All the creatures and aliens are done by the Henson Company, so I'd expect something along the lines The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth in that sense.

The visuals and slapstick element may be good for Matthew, but if the humour of the film matches the book it could be a little too much for a five year old.

Douglas Adams does have a unique sense of humour, if they captured it, how it would translate to US cinema audiences is a big question mark.

Dave

This is true. The other potential problem in translation is that the book went off on tangents that were not integral to the plot in any way. Some of these tangents were the funniest parts of the books, such as the time-traveling, immortal alien who got so bored that he traveled the universe insulting everyone who ever existed in alphabetical order. I forget his name..... Where the heck is Scooter when you need him?!?!

BTW, there are pictures of the Vogons on the internet if you want to see them. They do look very Dark Crystal-like, but even uglier.

The Salmon of Doubt was going to be a Dirk Gently book, but Douglas didn't seem to think it was working. There was talk that he was going to change it into a Hitchhiker's book, but of course he passed away before that could happen. I wish he'd gotten the chance to do it. Aside from really missing his wit and intelligence, I thought the fifth book, Mostly Harmless, ended on too dark a note. I read somewhere that Douglas thought so, too, and was thinking of lightening things up with another one. Sadly, that'll never happen now....

The published version of The Salmon of Doubt mostly contains articles and transcriptions of lectures, but it does also contain a fair bit of what he wrote for the actual novel. I believe it was edited together from early drafts, though, and of course it doesn't finish, so reading it is a bit unsatisfying in that sense. The book is well worth picking up for the articles in any event. Douglas Adams was hilarious when he was writing about almost anything.

And I've said it before, but I highly recommend his only nonfiction book, Last Chance to See. If you like Douglas Adams, you really owe it to yourself to read this book. It's very entertaining and funny, but enlightening as well.

Blake

Some of these tangents were the funniest parts of the books, such as the time-traveling, immortal alien who got so bored that he traveled the universe insulting everyone who ever existed in alphabetical order. I forget his name..... Where the heck is Scooter when you need him?!?!

Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged.

Blake

I guess with so many people recommending it, I will have to give it a shot. With all these Adams fans around, I wonder if anyone has read Gaiman's companion book to HHGGG?

With all these Adams fans around, I wonder if anyone has read Gaiman's companion book to HHGGG?

I must confess that it's news to me. Details?

Blake

Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged.

Blake

Thank you. I ALWAYS forget that. That guy is AWESOME!!

I guess with so many people recommending it, I will have to give it a shot. With all these Adams fans around, I wonder if anyone has read Gaiman's companion book to HHGGG?

No, I had just done a search while trying to find the quote from Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (which I won't spoil because it is TOO FUNNY) that mentioned Gaiman. I was confused. Now I might have to look for that..... and The Salmon of Doubt.

I guess with so many people recommending it, I will have to give it a shot. With all these Adams fans around, I wonder if anyone has read Gaiman's companion book to HHGGG?

"Don't Panic" is a good read. But, I must confess that it's been several years since I read it.

I did see "Wish you were here: The biography of Douglas Adams" at a B&N today. Read the inside cover and learned a lot more:

Adams is the only official unofficial member of Monty Python.
Adams was the first person to buy a Mac.
Adams was the first non-member to play a guitar solo onstage with Pink Floyd.

If these bits are true, he was a greater man than I thought.

For anyone who loves to read and is a regular poster on this board, give the first Hitchhiker's book a try. Trust me, you'll love it. And, if you don't, seek psychiatric help.

I just love it when I find out how big my rock is. . . . . . that would be the rock I'm apparently living under. I'd never even heard of HHGG before the movie trailers. I had no idea a book existed. Thanks, though. I'll pick it up tomorrow and check it out. Oh, possibly a bad idea. . . . . . 12 page paper due Monday. . . . . . haven't started yet. . . . . . ooops. Okay, I'll get it Monday to be on the safe side. I'd still like input after you guys see the movie, though. Destruction of earth isn't that bad as long as they don't actually show people dying a horrible death or being blown to bits. Marvin the Martian puts the earth in peril on a daily basis. He's not scared of that.

Destruction of earth isn't that bad as long as they don't actually show people dying a horrible death or being blown to bits.

I don't think you have to worry about that.

Marvin the Martian puts the earth in peril on a daily basis. He's not scared of that.

And HHGG has Marvin the Paranoid Android, though I always thought he was more of a depressed robot. (see my avatar)

[indent]"I got very bored and depressed, so I went and plugged myself into [the ship]'s external computer feed. I talked to the computer at great length, and explained my view of the universe to it, " said Marvin.
"And what happened?" pressed Ford.
"It committed suicide," said Marvin. [/indent]

Can't wait to see this film,hysterical books and the bbc series was a hoot.If you guys enjoyed hitchhikers check out Red dwarf funny stuff.