WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Disney's A Wrinkle In Time, in theaters now.


Disney first adapted A Wrinkle in Time in 2003 with a made-for-TV movie starring the likes of Kate Nelligan, Alison Elliott and Alfre Woodard. Unfortunately, if was a massive misfire, with author Madeleine L’Engle even going on record to dismiss it as a poor rendition. So, when the entertainment giant re-acquired the rights to the children's classic in 2010, fans hoped this new version would learn from its predecessor's mistakes, especially given the studio spent a few years developing the feature before bringing in Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay.

As universally beloved as L’Engle's 1962 science fantasy novel is, there's simply no way all of its characters and story elements were to make the leap to the big screen without changes. Some of those alterations are minor, intended to trim superfluous aspects for the film's streamlined 109-minute run time. Others are far more significant, leading us to run down the biggest differences differences between the novel and film.

The Opening Scene

A Wrinkle in Time

One of the most noticeable differences between the film and its source material is the opening scene. While the 1962 novel starts with the line, "It was a dark and stormy night," showcasing a shaken Meg Murry (Storm Reid) as she tries to ignore the terrible storm outside. The movie, however, begins with a scene between Meg and her father (Chris Pine), giving us an idea of the relationship they shared before his disappearance.

RELATED: A Wrinkle in Time & the MCU Share a Similar MacGuffin

It's a change that ultimately works, however, as it leads into a variation of the book's opening. Rather than reacting to the storm outside, Meg finds herself unable to sleep in her attic bedroom because it's the eve of the fourth anniversary of her father's disappearance. Eager to calm her mind, Meg heads to the kitchen, where she's greeted by a young Charles Wallace Murry.

Charles Wallace

A Wrinkle in Time

There were many differences with the Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) presented on screen versus the Charles Wallace presented in the novel. The most noteworthy realization, of course, is that in the movie, it's revealed he's adopted. Another big change is the boy's willingness to talk. The first chapter of A Wrinkle in Time states, "It was true that Charles Wallace seldom spoke when anybody was around, so that many people thought he'd never learned to talk."

That doesn't hold true in the film, where, from the get-go, Charles Wallace is personable and has no problem speaking to strangers -- something Meg tells him to stop doing. That, however, proves to be another successful change, though, as it highlights his eagerness to trust and speak with Mrs. Whatsit, as the film never explains how the boy came to know her or Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Mrs.%20Which%2C%20the%20Happy%20Medium%20%26%20the%20Twins']

Mrs. Which

A Wrinkle in Time

While each Mrs. W undergoes some changes for the big screen, it's Mrs. Which who's altered the most. When we meet her in the novel, she doesn't materialize like the other women because it tires her out. "I ddo nott thinkk I willl matterrialize commpletely," she says. "I ffindd itt verry ttirinngg, andd wee hhave nnycg tto ddo." Of course, that isn't the case in the film.

RELATED: Does A Wrinkle in Time Set Up a Sequel?

The first time Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) appears on screen, she fully materializes, although she retains a larger size than the other women until they complete the first tesser. Another notable change is the character's speech. In the novel, her words are dragged out, but in the film, Mrs. Which speaks without issue. Given how out there these characters out, minor changes such as the change in diction, are understandable, as they don't alter the core story being told.

The Happy Medium

A Wrinkle in Time

While most of the characters retain the same characteristics as their novel counterparts, the Happy Medium was changed significantly for the film. When the children are brought to meet the Happy Medium, they come to find an older woman sporting a purple silk dress with a crystal ball within her grasp. The character, for the most part, is delightful and charming from the start. In the book, Mrs. Whatsit has the Happy Medium show the children Earth so that they can comprehend the Dark Thing's true reach.

In the film, however, the character is changed to a man (Zach Galifianakis) who's able to share his thoughts with another once they find their "happy medium" and open their thoughts to him. It's a massive change that isn't entirely necessary. However, it still moves the story forward to where it needs to be: Where the children learn they'll need to face the Dark Thing in order to save Mr. Murry. Interestingly enough, this marks the second time the Happy Medium was presented as male, as the ABC adaption also gender-swapped the character.

The Mrs. Don't Know Mr. Murry's Location

A Wrinkle in Time

One of the most baffling changes in the film is that none of the three Mrs. know where Meg's father is initially. They believe there's still a chance he's alive, and they know that he has successfully tessered, but they don't know where exactly he's gone, until they come to see the Happy Medium.

