Pennywise Speed Art and Film/TV Ranking
Alrighty! After a long absence, I am finally back on the channel, well back on both channels as I just posted Pennywise’s Evolution on the animation channel so I figured I should post a Speed-Art of Pennywise over here. I have a whole bunch of other Speed-arts I've recorded, I just need to edit them, so hopefully, over the next few months, I'll be posting more of them and more rankings. And apparently, my Pennywise Animation actually hit the Trending page in the US, I think it reached as high as number 2 right below Mr. Beast trying to plant 20 million trees, so you know a subject matter just as important as saving the planet, what Pennywise transforms into through the series. But either way, I'm gonna include a link to the #teamtrees in the video description, it's a good cause, 1 dollar per tree planted, so if you got a buck or two consider donating! And with that out of the way today I want to rank every IT Adaption, now this isn't gonna be based on the look of the character, but instead based on how good the movie is. So without any further rambling let's get into what the worst adaption of IT is.
5. WOH (1998)
And coming in at number 5 is the Indian TV series Woh. Now obviously this must have been popular in Hindi languages because it somehow lasted for 52 episodes in 1998, but because of this, the show feels more like a long-winded soap opera rather than a horror show or an adaption of the novel. There are some effective parts of the show though, I really like the opening titles, the music and visuals are very creepy, but unfortunately, the episodes that don't feature Woh are painfully boring, and the ones that do feature him are more silly than scary. I was able to watch the whole series on YouTube so if you look up Woh Episode 1 you'll be able to watch through the whole thing, but most of the time I can't fully understand what's happening as they aren't speaking English, but it's worth skimming through if you're curious.
4. IT (1990) Part 2
Okay, so at number 4 I'm gonna put Part 2 of the Mini-Series here, yeah I'm gonna split them up because they really have such a different flavor between the episodes, this second part mostly focuses on the adults, and it just isn't as scary watching the adults, plus none of the adults look like or even feel like their child counterparts, I always mix up who's supposed to be who when I re-watch this, sure Beverley and Mike are easy to pick out, but the rest look nothing like the younger versions. Now while the ending is usually the most contested part of this movie, the whole gang fighting the giant spider, and while the execution of this scene is poor, I don't actually mind that Pennywise looks like an unworldly creature in this finale, the puppet work and model look pretty cheap, but I like that he doesn't just look like his clown form still, so that's one thing I prefer over the new film, but other than that this is probably one of the most boring adaptions of a Stephen King work.
3. IT (1990) Part 1
Alright, so coming in at number 3 is gonna be Part 1 of the mini-series. The first half of the original adaption works pretty well and is a huge jump in quality above the last half. It still isn't perfect, but the whole children in peril work a lot better than the adults later on. The kids actually feel like friends and the 50s nostalgia works pretty well. While some of the movie is cartoonish, the juxtaposition between what is happening to them and the way the film is shot actually makes the scenes with Pennywise feel almost alien or dreamlike. And the scenes with Pennywise actually hold up pretty well here, the opening scene with Georgie is great, minus that weird close-up on his mouth at the end. Now from what I heard, apparently, Tommy Lee Wallace, the director of the mini-series wanted this film to feel like a John Carpenter film, which makes sense since he worked on Halloween 1 and 2, and directed part 3, but I feel like it comes up short in the atmosphere section most of the time and seems more campy than intended. Nonetheless, if it's on TV I do usually sit down and put it on in the background until the adult storyline takes over.
2. It: Chapter 2 (2019)
So the second-best Adaption of IT is going to have to be IT: Chapter 2. Now, this is a big movie, and it feels grand in scale. The mirror sequence and the thrilling final fight feel huge, and sure CGI is used a lot in these sections, but I don't think it takes away from the narrative. Now the main problem I have with the film is the middle section sort of drags on when they're all on their own, but the opening sequence at the fair and the reintroduction of the characters works very well with all the transitions and the Chinese restaurant scene where they all meet up again is a lot of fun. After the climax is complete Bill Hader carries the film with his arc. Now that isn't to say I think the film is ever boring, I just think it goes on a little too long in the middle acts.
It: Chapter 1 (2017)
So that only leaves one IT adaption to take the top spot, and this is going to be IT (2017). It's basically the kids’ storyline from the novel and I think works really well as a whole story that doesn't really need a follow-up, but of course, the novel has a lot more to cover so Part 2 was inevitable, plus it made $700 Million so part 2 was gonna happen even if that section of the story is less interesting. The kids here all feel like real kids and the late 80s setting is nice to see and is done pretty well. I also think Pennywise is at his scariest here, now sometimes that doesn't make a lot of sense, because originally the clown entity is supposed to draw his prey in before he then attacks them with their fears, whereas here he's mostly just a scary clown the whole time, but for what it is it works pretty well. The new Georgie scene, the projector scene, and the finale fight are all highlights of the film and the glue of the film is held together with the kids’ clear chemistry.
So all in all, if you're gonna watch any IT Adaption start with Chapter 1, and if you like it finishes the story with Chapter 2. But I don't want to just tell you what to think, I want to hear what you guys think, what is your favorite version of IT, and which movie do you prefer most? Let me know down below.
And until next time, I’ve been Aaron and keep on keeping on!