John Carter and The Master of Adventure
Cover by the great Frank Frazetta
After weathering mixed reviews and relatively tepid domestic earnings ($72 million) earlier this year, the science fiction adventure epic John Carter was written off as a box office calamity of Waterworld-sized proportions.
John Carter’s box office “failure” has been blamed mostly on ineffective marketing, notably a movie trailer which neglected to establish a connection with Burroughs or make viewers aware of the film’s historic background and seminal influence – a problem that might have been avoided if Disney had run with this inspired fan trailer instead.
But the movie’s unabashed heroic romanticism began resonating with review-proof fans worldwide (where it has earned $200+ million) and reviving the flick’s financial pulse. Now JC is set to release on DVD this week, and will likely do brisk business. Perhaps it will also introduce more fans to John Carter’s creator, one of the most prolific, imaginative novelists of the 20th century – or any century, for that matter: Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Burroughs’ first novel, A Princess of Mars, the book upon which John Carter is largely based. Burroughs, or ERB, is more familiar to many as the creator of Tarzan of the Apes, one of the most recognizable and enduring figures in pop culture history. Born in 1875 in the wake of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, ERB has been called by many the father of American science fiction. His 60+ novels, ripping tales of high adventure set everywhere from the earth’s core to the African veldt to the jungles of Venus, served as inspiration for countless writers and scientists from Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury to Carl Sagan and Jane Goodall.
ERB’s work – novels like The Land that Time Forgot, The Moon Maid, Pirates of Venus, At the Earth’s Core, Beyond Thirty, and The Warlord of Mars – gave life to the pulp fiction genre; my boyhood friend and fellow fan Stephan Allsup points out, for example, that without Tarzan and John Carter, there probably would have been no Conan the Barbarian or Doc Savage. Tarzan was also the pioneer of the comic book superhero; his comic strip was introduced in 1929, tying with Buck Rogers as the first “serious” adventure strip (prior to that, comics were largely limited to funnies like the Katzenjammer Kids). It served as inspiration for The Phantom and later, Superman and Batman.
I, too, devoured the Tarzan and John Carter books when I was a kid. In fact, the John Carter Barsoom stories are what made me a lifelong scifi fan. When the DVD comes out, I’ll probably be one of those critic-proof watchers, because the trailers were fantastic, and because I’ve never trusted critics.
The second image (Tarzan) is not by Frazetta, it’s a painting by Boris Vallejo.
Good eye, thanks for the correction.
I think it would’ve been a mistake to have made a trailer like that. Disney’s film has almost nothing to do with Burroughs’s original novel. Other than taking place on Mars, having Tharks that looks like Tharks and using characters names, it’s no more an adaptation of “A Princess of Mars” than the film “Starship Troopers” is from Heinlein’s novel.
The screenplay for John Carter is not an adaptation but an original screenplay. John Carter is kind of a fun movie with a nice performance by Lynn Collins and with a unique tone and look to it and I enjoyed it on that level. In truth, an adaptation of “A Princess of Mars” has yet to be made.
Disney went the way of those Tarzan films you mentioned: they turned John Carter into a kangaroo-hopping and hapless man more lacking in assertiveness than Dejah Thoris. Where’s the steel-eyed greatest swordsman of two worlds? The journey Sam took in Avatar was much closer to what John Carter did and that’s what Disney should’ve concentrated on, perhaps expanding Carter’s contact with Dejah a little more while telescoping that front part more.
Sam’s journey is the same journey almost all of Burrough’s character’s take. They encounter a culture hostile to them, a woman they immediately fall in love with who’s equally hostile, they learn the language, learn to ride strange beasts, and their flexibility of thought, new ideas and resolve carries them to the top of the heap.
If someone had the brains to make “The Land That Time Forgot” a second time with today’s tech and screenwriters, it’s be a smash hit. So would a commitment to do the first 5 Pellucidar novels, especially given the Tarzan – the real Tarzan – tie-in in the 4th novel. Blimps sailing into a polar opening and bi-planes fighting pterodactyls: that’s solid gold.
I was imprecise about it here, saying the film was “largely based” on PRINCESS, when in fact it was based on the first 3 of ERB’s Mars books, if I correctly remember director Stanton saying so. Not enough happens in PRINCESS alone. In any case, the movie is still an adaptation, not an original screenplay, because it is based, however faithfully, on a book(s).
I agree about the movie’s lead lacking in charisma, and I think the film had other issues too, but I was focusing more on ERB’s books than the movie.
I agree Princess seems to be a bit bare from a screenwriter’s point of view but that could’ve been dealt with. A pure sense of wonder and discovery will carry the day over concerns of pacing. The parts with Sam and Neytiri as he goes through his learning period in Avatar are not pace driven but worked because Cameron conveyed a simple sense of alien wonder. Perhaps some more hints of what is taking place in Helium than in the book could be interspersed with John and Dejah with the Tharks had it been faithfully adapted. In any event, what’s done is done. Dejah barely appears in 2 and 3 so they’ll have to alter those as well is they’re ever made. I won’t mind a bit as I thought Lynn Collins was the glue that held the movie together – her performance is striking.
I like the film more each time I see it. Ironically, though it completely abandons the plot of the novel, the film has Burroughs-esque moments in it that are quite wonderful. The film has a great ending that only the weird tone of Burroughs could deliver. It’s not the ending of the book but quite faithful to Burroughs unique and thrilling oddness – who else would be propelled through space out of their body to have a beautiful and loving princess of another world waiting for them. I wish they’d all raised their swords and shouted “For Helium” at the wedding.
No way this compares to Waterworld. I think John Carter will achieve a cult status, not because it’s bad, but because it’s better than a first glance. I don’t think audiences were ready for the odd tone of the film but I think it’ll grow on people. Not many chances for a sequel but it could happen. It would be cheaper because the groundwork in design and special effects has been laid.
Yeah, Disney screwed the Calot. I enjoyed the film, and that fan trailer makes me want to see it again. And doesn’t this make Dejah Thoris the newest “Disney Princess”? =^[.]^=
I can’t imagine how long the line to meet Dejah Thoris would be at Disney World!
And where would they put her? Oh, wait — outside Mission: Space in Epcot!
Mark,
Nicely written piece. As a child, science fiction was the soil, sun, and rain for my mind. I may need to go back and read Burroughs’s work as I had not read it before…
Tarzan’s enduring mystery: did he own a secret stash of razor blades?
There are species of grass sharp enough for shaving. Just ask the Brazilian aboriginals.