ABSTRACT
Film adaptations of literature are far from being a new phenomenon. Since the invention of cinema, directors and producers have released films whose screenplays are based on literary texts, whether written for a child or an adult audience. This chapter presents a short overview of the history of film adaptations of picturebooks before turning to the specific narrative and medial changes that an adaptation of a picturebook into a film requires. It discusses the different target groups addressed in the film adaptations of picturebooks. The target group of picturebooks is mostly, though not necessarily, children. The increasing number of crossover picturebooks and even picturebooks for adults indicates that the strict age boundaries are becoming progressively blurred. Studies in media literacy in general and film literacy in particular have demonstrated that children have to acquire the relevant filmic codes in order to understand the film story.
