James Patterson is a renowned author known for his thrilling and fast-paced storytelling. One of his popular series is the Witch and Wizard adventures. This series takes readers on a journey through a dystopian world where magic is forbidden and controlled by an oppressive government. The main characters of the series are siblings, Whit and Wisty Allgood, who discover that they possess magical abilities, making them targets of the New Order, the ruling regime. The books follow their fight against the oppressive government and their quest to liberate themselves and their fellow magical beings. Throughout the series, Patterson creates a sense of urgency and suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.
Instead of the child needing to work through her destructive longings, perhaps our attention should be focussed on homicidal mothers. This is where our Evil Queen returns centre stage. Although the Queen is unacknowledged in the story’s title, whether this is “Snow White” or “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, the story is about the anxieties of mothers. Infants are the “flesh of their flesh”. They literally consume their mothers’ bodies in a cannibalistic sucking of umbilical blood and breast milk. They figuratively consume the mother’s time, labour, love, and life. Yet they eventually, inevitably, snub maternal sacrifices. As mothers age, so too do their children. They walk away. Is it any wonder that, at each step, a mother might feel murderous, turning “yellow and green with envy”. Like the Evil Queen looking upon an increasingly independent and beautiful Snow White, she felt “her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much”. Her jealousy grew “higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so she had no peace day or night”. This is motherhood as monstrous: a refusal to surrender power to the younger generation and, as a consequence, be rendered invisible. The tale, then, is not so much about providing children with a way of safely fantasising about hating their mothers, but about mothers safely dreaming about slaughtering their children.
He assumes that stories such as Snow White were addressed to children in other words, it was a way for girls to unconsciously relieve their aggression against their mothers and, in so doing, resolve their tensions. In either case, the demonisation of stepmothers has become a folklore staple, appearing, for example, in Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, The Six Swans, and The Juniper Tree, to name just a few.
Throughout the series, Patterson creates a sense of urgency and suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The story is full of action-packed scenes, as Whit and Wisty face numerous challenges and encounter various allies and enemies. Patterson's writing style is engaging, making it easy for readers to connect with the characters and become fully immersed in the story.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs/Scene 4
Witch Hex lives in a queer dark place, somewhat like a cavern, with walls of soft black moss. Yet it can't be underground, for looking out through the single entrance that serves for both door and window you can see the moon, very big and low, and always shining day or night.
A great fire blazes in the middle of the floor, and over it stands a boiling cauldron. Against the wall is a large chest, carved with strange signs, in which the Witch keeps her Magic Things.
Curled up asleep by the fire lies her pet cat, Fiddle , Fiddle is enormous for a cat—almost as big as a small boy. Presently he wakes, yawns and has a long stretch, shaking the last sleepiness out of both hind legs. Then he washes his face carefully, round and round, with his paw. He feels hungry, so he rubs his stomach; but as that doesn't do much good he looks about for something to eat. A large tin with holes bored in the cover stands on the chest, and he remembers seeing his mistress sprinkle something from this over her food. So he lies down on his back luxuriously, and, licking his chops, takes the tin in both hind paws and shakes it vigorously over his open mouth. But suddenly with an enormous yowl, he leaps into the air, coughing, blinking, sneezing and mewing all at once. What he found was the Witch's pepper-pot!
The pepper makes him feel extremely lively; and now he spies a loose end of yarn dangling from an old spinning-wheel that stands in a dark corner. He bounds to it and pats the swinging end to and fro. But the wool catches on one of his sharp claws and he cannot throw it off. He rolls on the ground to break it, but the yarn is strong and only binds him round and round. Now he is frightened, and begins to run and whirl and spring into the air; but with every movement the thread, unwinding from the wheel, wraps him closer and closer; and the more he spins and turns and somersaults head over heels, the more tangled he gets, till at last he cannot move a paw or even swing his indignant tail; and lies on his back a helpless, mewing bundle.
Fortunately at this moment there is a shadow across the moon, and Witch Hex flies home, riding on her broomstick, a basket on her arm.
