The movie adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters was released nine years ago today!
Unfortunately, the film had mixed reviews and received heavy criticism from book fans for diverting so far away from Rick Riordan’s plot and characters for the second novel. But besides the obvious differences between the two, the movies did manage to keep at least some things similar to the book. If you were a book fan, you probably watched that movie cringing at all the changes from the novel, but did you catch any of the similarities?
1. Thalia’s Tree is Poisoned
Just like in the book, Thalia (daughter of Zeus) was turned into a tree many years ago, protecting Camp Half-Blood. And in both the novel and its film adaptation, her tree is poisoned and dying–leaving the camp vulnerable to monsters and threats. The only way to save her tree is the Golden Fleece, which sparks the quest and the plot of both the second book and movie.
2. Tyson
In both versions, Tyson is Percy’s half-brother, a Cyclops. In the movie, Annabeth stays true to her book nature of hating Cyclopes due to her history with them. One difference here is that in the book, the Cyclops merely slowed down Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke when they were children, which led to Thalia’s death. In the movie, a Cyclops was the one that actually killed her. Regardless, Annabeth is not fond of or kind to Tyson in either the book or movie.
3. Clarisse
Another similarity between the book and its film adaptation was Clarisse–daughter of Ares–who plays a bigger role in the second book/movie. In both versions, Clarisse is the one chosen to complete the quest of finding the Golden Fleece. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson go against orders to find it as well and end up working with her to save the camp. Also, her ruthless and sarcastic personality portrayed by Leven Rambin was pretty spot on to the books.
4. Sea of Monsters (aka Bermuda Triangle)
The legend of the Sea of Monsters itself is an important one–and one the movies portrayed accurately for the most part. The deadly place is known by mortals as the Bermuda Triangle, and it is where all sorts of godly creatures and monsters live, like the sorceress Circe (Riordan Wiki).
5. Thalia Wakes Up
Another vital aspect of the book that the movie actually includes is that when Annabeth places the Golden Fleece on the pine tree, Thalia (daughter of Zeus) wakes up. She ends up playing a role later in the series, but the movies didn’t last past the second one, so she didn’t get much screen time.
Despite these few instances of faithfulness to the book, many fans still despise the film adaptations. Read this article to find out why!