

The landscapes and montages of Mitty’s travels to different countries introduce beautiful scenery that the short story could barely dream of. Stiller is able to break away from his traditional comedic side and display great variance in character, from the feeble Mitty to the courageous Mitty. While both are triggered by something in his environment, Thurber’s Mitty goes somewhere completely different, such as life as a surgeon, commander, or sniper, while movie Mitty includes environments or people that are true to his life.ĭespite the variance, the movie is still able to make a good name for itself in cinematography and acting.

Movie Mitty has fantasties more relatable to his life. In his daydreams, Mitty experiences noteable differences. In Thurber’s story, Walter Mitty is a man who uses his daydreams to escape from the monotony of his life and nagging of his wife, but is never able to break his boredom. The end of the movie leaves the watcher feeling uplifted, which is drastically different than the short story. Along with chasing after co-worker Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig), Mitty chases after the photographer for the missing negative in hopes of saving his job.Īlong the way, Mitty is stricken with vivid fantasies that, eventually, enable him to go on adventures to different countries and do spectacular things, along with getting a date with Melhoff.

On the announcement of their last issue, a famous photographer gives Mitty a roll missing what he says could be the cover photo. The movie centers around Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), a man working for a magazine to develop negatives. Although it hardly holds true to the story, the movie is good in its own right. While the titular character’s name and wild fantasies are alike in the movie and the story, the rest of the plot seemed to differ immensely. Based on the short story by James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty depicts an ordinary man with an extraordinary imagination.