[She seizes one end of the yarn and winds it into a ball, but so quickly that poor Fiddle , at the other end, spins and whirls and revolves like a top as she unwinds him, and the Witch laughs at his antics till the tears stream down her withered old cheeks. When he is free, Fiddle has to sit in a corner and hold his head in both paws for dizziness; but, picking up her basket, the Witch says:
"We must stew all the other ingredients together before Brangomar comes" and as Hex throws the various things she has collected Into the boiling brew she sings: the magic mixtureA hair from the tail of the ride-a-cock Horse;
A lace from the Old Woman's shoe,
A bit of the tuffet
Of Little Miss Muffet;
The blast that the Little Boy Blue.
A tear of the Kittens who lost all their mittens
When they began to cry.
A sniff from Miss Mary
When she was contrary;
The Plum from Jack Homer's pie.
A slice of Green Cheese from the Man in the Moon ;
The tails of the Three Blind Mice;
A bone from the cupboard
Of Old Mother Hubbard;
And little girls' sugar and spice.
A tick from the clock of hi-diccory Dock;
The tails of the sheep of Bo-peep;
The eye of the fly
That saw Cock Robin die ;
And a "baa" from the Baa-black Sheep.
[When she has finished the mixture, the Witch sniffs the steam from the cauldron, and then sips a little of the brew from the ladle. The Witch . Tastes good, and hot enough. Yes, the ladle is red hot. Now that's all except the heart. Fiddle, set the kettle to cool. [ Fiddle takes the cauldron from over the fire and sets it in the corner. The Witch . I'm chilly! [She tucks up her skirts and sits down comfortably on the blazing fire.] Ah, that feels good! Nothing to do now but wait for Snow White's heart. But then you shall see—what you shall see a beautiful head of long, wavy hair. Ah, here's Brangomar at last. [ Queen Brangomar enters. Fiddle bows low to her. The Queen . Sorry to be late, dear Hexy, but Berthold never returned till morning, and then I had to see personally to having him locked up in the Grey Tower. He made a frightful fuss ; but I was afraid to trust him. The Witch . Did he bring the heart? The Queen . Yes, here it is. Oh, how I hated that child! The Witch . Hair restorer's just ready for it. Help me up. Don't like to sit on the fire too long. I dosed off the other day and boiled over. Now the heart. [She take's it and hobbles to the cauldron.] Receipt says that when I add this the brew will turn a beautiful pink. Then I dip in my head, and presto! long and lovely hair. Now watch! [She drops the heart into the cauldron, which steams vigorously. The Witch . [Dancing with delight.] See it steam! The Queen . But it's turning green, not pink. The Witch . So it is. Still, there can't be any mistake; I was most careful. Well, here goes for a handsome head of hair. You'll hardly know me when you see me again. [She dips her head three times into the steaming cauldron, and then raises it proudly.] How's that? Pretty fine, eh? [Surely something has sprouted on the Witch's bald pate. The Queen looks carefully, and then bursts into a peel of laughter; and Fiddle , holding his sides, rolls on the ground in mirth. The Witch . What are you laughing at? Feels very thick and curly. Stop that cackling! The Queen . [Hardly able to speak.] Oh, my dear Hex! Ha, ha, ha! You have—ha, ha, ha!—a headful of pig-tails! The Witch . Pig-tails? Nonsense! It's short and curly. The Queen . Not pig-tails, Hexy. Your head is covered with little white, curly tails of pigs! The Witch . Tails of pigs? Tails of pigs? [She feels the growth carefully.] By Hop-scotch, they are pigs' tails! Stop laughing! If the joke's on anybody, it's on you. Instead of a human heart, your precious huntsman has brought back the heart of a pig; and Miss Snow White is alive at this moment. Ha, ha, for you! The Queen. [Her laughter broken off short.] What? Snow White alive? The Witch. If these are pigs' tails, that was a pig's heart. Ask your Magic Mirror if Snow White's not alive. The Queen. [Seizing the Mirror which hangs from her girdle.] Mirror, mirror, in my hand, Who's the fairest in the land? The Mirror. [Answering.] You, who hold me in your hand, You were fairest in the land; But to-day, I answer true, Snow White is more fair than you. The Queen. Snow White alive! [She starts to dash the Mirror to the ground.] The Witch. [Seizing it.] Be careful of that Mirror, I tell you! Mirror, mirror, truly tell, Where doth Princess Snow White dwell? The Mirror. [Answering.] 