowl's preference for criminality over morality made him a fascinating figure.
Few YA novels build fantasy worlds as rich and detailed as Harry Potter's, but Artemis Fowl came close. The community of People living beneath Earth's surface, with their advanced technology and SWAT-like police force, became a fully-realized universe. It was a universe that offered a potential live-action adaptation depth, scale, creativity, and most importantly, near-endless fun.
With eight books in the main series, an Artemis Fowl movie franchise would have had legs too. Unlike Harry Potter, which evolved from "let's play Quidditch and each chocolate" to "aren't there supposed to be two of them?", Artemis Fowl broadly kept the same balance of danger and whimsy throughout.
That isn't to say Colfer's books were predictable. Artemis' gradual crawl toward emotional maturity combined with hard-hitting character deaths and subtle social commentary ensured each installment built upon the last - despite never getting as dark as Potter's teen years.
The Artemis Fowl Movie Was Such A Disappointment
Given everything outlined above, it should come as no surprise that the wheels started turning on an Artemis Fowl movie as soon as the first book was published. Had everything gone to plan, Fowl would have been Harry Potter's box office rival, not his replacement.
Unfortunately, those wheels soon stopped, and wouldn't start again for over a decade when Disney revived the project with Kenneth Branagh as director. Despite having great source material and a highly sought-after director, however, almost everything else went wrong for Artemis Fowl's venture into film.
It should be noted that none of Artemis Fowl's failings fall upon the individual actors involved. The young duo of Ferdia Shaw and Lara McDonnell were surprisingly sharp, and Judi Dench gave exactly the performance you pay Judi Dench to give.
Nevertheless, Artemis Fowl was a movie that only sketched the outlines of the books it was based on. The basic characterizations were there, the plot pulled from Colfer's books, and the mythology used the same terms. But the nuances of the characters, the comedic wit of the dialogue, the small cultural accoutrements that made the Lower Elements real - all of it got pushed aside.
Even worse, Disney's vision of Artemis Fowl possessed zero edge. Sure, Fowl wasn't exactly Walter White in Colfer's books, but his criminal instinct and inability to suffer fools separated Artemis from your average young protagonist. The Artemis Fowl movie, it turned out, wanted your average young protagonist.
And that shift toward generic territory continued into the plot. The adaptation mashed elements of the first two Artemis Fowl books together, then tossed in a completely original MacGuffin known as the "Aculos." Rather than simply adapting book one into a great fantasy-tinged heist movie, Artemis Fowl was forced to fit the mold of any other YA adventure film from the past 20 years.
Artemis Fowl's deviations from Harry Potter made it the perfect potential replacement. By stripping those away, Potter's status as the supreme fantasy movie franchise for all the family would remain unchallenged.
Harry Potter
Created by
J.K. Rowling
First Film
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
First TV Show
Harry Potter
Cast
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alfred Enoch, Harry Melling, Gary Oldman, Robert Pattinson, Warwick Davis, Oliver Phelps, James Phelps, David Bradley, David Thewlis, Katie Leung, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen
TV Show(s)
Harry Potter
Movie(s)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
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Harry Potter
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