Disney’s big-budget adaptation of the best-selling novel “A Wrinkle in Time” fails in many of the same ways the book does, but there was a major change in the film from the novel. The film’s version of events eliminates the explicit mention of God or religion, rather than reducing the central conflict to one between “evil” and “light.”

Although the film adaptation has several critical flaws, namely the pacing and a messy wobble between too much exposure and then not enough, the removal of L’Engle’s religious overtones leads to a key problem.

By eliminating religious themes, the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time” loses part of its story arc. This leads to a confusing story and confusing message when it comes to the antagonist and purpose of the heavenly characters of Mrs. Who, Mrs. What is, and Mrs. What.

Christianity is an integral part of the book version of “A Wrinkle in Time”

Author Madeleine L’Engle, who died in 2007 at the age of 88, spoke about the importance of her own Christian faith in regards to “A Wrinkle in Time.”

“If I have ever written a book that says how I feel about God and the universe, this is it,” L’Engle wrote in his journal. “This is my psalm of praise to life, my position of life against death.”

Calvin (Levi Miller) and Meg (Storm Reid) travel the galaxy together. Disney

The central story of the book “A Wrinkle in Time” is the journey of Meg and Charles Wallace Murray as they try to find and rescue their father.

A friend, Calvin, helps them along the way. The trio are led by three mysterious beings: Mrs. What’s wrong, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. What, to a dark planet called Camazotz where Mr. Murray is being held by an evil force.

The three Ms The Ws are mysterious beings that materialize in different ways and have different uses of language. At one point, Mrs. What transforms into “a more beautiful creature than Meg could have imagined [… ] it was a white marble body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely different from a horse. “

Later, the children watch a star fight the evil shadow, the “Dark Things” that Mrs. We tell the children they must fight to save Mr. Murray. Charles Wallace realizes that Ms. Whatsit was once a star too, and lost her star form after fighting Evil.

Mr. Murray (Chris Pine) has been imprisoned by evil force. Disney

As the Mrs. explain the dark thing as an evil “power of darkness”, they tell the children that the fighters have been fighting evil in the universe for many thousands of years.

“Jesus! Of course, Jesus!” Charles Wallace yells when Mrs. Lo tells the kids that they know who the best fighters have been.

Meg and Calvin are joined by other fighters, including Leonardo da Vinci and Gandhi and Buda.

Later in the book, Meg and Calvin struggle to explain what Mrs. beings are. Finally, Calvin finds the words and calls them “angels” and “messengers of God.”

As Meg gets closer to facing evil (also called “THAT”), both Mr. Murray and the angels tell her that God has called her to his purpose.

Mindy Kaling plays Mrs. Who in the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time.” Disney

Before Meg re-enters Camazotz to confront YOU one last time, Mrs. Who leaves her with the following quote from Corinthians:

“God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Because you see your vocation, brothers, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty ones, not many noblemen are called, but God has The foolish thing of the world to confuse the wise; and the weakness of the world God chose to confuse the mighty. What is it “.

The film omits religious themes and generalizes “good versus evil.”

Rather than relying on a message from God or using Ms.’s message as substitutes for angels, the movie version of “A Wrinkle in Time” generalizes the idea that evil is spreading across the galaxy.

“THAT” is jealousy, fear and anger, and Mrs. We tell the children that it must be fought by warriors of light and good.

Ms. Whatsit transforms into what looks like a flying plant goddess rather than a white horse-like figure, and the theme of the stars (or Ms. Whatsit being a former star) is never invoked. Children also never refer to Mrs. Eran as angels or messengers from God.

In the movie, Mrs. What changes in this creature instead.

In the book, Mr. Murray examines, or sends through time and space, Meg and Calvin away from Camazotz after he realizes that and the hypnotized Charles Wallace are about to put them all in jail.

Once they are safe on another planet, Meg faces her father’s cowardice and decides to return alone to save Charles Wallace.

In the book, that’s when Mrs. Who tells Meg that the Corinthians quote that God is wiser than men?

But the movie omits this sequence, so Meg just stays behind with Charles Wallace. She realizes for herself that loving not just herself but Charles Wallace will bring him back to her. Love against evil is the ultimate weapon.

The story is never completed due to narrative changes.

Although Meg’s journey to find self-esteem is a valuable narrative, “A Wrinkle in Time” does not fully explain everything that is happening. Not only does IT become completely abstract (whereas in the book IT takes the form of a disembodied brain), the reason why children have to fight IT is also obscured by the prose on “being a warrior of the light”.

And with the elimination of Ms. being angels or messengers, her role is also unclear. Where do they come from? They just say they heard a call in the universe, but how? Why? Have they done this before? What is its actual shape?

These questions are also covered in the books, but Calvin’s statement that they are angels brings a much-needed piece of clarity. Without this section in the film, its presence is compelling but ultimately unexplained.

Ms. Which (Oprah Winfrey) is one of the beings that helps Meg on her journey. Disney and while Meg’s arc in the movie is legitimately highlighted, the entire third act falls apart because it’s unclear what she’s fighting against.

In the movie, Charles Wallace gets caught in control of IT during a confusing sequence on a colorful beach where children are greeted by the Red-Eyed Man. But the disembodied brain version of information technology is never shown. Instead, the evil version of Charles Wallace becomes the main antagonist for the remainder of the film, making it confusing and more creepy than some might expect.

Although DuVernay and the writers were not required to keep Christian themes in the film, the changes they made appear to have altered the pacing and clarity of the story.

By eliminating the religious reasoning behind Ms. With her appearance, and eliminating the physical manifestation of IT, the film version of “A Wrinkle in Time” was left incomplete. Biblical inspirations could (and should have) been replaced by a more cohesive plot that brought the film to its final climax.

While critics continue to react to “A Wrinkle in Time” with disappointment and confusion, it’s not difficult to trace the film’s problems back to the narrative changes made.

To see what top critics are saying about “A Wrinkle in Time,” read our roundup of the film’s reviews here.