'Mid the ancient forest dells With the Seven Dwarfs she dwells. The Witch. You see? Your deceitful huntsman has let Snow White escape, and brought a pig's heart to fool us with. Snow White has found the house of the Seven Dwarfs—and there you are, my merry lady! The Queen. The Seven Dwarfs? Who are they? The Witch. Rather nice little men; sort of gnomes. Live all alone. Never saw them myself. The Queen. [Wrapping her cloak about her.] Where do they live? The Witch. Oh, ho! Intend to deal with Snow White yourself this time, do you? The Queen. Where do they live? The Witch. The usual way is about twenty miles over the mountains, but there's a short cut through my back yard. Less than a mile away. The Queen. Give me a knife or a dagger, quickly! The Witch. What? Walk into the Dwarf's house, knife in hand and crown on your head like that? I'd sooner dance into a hornet's nest. Really, Brangomar, if I were you I'd swap brains with a grasshopper! The Queen. But what shall I do? She's alive! She's more beautiful than I! My heart will burn itself out of my body like a live coal. Tell me some way! The Witch. Deary me! Have I got to plan it all out for you again? You're a nuisance. The Queen. How? How? The Witch. There's only one safe way . . . The Queen. Yes? The Witch. First, I must transform you into a different looking person altogether. The Queen. And then? The Witch. And then give you some means of disposing Snow White that the Dwarfs can't trace back to you. Fiddle, fetch me the deadly poison things. The Queen. Ah, poison! Yes, that's it! [ Fiddle fetches an odd looking box full of strange articles from the Magic Chest. The Witch. [Examining them.] Almost none left. Pair of poisoned slippers—no use. Poisoned pipe—no. Oh, here! Best thing in the box,—the poisoned apple. Beautiful, isn't it? Only the red side is poisoned, the white side is perfectly good. If you want to tempt anybody, eat the white side yourself; but the least bite of the red side, and down they drop, dead as a tombstone. But no, you're not clever enough to be trusted with that. Ah, here we are,—the poisoned comb. The very thing! The Queen . Let me see it! [She seizes the jewelled comb.] The Witch . Put that in Snow White's hair, let it stay there while you count one hundred, and all's over with her. It doesn't work instantly like the apple, but it's much safer with a stupid person like you. The Queen . How my fingers itch to set this in her black hair. Now what disguise? The Witch . Disguise? Oh yes! Fiddle, bring me the Transformation Mixtures. [ Fiddle brings from the chest three odd-shaped bottles, one filled with green, one with purple, and one with orange liquid. The Witch . Are these all? My entire stock of magic is running out. Lucky I'm going to retire from business next year. The Queen. [Attempting to seize a bottle.] Let me see . . . The Witch. [Crossly.] Don't snatch! Wretched manners! I'll read the labels. [She reads one.] "Five drops before breakfast." Well I declare; I've written out the doses most carefully but totally forgotten what they change people into. But that's easily remedied. A drop of each in the cauldron and you'll see for yourself. Now Watch! [She pours a few drops from the green bottle into the cauldron. Instantly a cloud of steam rises; and in the steam&dmash;dimly at first, and then quite clearly, appears the figure of an old and wrinkled hag in threadbare garments. On one arm she carries a large basket filled with ribbons, laces, needles, thread, and such articles. The Witch. I remember, the Old Pedlar-woman disguise. Just the thing. You could pre tend to be selling Snow White the comb. But let's see what the others are, anyhow. [She pours some drops from the purple bottle into the cauldron. The image of the Pedlar-woman vanishes; in its place appears the figure of a small naked baby. The Witch . Oh, the baby! I used that once myself; caught an awful cold too. Useless for you. Now how about this orange mixture? [She pours from the orange bottle. This time the image is that of a stout, jovial, red-faced man. He wears an apron and has a green patch over one eye. Balanced on his head he carries a tray full of various sorts of pies. The Witch. That's the one-eyed Pieman. Good, but not as good as the Pedlar-woman for your purpose. The Queen. What is a Pieman? The Witch . Man who sells pie, stupid; what did you suppose? But a Pieman wouldn't sell ing combs. Pedlar-woman it is. Green bottle. [She reads.] "Dose, one tablespoonful, with a peppermint after." I haven't got a peppermint, but that was only to take away the taste. [She produces a spoon and uncorks the bottle.] The Queen . [Hesitating.] Is the taste very bad? The Witch . Vile. Really, one of the nastiest tastes I ever made. Open your mouth. The Queen. [Shrinking back.] Er—is being transformed painful? The Witch. No-o-o-o, but unpleasant. Feels as though you were being turned inside out like a glove. Open your moth. The