Summary
- Movie vs. book differences: The novel's Forrest is more aggressive, foul-mouthed, and intelligent compared to the innocent film character.
- Friendship origins: In the book, Forrest meets Bubba in college, not boot camp like in the movie, leading to a close bond.
- Divergence in endings: The film has a more heartwarming conclusion with Forrest raising his son, while the book takes a darker turn.
Forrest Gump has gone down in history as a definitive piece of American cinema and introduced audiences to a remarkable title character, but the Forrest Gump book vs the movie shows a very different version of the story. Largely told in flashback by Forrest himself, the novel takes viewers on a trip through the latter half of 20th-century America, through the eyes of a guy who somehow manages to experience every triumph and tragedy of the era. The movie was produced for a modest budget with little faith in director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth's adaptation of the novel.
Today, however, Forrest Gump is regarded as one of the best movies of all time, and its popularity has easily overshadowed that of the original book. Written by Winston Groom in 1986, the Forrest Gump novel made little impact upon its release and had all but faded into obscurity before the decision was made to adapt it into a film. While similar in terms of plot progression and framing, the differences between the two versions of the story are pretty drastic, with Forrest's adventures in the book taking him to places that the movie avoided. Here's a look at everything that was changed.
25 Best Quotes From Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a beloved movie thanks in part to its memorable dialogue. These are the best Forrest Gump quotes.
Forrest Has A Different Personality
Book Forrest Is More Aggressive At Times
There's a good reason why Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump is one of the most loved characters in cinema history. The gentle, good-natured man speaks softly and innocently, interacting with the world as a child might. Though this makes him less "book smart" than his contemporaries, his focus, hysterically random skills, and big heart make him easy to love.
There's also the fact that Forrest Gump's accent makes him all the more endearing, which is obviously an element that only the movie could bring to the table. Indeed, this winning formula is slightly different in the Forrest Gump novel. While the book still retains his childlike personality and innocence, he can be gruff and even violent at times.
He is also heard swearing on many occasions throughout the book, an idea that was completely dropped for the film. The book also sees Forrest display infrequent moments of high intelligence relating to subjects like mathematics and physics, which was also abandoned by the filmmakers.
Forrest Doesn't Meet Bubba In The Army
The Book Starts This Memorable Friendship Earlier
In both the movie and the Forrest Gump novel, one of the key events in Forrest's life is meeting his friend Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue. The two form a close bond, largely owing to their similar mentalities and IQ. After becoming brothers in arms, Bubba eventually dies in combat in Vietnam, leading Forrest to honor his sacrifice with the eventual opening of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Corporation.
One key difference between the two stories is how the good friends first find each other: in the film, Forrest famously meets and befriends Bubba during basic training, while in the Forrest Gump novel, the two meet during a football game while they are attending university together.
Forrest Starts & Leaves His Shrimp Company Differently
Lt. Dan Also Doesn't Play A Role In This Business
One of the most memorable parts of the film version of Forrest Gump is when the Vietnam vet returns home to America and fulfills a promise to the deceased Bubba to start a shrimping enterprise. After teaming up with Lieutenant Dan, Forrest establishes a massive shrimp-based empire and quickly becomes a millionaire.
These underscore how both the Forrest Gump novel and movie adapted history, though things play out differently in the book. In the movie, Forrest leaves the company behind to return to a simple life in his old home after his mother's passing. However, in the Forrest Gump novel, instead of returning to the states, Forrest begins raising shrimp in small ponds in Vietnam.
Lieutenant Dan doesn't play a part in the company, nor does he inherit it after Forrest leaves the shrimping business for good.
After hitting it big with his shrimp company, Forrest begins to yearn for a simple life and sacrifices the company to Bubba's family before hitting the road as a one-man band. Lieutenant Dan doesn't play a part in the company, nor does he inherit it after Forrest leaves the shrimping business for good.
Forrest Plays Chess & Goes To Space
Forrest Teams With An Orangutan In His Space Adventure
Throughout the Forrest Gump film, Forrest travels through multiple historical events, experiences a variety of weird and wonderful adventures, and takes on a number of unexpected vocations. From becoming a champion football player and a war hero to establishing a multi-million dollar corporation and even emerging as a world-renowned Ping-Pong master, Forrest ends up leading quite a storied existence. However, the Forrest Gump novel included even more for Forrest to do, and some of his in-print exploits were downright bizarre.
This was ultimately removed from the film largely for reasons of length and pacing...
One accomplishment of Forrest's that was omitted from the movie was his proclivity for chess. In the book, Forrest's aforementioned higher IQ allows him to master the game and become a world-class player. This was ultimately removed from the film largely for reasons of length and pacing, with more emphasis instead being placed on Forrest's Ping-Pong career.
One of the book's most notorious plotlines involved Forrest Gump becoming an astronaut and venturing into outer space alongside an orangutan named Sue. Unsurprisingly, this concept was dropped for being a bit too ridiculous.