There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

Christopher Booker took 34 years to write his book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories.  In the book, he proposes there are only seven different types of story.  He believes every story is just a recycling of the seven basic plots.

While Booker may be correct in his assessment that there are only seven basic plots, there are innumerable ways to express the same story creatively. One way to take notice of diverse creative expressions of a story is to watch movie remakes.  Grab some popcorn and gather the family for a double-header movie night this summer.  Here is a list of some of my favorite family movie remakes. 

• Alice in Wonderland (1951, 2010) 
• Aladdin (1992, 2019)
• Annie (1982, 2014)
• Beauty and the Beast (1991, 2017)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971, 2005)
• Cinderella (1950, 2015)
• Dumbo (1941, 2019)
• Freaky Friday (1976, 2003)
• The Karate Kid (1984, 2010)
• The Jungle Book (1967, 2016)
• The Lion King (1994, 2019)
• Little Women (1949, 1994, 2019)
• Mary Poppins (1964, 2018)
• Parent Trap (1961, 1998) 
• Pete's Dragon (1977, 2016)
• Peter Pan (1953, 2003) 
• True Grit (1969, 2010)

When you are done watching the movie, discuss which interpretations of the stories were your favorite.  

Comment below with the name of your favorite movie remake.

Happy Summer!