Our Shakespeare play today is the perennial favourite ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. As you might expect the actual play has been captured many times on film, from the earliest days of cinema in 1909 to the latest in 2017. That being said, the number of movies that adapt the story are relatively few. I chosen to feature just two in this post.
Get Over It is a 2001 American teen comedy loosely based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream about a high school senior who desperately tries to win back his ex-girlfriend by joining the school play she and her new boyfriend are performing in, against the advice of friends. The film was directed by Tommy O’Haver and written by R. Lee Fleming Jr.. The film was released in March 9, 2001, and stars Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst and grossed $19 million against a budget of $22 million.
After Berke Landers’ girlfriend Allison breaks up with him, he tries to win her back by auditioning for the school play, despite having no theatrical talent. Meanwhile, his friends Felix and Dennis try to find him a new girlfriend. With the help of Felix’s younger sister Kelly, Berke wins a minor role in the play, a modern musical version of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream called A Midsummer Night’s Rockin’ Eve, written and directed by the school’s domineering drama teacher, Dr. Desmond Oates. When one of the leads, the school’s star actor Peter Wong, is injured in a freak accident, Berke takes over Wong’s role of Lysander. He gradually improves with continuing assistance from Kelly, unaware of the growing attraction between them.
At a party thrown by Felix at Berke’s house, Kelly kisses Berke, but he insists that a relationship between them could not work as she is Felix’s sister. At the same party, Berke and Allison catch her new boyfriend Bentley “Striker” Scrumfeld cheating on her with her best friend Maggie. Allison breaks up with Striker. During the intermission on the play’s opening night, Allison confides to Berke that she wants to get back together with him. Meanwhile, Striker bribes two of the theater technicians to try and blow Berke off the stage using stage pyrotechnics. Before the play resumes, Felix gives the orchestra sheet music for a love ballad written by Kelly to replace Oates’ unpopular tune.
When the curtain rises, Kelly sings her song so beautifully that Berke finally realizes he loves her. He abandons his lines from the script and improvises his own verse professing his character’s love for Kelly’s character Helena. The audience applauds as Berke and Kelly kiss. Striker protests this change, but unwittingly signals the technicians to set off the explosion, blowing him offstage and into the orchestral section. Dennis kisses Kelly’s friend and his dancing partner Basin, who kisses him back, suggesting that they also begin a relationship. Kelly and Berke leave the theater looking forward to their future together. The film ends with Sisqo and Vitamin C singing and dancing along with the cast to the song “September” as the credits roll.
Strange Magic is a 2015 American computer animated musical film directed by Gary Rydstrom and produced by Lucasfilm. The film’s screenplay was written by Rydstrom, David Berenbaum and Irene Mecchi, from a story by George Lucas inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The score was composed by Marius de Vries and includes contemporary songs, such as “Love is Strange” and “Strange Music”. Lucas had been working on developing the project for 15 years before production began. It was his first writing credit since the 1994 film Radioland Murders that is not associated with the Star Wars or Indiana Jones franchises. The film was released in the United States in January 2015 by Touchstone Pictures. The film was panned by critics, who criticised its script, humour and songs but praised its animation, and was a box office bomb, grossing $13.6 million worldwide and losing around $40–50 million. To date, it is the only Lucasfilm Animation production that is not part of the Star Wars franchise.
When fairy princess Marianne sees her fiancé, Roland, kissing another fairy on their wedding day, she vows never to fall in love again. In the Dark Forest, the Bog King has the same view on love, despite his caring mother Griselda’s protests. Marianne’s sister, Dawn, and her elf friend, Sunny, are nearly devoured by a giant lizard before Marianne rescues them. After falling through the border and into the Dark Forest, Sunny finds a primrose petal and hides it. At the Spring Ball, Roland tries to win back Marianne, who angrily drives him away. Roland consults his warriors, who jokingly tell him to procure the love potion to woo Marianne. Roland then encounters Sunny, who has an unrequited love for Dawn. He convinces Sunny to venture into the Dark Forest to get the love potion, which they would both use on their respective fairies. Sunny goes back and finds the hidden primrose petal and, with the guidance of an Imp, travels to the Bog King’s lair, where the Sugar Plum Fairy was being held prisoner by the Bog King. Sunny finds the Sugar Plum Fairy, who agrees to make the love potion if Sunny promises to set her free.
Plum’s escape rouses Bog King, who recaptures her while Sunny and the Imp escape. Sunny returns to the ball and tries to hit Dawn with the love potion. Bog interrupts the celebrations and captures Dawn just as she is sprayed by the love potion and the imp steals it in order to spread it throughout the forest. Bog orders them to deliver the potion to him by moon-down or he will harm Dawn. Defying her father’s order, Marianne flies off after her sister while he grants Roland a small army to head off on foot to Bog’s castle. Dawn falls in love with Bog due to the potion, and Bog has her imprisoned for his own sanity. Marianne arrives and fights with Bog to return her sister. When she realizes the severity of the situation, the two of them begin to find common interests. When they consult Sugar Plum for an antidote, she explains that true love will negate the effects of the potion. A mutual attraction begins to develop between Marianne and Bog, but only Griselda sees it.
Sunny recovers the potion from the imp and gives it to Roland as they march on to the castle. Bog sees this and suspects that Marianne had set him up, breaking his heart again as he leaves her stranded in a spider web. She escapes and joins in the battle taking place at the castle. Sunny frees Sugar Plum, Dawn, and the love-stricken forest creatures that the imp had hit with the love potion. In the escape, Bog holds the mouth of his den open long enough for everyone to escape. He survives, to Marianne’s relief, and Sunny reveals his true feelings to Dawn, and they kiss. Bog and Marianne finally admit their feelings for each other and kiss.
