Analysis
Adaptations
“And she answered, just fine, and wished, for a fleeting moment, that she could stay with them forever in that sunny, untidy little house by the pond"
Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt, 1975, p.91
In 1981 a filmed based on the book was released by One Pass Media. Margaret Chamberlain played Winnie Foster and Paul Flessa played Jesse Tuck. The movie stayed somewhat true to the book, but made Winnie 12 years old and changed the setting to 19th century New York.
In 2002 a film adaptation was released based on the book by Disney. The story follows closely to the story in the book. There were some differences in the book such as Winnie’s age and the time period. Alexis Bledal played Winnie Foster and Jonathan Jackson played Jesse Tuck. Here is a list of differences between the 2002 movie and the book from the movie’s Wikipedia page.
In the Book
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The books starts in the first week of August.
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Winnie is 10.
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The book is set in 1880.
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Winnie's grave says 1870-1948 (died 78 years).
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Winnie runs away because she's tired of being cooped up.
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To save Mae, the Tucks remove the bars of a window of the jail, and Winnie switches places with her.
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Mae is sent to jail to be hanged.
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Mae and Angus visit Winnie's grave (in 1950). They return to Treegap riding their old horse-drawn wagon.
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Mae, Jesse, and Miles "kidnap" Winnie when they fear that their secret will get out. They take her to their cabin north of Treegap
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The Tucks run off in a fierce thunderstorm.
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Jesse gives Winnie a bottle filled with water from the spring and tells her to drink it when she turns 17.
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The Tucks' house is deep in the woods and a faded red.
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The Tucks find the water in 1776.
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Miles fights in several wars so he can die and reunite with his family in Heaven.
In the Movie
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The movie starts as soon as school is out.
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She is 15.
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The movie is set in 1914.
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It says 1899-1999 (died 100 years).
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She runs away because she's going to be sent to a boarding school.
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Winnie tells the prison guard that the people who kidnapped her are back to get her. He runs outside with a shotgun to face them. He shoots them, but runs away when he sees they can't die. Meanwhile, Winnie grabs his keys and unlocks Mae and Angus' cell.
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Angus is imprisoned and Mae is to be sent to hanged.
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Only Jesse comes back (in 2002). He returns riding a motorcycle.
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Only Miles does.
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They escape in a carriage.
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He does not give Winnie a bottle, but she contemplates drinking from the spring after the Tucks leave.
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It is a brown log cabin.
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The Tucks find the water in 1810.
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Miles only mentions fighting in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War
In 2015 the book was adapted into a play by Casey Nicholaw. The musical débuted March 31, 2016 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. Sarah Charles Lewis played Winnie Foster and Andrew-Keenan-Bolger played Jesse Tuck. The musical ended production on May 29, 2016. The musical won the Suzi Bass Award in 2015 for Outstanding Musical Production, Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical, Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical, and Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical. In 2016 it won a Theatre Award. It was nominated for 21 awards.