Congo: The Novel And The Movie Essay, Research Paper

Congo was an astounding bestseller novel. It was a great fictional novel that took place in the depths of the Congo rainforest. The novel was later made into a movie. Both the novel and the movie were good, however, I prefer the novel. It just seemed like a more entertaining piece than the movie. This movie was based much upon the novel, but had many alternatives and a completely different ending than the novel.

The first difference between the novel and the movie was the press conference that was held on behalf of Amy the gorilla. In the novel, this press conference never took place. In the novel, the press conference was held to settle a legal debate on whether or not Peter Elliot was abusing Amy and whether or not Amy should be released from Peter?s studies and experiments. However, in the movie, there was no reason stated as to why the press conference was being held.

Another difference was the way that Peter and Dr. Ross met. In the novel, Dr. Ross called Peter and invited him to go on an expedition to the Congo with herself and her team. After receiving this call, Peter was begging Dr. Ross to include him on her travels. However, in the movie, Dr. Ross met up with Peter at the airport and Peter was already packed and ready to leave for his own expedition. He had no intention of taking Ross along, but he found himself with insufficient funds to pay for the trip. This pushed Peter to invite Ross along if she was to pay for the remainder of the trip?s expenses.

The airplane in the novel belongs to Dr. Ross? company Earth Resources Technology. In the movie, however, she works for TraviComm. A man named Travis is still in charge of the company in both the novel and the movie. Travis forces Dr. Ross on this mission in the movie, but in the novel, Travis finds it his last hope to send Dr. Ross. He has no initial intention to send her because he feels that she is incapable of the expedition. Dr. Ross and her team encounter a setback when they cannot fly their second plane. The cause for this in the movie is that while at the airport, the African President?s car is blown up. On the other hand, in the novel, the second plane is bugged and Amy is kidnapped.

The biggest difference in the novel and the movie is the ending. In the novel, the team finds themselves being attacked by a tribe of Kigani warriors. While in the movie, the team has to escape the city of Zinj and the volcano that is destroying it. In the end, Amy is set free to live with other gorillas in the movie. In the novel, however, Amy returns home with Peter. The only similarity about the ending of the novel is how the characters escape the Congo. In the wreckage of a plane that was carrying a third expedition team, Dr. Ross finds a hot air balloon and plenty of propane to fly it with.

Overall, the movie and the novel were excellent. They both had their high and low points. If I had to recommend either of these to some of my peers, I would have to recommend reading the novel before seeing the movie. Reading the novel helps to give a better understanding of the movie. Readers may think that by reading the novel, the movie wouldn?t have the same appeal, for it might tell what is to happen next. However, with many differences between the movie and the novel, every new scene brings a new change to the story.