The School for Good and Evil premiered on Netflix on October 19th, and as a big fan of the book series, I stayed up and watched the whole thing at midnight despite my full day of classes the next day. The movie features Disney legend Sofia Wylie and Broadway star Sophia Anne Caruso as the titular roles of Agatha and Sophie who become wrapped up in the fairytale world, separated by Good and Evil.
This adaptation has been almost 10 years in the making, so expectations were high. I started reading the series around 2013, and I’ve stuck with it ever since, patiently waiting for the next book to come out every year or so. As a book lover, it holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first series I ever got to read as the books were getting published.
I remember bringing the first book to summer camp one year, and I got everyone in my class to read it, even the boys. We would pass it around during reading time, lunch, and recess, which explains why my copy is now all creased and dirty. Everyone became obsessed with the book, and we were all waiting for the movie to come out soon. I had done my due diligence as the trendsetter of googling when it would get adapted and found that Universal Studios had acquired the rights and there were rumors that it would be released in 2016. Clearly, the rumors were false.
Now, more than 5 years later, we finally have the movie, and I’ll just say that I have some mixed thoughts. Usually, I’m able to think about the book and its screen adaptation separately—I actually believe it’s very crucial for readers to do this—but this time it was particularly hard for me. Perhaps it is because I’ve loved this series for so long, and fantasy book adaptations are hard to make since readers must build up the whole world in their heads. It was also hard to watch and not judge the decisions about what plot points to include or exclude, knowing how it all plays out in the end.
Overall, after almost a week of seeing reviews and reactions and being able to think about it a bit more, I can say it was a decent movie, but I was initially a bit disappointed. Since fans have been waiting so long for this movie, I had really high hopes. I was tempted to not watch it because I was afraid I would lose how I imagined everything in the books, but here we are. So let’s discuss some of the things that I think the movie could have done better.
First, the changes in the relationship between Tedros and Agatha was my main point of contention with the movie since I loved their relationship in the books. They completely cannot stand each other; Tedros thinks Agatha is a witch, and Agatha thinks that he is totally stuck up and full of himself. Having them start off hating each other, but slowly overcoming it and realizing that they belong together made their relationship stronger, something that is much needed for all the things that come later on in the series. The movie has them already attracted to each other from the start which I think presents a whole different dynamic. They weren’t able to form as deep of a connection as I would have liked to see, and it wasn’t as impactful when they finally realize they love each other. However, the chemistry was definitely there between the actors and there were still a lot of cute moments, but it was just different.
Another thing that I felt was missing was Agatha’s journey of self-growth. As a kid, one of my favorite parts of the book was when Agatha realizes that she’s not ugly or evil and she’s actually incredibly beautiful in her own skin and truly good. This scene was so powerful because nothing else had really changed about her except her confidence and belief in herself. I don’t think the movie does this transformation justice. They didn’t really show her growth and her arc was mostly just focused on being a friend to Sophie.
I think the main reason for this is the pacing. I felt that the film went really fast and we as the audience weren’t able to properly explore some storylines, making it feel all over the place. So many things were happening at once and so quickly after each other; so many characters and plot points were overlooked, like the Coven (Hester, Anadil, and Dot) who are incredibly important to the complete arc of the books but rarely get any screen time. Instead, we get an early introduction to the “Rafal” storyline which doesn’t take place until a couple of books later. I understand the need to make things bigger and better, to up the stakes, but I think without it, the movie would have felt more focused. It definitely would have worked better as a TV series, a common philosophy about book adaptations, particularly fantasy.
However, now that I’ve had a few days to really sit with my thoughts, I think it’s much better than I had initially made it out to be. So let’s talk about the things they did right!
The casting was phenomenal. I had always imagined Agatha as Asian, so when Sofia Wylie was cast, I was happy to see that she was going to be played by a woman of color. Many fans had their reservations, but I can say that everyone in the cast did an amazing job at bringing the characters to life. Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington were spot on with their portrayals of Lesso and Dovey.
The wardrobe and set design are absolutely stunning. You can tell Netflix had a high budget, and I’m glad we waited this long for it. The castles are exactly how I imagined them, if not better, and the Ever dresses were so beautiful. They also did a great job of setting up the lore of the world and bringing the magic to life in such a limited space. As always with fantasy series, I was afraid that the filmmakers wouldn’t be able to do worldbuilding justice, but thankfully they shattered my expectations. Again, I really felt like my imagination of the School for Good and Evil was just translated directly onto the screen.
One change that I did enjoy was the whole premise of Sophie and Agatha’s relationship. In the books, they don’t become friends until right before the events of the book happen because Sophie befriends Agatha as a good deed to try to get into the School for Good. However, the movie sets them up to be friends since childhood, something I was pleasantly surprised by. Their relationship is much stronger and pure which this time I think will benefit in the bigger picture of the series.
Despite my complaints, I do think that The School for Good and Evil is a great movie. I’m just so grateful that we finally have a movie after waiting 10 long years, and we can share this beloved story with the world. I guess I should take my own advice, one that I annoyingly remind other readers of all the time: books and their adaptations are separate things! I’ve seen many non-readers express how much they enjoyed it, so we’ll all be waiting for the sequel (my personal favorite of all the books in the series) together. But first we have to overcome Netflix’s infamous cancellation or renewal limbo, so make sure to watch The School for Good and Evil if you haven’t already! (And watch it again if you have!)