The Parent Trap Original and Remake Essay Example For Students

The Parent Trap Original and Remake Essay Disney movies are framed as family classics instantly, and both versions of The Parent Trap uphold that tradition with ease. The Parent Trap is a classic children’s movie filled with humor, wit, and fun that all ages can enjoy. This movie charmed audiences in 1961 and again with the remake in 1998. I loved both versions, but the remake won me over. The original Parent Trap, released in 1961, was directed by David Swift and starred Hayley Mills as the twins. The remake released in 1998, was directed by Nancy Meyers and starred Lindsay Lohan. Both Mills and Lohan were praised and adored for their performances as these two spunky and determined girls. It was other aspects of the movies like the special effects, humor and overall feel that made me favor the remake. In both films identical twins meet at summer camp, unaware of each other’s existence. Their identical appearance initially creates rivalry between them which results in prank wars. Eventually their behavior gets them into trouble and they are punished with living together in an isolated cabin for the rest of camp. Once the two finally get to talking they come to find numerous similarities in their lives including birth dates and broken families; eventually realizing they are twin sisters and their parents divorced shortly after their birth, with each parent taking custody of one of them. The twins decide to switch places and pose as each other so they can finally meet the other parent and hopefully reunite the whole family. The plan is disrupted when they find out that their father is engaged to a new woman who is only out for his money. They then reveal the truth to the mother and have her come to stop the wedding. Once the girls are reunited they re-create their parents first date, and do everything to scare the new woman away. The parents end up rekindling their love and re-marrying, including the twins in the wedding. Although the overall plot of the two movies are pretty much the same, there were a lot of little differences. For starters, the names were different along with the hometown of the families. In the original, it was Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick. Sharon lived with her mother, Maggie (Maureen O’Hara), in Boston. Sharon lived with her father, Mitch (Brian Keith) in California. In the remake, the two girls were named Annie James and Hallie Parker. Annie lived with her mother, Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson), in London. Hallie lived with her father, Nick (Dennis Quaid), in California. How the girls find out they’re twins differs as well. In both movies they figure it all out while in the isolation cabin through pictures. But in the original, Sharon explains how she has seen a picture of her mother on her father’s desk, Susan pulls out a picture of her mother and Sharon confused, says â€Å"Why do you have a picture of my mother? † Sharon and Susan then realize they are twins. In the remake, both girls explain that they have half of a torn wedding photo of their parents. Eventually they reveal their pictures to each other and come to find their halves match and were once a whole picture, confirming that they are twins. Another difference in the plot is how the girls end up bringing their parents together. After getting a call from Sharon about her father’s fiancee, Vicky (Joanna Barnes), Susan tells her mother the truth and they fly to California to switch the girls back. The two work to sabotage the new couple and arrange a dinner for their parents’, which ends in them arguing over Vicky. To delay their mother leaving, the girls dress and talk alike, so their parents can’t tell them apart, planning to reveal who is who only after the family camping trip. Vicky ends up going on the camping trip and shows her true colors, which results in Mitch dumping her and remarrying Maggie. In the other movie, Annie calls Hallie informing her of the new woman, Meredith (Elaine Hendrix), and insists that she and her mother come break them up. Everyone except Nick and Meredith are aware of the switch and the girls plan to have everyone meet up at a hotel in California. Movie Overview - Sense and Sensibility EssayAlthough both Mills and Lohan exceeded in their roles, the supporting actors is where the two films differ in likeability for me. In the original, the other roles were very boring and had no positive contribution to the movie for me; â€Å"The adult roles are pretty stale, with the exception of glamorous Maureen OHara as Mrs. McKendrick and Charlie Ruggles as the lovable grandfather† (LeVasseur). In the remake, Lohan was not the only character that added charm to the movie, the parents, staff, and wicked fiancee all really helped bring the story together. Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson bring such humor and warmth to the movie that I was amazed to find myself actually caring about their romance. The three important supporting roles are also well filled. Plump, spunky Lisa Ann Walter, plays the nanny and housekeeper on Quaids spread and bald, droll Simon Kunz is Richardson’s butler. Elaine Hendrix is the snotty publicist who plans to marry Quaid until the parent trap springs. She has a thankless role, the only person in the movie we are not supposed to like but at least they don’t make her stand there and be obnoxious. She demonstrates on the camping trip, once and for all, that she is not the ideal wife for Quaid† (Ebert). Last but not least, regarding one actress playing two roles, the special effects and technology used in the remake were far more advanced in the 1998 version. Although the film crew managed to pull it off in 1961, when comparing the two, it is easy to see the major improvements that were made, critics agree. â€Å"The split-screen technology and trick photography using a body double looks pretty seamless for the time, and Mills is convincing in the dual role thanks to her charming performance† (LeVasseur). The twins are played by the same actress, using trick photography. Hayley Mills did it in 1961, and Lindsay Lohan does it this time, seamlessly. Although I was aware that special effects and over-the-shoulder doubles were being used, I simply stopped thinking about it, because the illusion was so convincing† (Ebert). Like Ebert said, the special effects in this version were not even noticeable making it completely believable that there were actually two different girls whereas, as LeVasseur said, the special effects were decent but Mills’ acting is really what brought the illusion together. Both the original and remake of The Parent Trap are wonderful movies the whole family can enjoy. The two are very similar and share the same plot minus a few slight differences regarding the time it was set in. My favoritism may lean towards the remake because it was technically the original to me since I never saw the 1961 version until now; and I must admit, innocent Lindsay Lohan will always have a special place in my heart. But I also like the remake better than the original because of the modern updates and the whole feel of the movie in general. Bibliography: Crowther, Bosley. Rev. of The Parent Trap, dir. David Swift. The New York Times 22 June 1961. Print. Ebert, Robert. Rev. of The Parent Trap, dir. Nancy Meyers. Rogerebert.com, 29 July 1998. Web. 28 April 2014. LeVasseur, Andrea. Rev. of The Parent Trap, dir. David Swift. MSNMovies.com Web. 28 April 2014. Maslin, Janet. Rev. of The Parent Trap, dir. Nancy Meyers. The New York Times 29 July 1998. Print. The Parent Trap. Dir. David Swift. Perf. Hayley Mills, Maureen O’hara, and Brian Keith. Polygram, 1961. Film. The Parent Trap. Dir. Nancy Meyers. Perf. Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson. Polygram, 1998. Film.