Queen. I think on the whole I'll wait till to-morrow. You see I have an important tea-party at Court this afternoon, and . . . The Witch. Oh, ho! Cowardy, cowardy cus tard! Here, Fiddle, here's sport for you. Get the black mantle. [From the chest, Fiddle whisks a large black cloth embroidered with strange looking symbols, and advances toward the Queen . The Queen . What is he going to do? The Witch . Wrap you up so that you can't scratch while I pour this down your throat. The Queen . But I'm not ready! I must go home first! [She makes a dash for the door, but Fiddle is before her. Then begins a lively chase about the cave, the Queen running and dodging, Fiddle following and trying to throw the black mantle over her head. The Witch enjoys it all hugely, crying, "Run, Brangomar!" "Catch her, Fiddle!" and slappig her old knees with delight till she is quite out of breath. At last Fiddle succeeds in cornering Queen Brangomar , and throws the mantle over her head. The Witch. [ Breathless .] Well don, Fiddle, well done! Trip her up and sit on her. [ Fiddle does so. The Witch also sits down on the squirming Queen , and humming happily to herself pours out a tablespoonful of the green mixture. The Witch . Now, where is her mouth? The Queen . [In a smothered voice.] I won't take it! I won't! The Witch . Oh, there it is! Thank you, Brangomar. [She pours the dose through the cloth into the Queen's mouth, and as the Queen writhes she goes on.] I know it tastes bad, but nothing to make such a fuss about. [Suddenly she holds up a warning finger.] I feel her changing! Do you? [ Fiddle nods.] Done! Up with her, off with the mantle, and let's see the result. [ Fiddle draws off the mantle. Lo! the Queen has been transformed into the likeness of the old Pedlar-woman just as it appeared in the steam, basket of goods and all. The Witch . Splendid! Wouldn't recognise you myself, Brangomar. Hope you haven't lost the poisoned comb. No, here it is in your hand. Now, it wasn't half as bad as you thought it would be, was it? The Pedlar-Woman. [Crossly.] It was awful! Why—is this my voice? The Witch . Of course. Different voice with every disguise. The Pedlar-Woman. I'm all cramps, too. How do I change back? The Witch . Dear me; lucky you thought to ask. I might have forgotten. Just say:—
And so [the wicked queen] danced until she was dead.
The themes explored in the series, such as the importance of freedom, the power of belief, and the strength of family, resonate with readers of all ages. The Witch and Wizard adventures are not only thrilling but also thought-provoking, as they raise questions about authority, individuality, and the price of freedom. Patterson's clever plot twists and unpredictable outcomes keep the readers guessing, adding to the overall excitement of the series. Overall, the Witch and Wizard adventures by James Patterson are captivating and entertaining reads. With their intriguing storyline, relatable characters, and thought-provoking themes, these books are a must-read for fans of fantasy and dystopian genres..
Reviews for "From Page to Screen: Adapting James Patterson's Witch and Wizard for Film"
1. Anna - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "James Patterson's Witch and Wizard Adventures". The story felt all over the place, and I found it difficult to connect with the characters. The plot lacked depth and seemed rushed, leaving me feeling unsatisfied after reading. Additionally, the writing style was repetitive and lacked originality. Overall, this book didn't live up to the hype for me and I wouldn't recommend it.
2. John - 1 star - "James Patterson's Witch and Wizard Adventures" was a complete letdown. The concept sounded intriguing, but the execution was poor. The characters were poorly developed and lacked personality, making it hard to care about their journey. The pacing was all over the place, with too many unnecessary scenes that added nothing to the plot. The world-building was weak, and I found it difficult to immerse myself in the story. Overall, this book felt like a wasted opportunity and I won't be continuing with the series.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - I had high expectations for "James Patterson's Witch and Wizard Adventures", but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The writing style was overly simplistic and lacked depth, making it hard to fully engage with the story. The plot was predictable and didn't offer any surprises. The main characters felt one-dimensional and lacked growth throughout the book. Overall, this read like a generic young adult novel without anything unique or memorable to offer. I wouldn't recommend it to others looking for a captivating fantasy read.