Was This Even Burton? A Misfired Adaptation With Only 65% on RT — Fans Wonder What Went Wrong
Fantasy dream team fails to cast expected magic on screen.
Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children trilogy stayed on bestseller lists for two years and practically begged for a film adaptation. Naturally, Hollywood couldn’t resist — and none other than Tim Burton took on the project.
It seemed like a dream match: peculiar children and the king of gothic aesthetics. But instead of magic, viewers got… something muddled. Fans were baffled, critics disappointed.
A bit about the movie — or what is even going on there
At the center is Jacob, a regular teenager who, after his grandfather’s death, goes in search of a mysterious orphanage. There, he finds children with unusual abilities — a little odd, but kind of cool. They’re being hunted by evil creatures, and that’s the film’s central conflict.
It all sounds very Tim Burton, but major differences from the book left loyal fans unimpressed. Burton tried to cram the entire trilogy into one film, resulting in a chaotic finale, clunky dialogue, and a whirlwind of events that left audiences confused.
Critics and audiences united in disappointment
Upon release, the film earned a mediocre critic score — just 6.7 out of 10. Burton was accused of leaning too hard on his usual tropes, which now seem tired and overly familiar.
Curious to see how other viewers reacted to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, I went down the Reddit for discussions and found a surprisingly wide range of reactions.
"Probably one of Tim Burton's least memorable films ever. Plot was basically generic fantasy fluff, the monsters weren't very interesting. Logic seemed quite flimsy in that typical 'because magic' fantasy bullshit way," noted user shaneo632.
"Jake's peculiarity should have been that he was a robot because that was some of the most robotic, monotone, wooden acting I have ever seen. I actually enjoyed the movie at first, but as soon as the third act kicked in, it turned into a giant convoluted mess," shared natedoggcata.
"I'm a huge fan of the book series and I went into the film with mediocre expectations. I came out of the film and was impressed. The ending was very different, probably due to Tim Burton wanting to make this a stand-alone film," commented hcneydukes.
Personally, I think the film had real potential. The visual world was stunning — I was especially captivated by the scenes with Emma where Jake carries her along the shorelin — but the story itself just didn’t quite land.