RELATED: A Wrinkle in Time's Ending, Explained

In the novel, however, the three women know exactly where Mr. Murry is, and they're fully aware the children will need to face It on their own when the time comes. It's one of the few changes from book to screen that felt unnecessary.

The Twins Don't Exist in the Film

A Wrinkle in Time

In the book, Meg often talks about her 10-year-old twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys. However, in the film, they're never even addressed. It's simply Meg and Charles Wallace. Their omission isn't entirely surprising, of course, because adaptations often strip out every element that isn't viewed as necessary to the story.

In A Wrinkle in Time, the twins don't play a big enough role to make the leap to the big screen. Of course, that could prove to be a problem should Disney move forward with adapting the rest of L'Engle's Time Quintet series, as the twins serve as the protagonists of the fourth novel, 1986's Many Waters.

Page 3: [valnet-url-page page=3 paginated=0 text='Mrs.%20Whatsit%2C%20Calvin%20%26%20Aunt%20Beast']

Mrs. Whatsit

A Wrinkle in Time

When we first meet Mrs. Whatsit in the novel, she's described as wearing multiple layers of clothes -- or rather, sheets she "borrowed" from a neighbor -- while also sporting a knotted gray bun atop her head. However, as played in the film by Reese Witherspoon, Mrs. Whatsit's appearance differs drastically.

Upon meeting her, we see she has bright-red locks and sports a much more refined look. And while she remains just as "out there" in both versions, Mrs. Whatsit's eccentricities appear to be amped up for the film as though to make a clear definition between the three women, and that's a worthwhile change.

Calvin O'Keefe

A Wrinkle in Time

In the source material, Calvin is revealed to be a few grades above Meg in school. We also learn that his family life is terrible, and that his parents and siblings don't seem to care about him. In the film, however, Calvin (played by Levi Miller) is rewritten to be Meg's age, and we only learn of his relationship with his father, and nothing about the rest of his family.

In the book, the age difference between Meg and Calvin is important because it showcases Meg's intelligence, as she easily breaks down his math homework for him after it's revealed he has problems with the subject. In the film, though, the decision to keep Meg and Calvin the same age makes more sense, as the two come together as a support system for one another by film's end.

The Gifts for the Children

A Wrinkle in Time

When Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which are forced to leave the children on the remainder of their journey into Camazotz, as they're unable to travel where there's darkness, each of them presents the children with a parting gift. Mrs. Who gives Meg her glasses, telling her not to use them until the last moment of peril. While Mrs. Whatsit presents Meg with her faults, telling the girl they will come in handy while on Camazotz. Those moments we get to see on screen.

What we don't see, however, are the gifts presented to Charles Wallace and Calvin by the three women in the book. While it's understandable why this scene was trimmed down, as Meg is very much the main character in A Wrinkle in Time, it's difficult to imagine those extra lines would have slowed down the pacing.

The Reunion Between Mr. Murry and Meg

A Wrinkle in Time

In the novel, when Meg finally locates her father on Camazotz, she runs to greet him only to find he's imprisoned in a column, unable to hear or see her. It's only with Mrs. Who's glasses that the girl is finally able to join her father inside as she and Calvin struggle to hold back Charles Wallace. We see a variation of this in the film.

However, instead of finding her father imprisoned in a column, Meg manages to break through one of Charles Wallace's tests with the aid of Mrs. Who's glasses and find her father on the other side -- where he's able to both see her and hear her immediately. It's a smart move, as there's plenty in A Wrinkle in Time that's already a difficult sell. Plus, seeing Meg be the true hero in rescuing her father makes her journey all the more important.

The Omission of Aunt Beast

A Wrinkle in Time

One of the weirder characters in A Wrinkle in Time, Aunt Beast, plays an important role in the novel. After Mr. Murry tessers Meg and Calvin away from Charles Wallace and the It, Meg requires medical attention because she's been paralyzed. It's then that the three of them come across a character that will later be known as Aunt Beast, an odd-looking creature that seeks to understand Meg and the others, and helps to heal Meg ahead of her journey to face the Dark Thing once and for all.

Aunt Beast is one of the best -- and oddest -- characters, and understandably, must also be one of the most difficult to translate for the screen. So it isn't surprising that, at one point, the character did, in fact, appear in the film but was ultimately cut because the storyline didn't add anything to Meg's journey.


Directed by Ava DuVernay from a script by Jennifer Lee, A Wrinkle in Time stars Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Michael Peña. It’s in theaters now.