Disney’s big-budget adaptation of the best-selling novel “A Wrinkle in Time” fails in many of the same ways the book does, but there was one major change in the film from the novel. The film’s version of events removes explicit mention of God or religion, instead reducing the central conflict to one between “evil” and “light”.
Although the film adaptation has several critical flaws, namely pacing and an unusual wobble between too much exposition and then too little, L’Engle’s removal of religious overtones leads to a key problem.
By removing the religious themes, the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time” loses part of its narrative arc. This leads to a confusing storyline and confusing message when it comes to the antagonist and purpose of the heavenly characters of Mrs. Who, Mrs. What’s Up, and Mrs. Which.
Christianity is integral to the book version of “A Wrinkle in Time”
Author Madeleine L’Engle, who died in 2007 at the age of 88, spoke about the importance of her own Christian faith in relation to “A Wrinkle in Time.”
“If ever I have written a book that says what I feel about God and the universe, it is this one,” L’Engle wrote in his diary. “This is my psalm in praise of life, my stand for life against death.”
Calvin (Levi Miller) and Meg (Storm Reid) travel the galaxy together. Disney
The central story of the book “A Wrinkle in Time” is the journey of Meg and Charles Wallace Murray as they try to find and rescue their father.
A friend, Calvin, helps them along the way. The trio are guided by three mysterious beings – Mrs. What’s Up, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. What – to a dark planet called Camazotz where Mr. Murray is being held by an evil force.
The three Mrs. W’s are mysterious beings who materialize in different forms and have different uses of language. At one point, Mrs. Whatsit is transformed into “a creature more beautiful than Meg had imagined [… ] she was a white marble body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely different from a horse.”
Later, the children watch as a star fights the evil shadow, the “Dark Things” which Mrs. Ws tells the children that they must fight to save Mr. Murray. Charles Wallace realizes that Mrs. Whatsit was once a star as well, and she lost her star form after fighting Evil.
Mr. Murray (Chris Pine) has been imprisoned by the force of evil. Disney
As the Mrs. explains the Dark Thing as an evil “power of darkness”, they tell the children that fighters have been fighting Evil in the universe for many thousands of years.
“Jesus! Of course, Jesus!” Charles Wallace screams when Mrs. Whatsit tells the children that they know who the greatest fighters have been.
Meg and Calvin intervene with other fighters including Leonardo da Vinci and Gandhi and Buddha.
Later in the book, Meg and Calvin struggle to explain what Ms. means the beings are. Finally, Calvin finds the words and calls them “angels” and “messengers of God”.
As Meg gets closer to facing evil (also called “IT”), both Mr. Murray and the angels tell her that God has called her to his purpose.
Mindy Kaling plays Mrs. Who in the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time.” Disney
Before Meg re-enters Camazotz to face IT one last time, Mrs. Who leaves her with the following quote from Corinthians:
“God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Because you see, brothers, your calling, that you are not many wise according to the flesh, nor many powerful, nor many noble, but God chose what the foolish of the world to shame the wise; and the weak of the world God chose, to shame the strong. And the vile of the world, and the despised, God chose, yes, and what they are not, to undo what is ” .
The film skips religious themes and generalizes “good versus evil”.
Instead of relying on a message from God or using the message from Ms. As stand-ins for angels, the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time” generalizes the idea that evil is spread throughout the galaxy.
“THAT” is jealousy, fear and anger, and Mrs. We tell the children that it must be fought by warriors of light and good.
Mrs. Whatsit transforms into what appears to be a flying plant goddess rather than a white horse-like figure, and the theme of stars (or Mrs. Whatsit being a former star) is never invoked. The children never refer to Mrs. They were angels or messengers of God.
In the movie, Mrs. Whatsit transforms into this creature instead. Disney
In the book, Mr. Murray says, or sends through time and space, Meg and Calvin away from Camazotz after he realizes that TI and the hypnotized Charles Wallace are about to imprison them all.
Once they are safely on another planet, Meg confronts her father’s cowardice and decides to go back alone to save Charles Wallace.
In the book, that’s when Mrs. Who tells Meg that the Corinthians quote that God is wiser than men?
But the movie skips this sequence and instead has Meg just hang out with Charles Wallace. She realizes on her own that loving not only herself but Charles Wallace will bring him back to her. Love against evil is the ultimate weapon.
The story never quite comes together due to narrative changes.
Although Meg’s journey to find self-esteem is a valuable narrative, “A Wrinkle in Time” doesn’t fully explain anything that’s going on. Not only does IT become completely abstract (whereas in the book IT takes the form of a disembodied brain), but the reason the kids have to fight IT is also obscured by the prose about “being a warrior of the light”.
And with the dismissal of Ms. being angels or messengers, her role is also confused. Where do they come from? They simply say that they heard a call in the universe, but how? Why? Have they done this before? What is its actual form?
These questions are also dodged in the books, but Calvin’s statement that they are angels brings some much-needed clarity. Without this section in the film, his presence is convincing but ultimately unexplained.
Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) is one of the beings who helps Meg on her journey. Disney and while Meg’s arc in the movie is properly highlighted, the entire third act falls apart because it’s not clear what she’s fighting against.
In the movie, Charles Wallace gets trapped in IT control during a confusing sequence on a colorful beach where the kids meet the Red-Eyed Man. But the disembodied brain version of IT is never shown. Instead, the evil version of Charles Wallace becomes the main antagonist for the rest of the film, making it confusing and creepier than some might expect.
Although DuVernay and the screenwriters were under no obligation to keep the Christian themes in the film, the changes they made appear to have distorted the pacing and clarity of the story.
By removing the religious reasoning behind Mrs. Ws appearance, and removing the physical manifestation of IT, the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time” was left incomplete. Biblical inspirations could (and should) have been replaced with a more cohesive plot that would bring the film to its final climax.
As critics continue to react to “A Wrinkle in Time” with disappointment and confusion, it’s not hard to trace the film’s problems back to the narrative changes made.
To see what top critics are saying about “A Wrinkle in Time,” read our roundup of the film’s reviews here.