What are the differences between Freak the Mighty book and movie?
There are a number of scenes in the film version which don't exist in the original book. For instance, in the movie "The Mighty" there are two basketball scenes, neither of which feature in Freak The Mighty. In the first of these scenes, Blade rolls a ball at Freak which makes him fall down. The second basketball scene involves Freak sitting on Max's shoulders while they beat Blade's team.
Then there's a scene in the movie where Max carries Freak on his shoulders as they walk into a cafe. They see a man harassing a young woman. Max intervenes and defends the lady, causing her harasser to storm furiously out of the cafe.
A number of incidents occur in both the book and the film adaptation, but which differ slightly in their details. For example, Max and Freak retrieve a lady's purse from a sewer. In the book, they...
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roll around in the dirt to camouflage themselves at night. Yet in the movie they just put black paint under their eyes.
Well, the first difference is the title: the book Freak the Mighty becomes the movie The Mighty. This shows that there are other changes as well. Much of the movie follows the book fairly well, until the ending.
At the ending of the book, Kevin has another seizure on his birthday. This is the seizure that puts Kevin in the hospital for the last time. Max visits Kevin and, during that visit, asks Max to write down their adventures. Kevin dies in the hospital after Max visits (and after Kevin has yet another seizure).
At the ending of the movie, it is the Christmas holiday that brings the boys together. Kevin actually gives Max a blank book in order for Max to write their stories. Instead of dying in the hospital, Kevin then dies in his sleep due to his heart issues. When Max learns that Kevin has died, Max chases the ambulance. This is how Max ends up at the hospital in the movie.
In conclusion, the movie and the book do end the same way: Max writes the adventures of “Freak the Mighty.”
What are two changes made in the movie version of Freak the Mighty compared to the book?
1 - The quote Loretta said about Freak being a birth defect in the book; Freak says it about himself in the movie.
2 - The movie shows a bigger picture of the negative effect Killer Kane had on his family.
Since you have already outlined two differences between the book version of Freak the Mighty and the movie adaptation, let's focus on explaining how and/or why those differences manifest.
First, in Chapter Eleven of the book, Freak and Max go to the house of Loretta Lee in order to return her purse to her (which they had discovered in a storm drain in the previous chapter). Once there, Loretta behaves with extreme nastiness toward the boys, pointing out that Max is the son of Kenny "Killer" Kane and must be "some kind of retard," while Freak is the son of "stuck-up Gwen" and a "dwarf." She points out with great cruelty that Freak's father had abandoned him, stating:
Your old man was a magician.... He must be a magician, because as soon as he hear the magic words "birth defect," he disappeared.
In the film version, it is not Loretta who makes this statement, but rather Freak himself. After Loretta reminds Max about his father, she insults him, recalling that he was just a "poor little mute boy, all alone up there on the witness stand." Max takes off running and tells Freak to stay away from him, claiming that he's been "nothing but trouble" and that his "life was fine before you and your stupid quests." Freak then tells Max:
My father was a magician. At least that's what my mom says. He heard the words "birth defect" and he disappeared. But I don't really care, you know, 'cause I don't even know who my father is. I just know that's not who I am. And that's not who you are, either.
The director of the film, Peter Chelsom, and writer, Charles Leavitt, clearly decided to make this change to give Freak more agency. Rather than being hurt by this truth, he is owning it and using it to empower Max to realize that he is not his father; he is not destined to be a killer. It becomes a moment of liberty rather than a moment of injury.
Second, as you pointed out, the film shows the larger consequences of Killer Kane's actions in that we get a more thorough perspective from Max and his grandparents.
In the film, we clearly see the bullying that Max faces as a result of his father's actions and the negative impact this has on the boy's psyche. He's called at various times "a freak of nature" and a boy with "no friends." He's blamed for creating trouble that he did not create and given detention. He is also subjected to repetition of the terrible song that the other children have made up: "Killer Kane, Killer Kane, had a son who's got no brain!"
This treatment results in Max retreating into his head to the "cool and dim" place where he can "float like a cloud." He is clearly withdrawn and unable to connect with others as a result of his father's behavior. He lives in constant fear that he might turn out to be like his dad, stating, "I look in the mirror and I see him. I hear my voice and I hear his!" This insight is aided by the voiceover narration provided by Max throughout the film.
We also see how this has devastated Gram and Grim, who have to live with the knowledge that their daughter's husband murdered her. Grim keeps a gun in the house in order to shoot Kane if he ever comes back, which Gram detests. She states emotionally:
Our Annie's gone. All we have left of her smile... all we have left of her heart is in that boy down there. I'm not gonna have hatred coming into this house and poisoning him.
The revelation that Kane will be released shortly on parole creates tension in the family in that they don't know what to believe; lawyers claim that Kane will be put back in prison if he comes within five miles of Max or the house, and yet it is lawyers who have enabled Kane to be released in the first place.
All of this conflict naturally comes to a head when Kane kidnaps Max and takes him to Loretta's house, where he tries to strangle her. Seeing this triggers Max's memory of his mother's murder, and he is finally able to own the situation and free himself of its emotional weight, stating:
I wasn't dreaming. I remember. I saw you! I saw you kill my mom! And you're never gonna stop me from saying it again!
What are the similarities and differences between the book Freak the Mighty and the movie The Mighty?
I would say that the movie effectively caught the spirit of the book. The movie faithfully shows that Freak and Max are two very close friends that would be willing to do just about anything for each other. The movie is similar in that Freak has some kind of a disease as well.
Unfortunately, anytime a movie is turned into a book, some things are cut or added for cinematic effect. It's the main reason why I don't like book to movie projects. The movie adds a basketball scene that was never in the book for example. Freak never sat on top of Max's shoulders to win in a pick up game of basketball.
One example of something the movie kept from the book but completely changed is the death scene. In the book, Freak had a seizure at the Christmas party. He was taken to the ICU, and Max and Freak were allowed to talk. Freak talked about what his new body would be like after surgery. He meant his new body in heaven, because Freak died in the hospital. That death sequence is completely different in the movie. Freak has a stroke and dies at home. Gram tells Max, and he immediately runs out to find Freak. All he is able to see is the ambulance leaving with Freak inside.