The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its subsequent sequel is often cited as one of the best “chick comedies” of its genre. The film was based on a novel by the same name, and starred Amber Tamblyn as Tibby; Alexis Bledel as Lena; America Ferrera as Carmen; and Blake Lively as Bridget. Although the film was a box office success and a modest success with critics, it does have several notable differences from the original book’s material. The following are some of the major differences between the film adaptation of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its source material.
Bridget’s twin is missing
In the film, Bridget (played by Blake Lively) is an only child. In the book, however, Bridget is a fraternal twin; her twin brother is named Perry and has a small role in the book.
The film adaptation also removed Lena's younger sister Effie, though Effie was suddenly introduced in the second movie despite not being mentioned in the first. The removal of these character's siblings may have been to streamline the film’s characters and put more focus on the core group of characters.
Lena’s grandmother loves Kostos
In the original book, Lena’s grandmother actually tries to set Lena up with Kostos, thinking he is a great match for her. Lena rejects this idea and actively tries to appear unappealing to Kostos. In the film, however, Lena’s grandmother actually has the opposite point of view—she hates him because of a feud between their families and tells Lena to stay away from him.
The origin of The Pants is different
IN the book, the Pants are from a thrift store; Lena drags Carmen shopping and Carmen decides to buy a single pair of pants just to make sure she doesn't feel like she waste the trip. She then throws the pants in the back of her closet, and later sorts them into her "donate" pile. Tibby says she'll take the pants, and that is when the girls gradually find out about the Pants' magic.
In the film, however, all four girls are shopping together at a vintage store the day that they are each going to leave for their separate “summer adventure.” The film’s version of the Pants origin was probably altered because it makes their discovery more meaningful and allowed the film to jump right into the “summer adventure” storylines. Jump over to this website for other TV & Internet entertainment choices.