History Literature / TheMysteriousIsland

* IslandOfMystery: Possibly the Ur-example.

It was adapted into film as ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' in 1961, and featured Creator/HerbertLom (Chief Inspector Dreyfus from ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films) as Captain Nemo. While (mostly) faithful, there was a lot of AdaptationExpansion with the addition of numerous gigantic creatures on the island, brought to life courtesy of special effects maestro Creator/RayHarryhausen. It was adapted into television by the CBC in 1995.

The novel was adapted twice for French TV 10 years apart: a two-part TV movie in 1963 and 6-episode miniseries in 1973, featuring Creator/OmarSharif as Captain Nemo, and Creator/JessHahn as Pencroff. The 1973 series was quite faithful to the original novel. Footage from the series was edited into a feature film that was released in French theatres later in 1973.

* CanonWelding: Places Verne's earlier books [[spoiler: ''Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'' and ''Literature/InSearchOfTheCastaways'']] in the same continuity, although that leads to a SeriesContinuityError in both. Together, the three books form the "[[FanNickname Sea Trilogy]]".

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Jup, the orangutan butler.

It was adapted into film as ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' in 1961, and featured Creator/HerbertLom (Chief Inspector Dreyfus from ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films) as Captain Nemo. While (mostly) faithful, there was a lot of AdaptationExpansion with the addition of numerous gigantic creatures on the island, brought to life courtesy of special effects maestro Creator/RayHarryhausen.

A first person point and click game also exists. It's page can be read here: VideoGame/ReturnToMysteriousIsland

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Five ordinary men dogpile and hogtie a six-foot adult male orangutan without suffering so much as a scratch. Orangutans are about seven times as strong as humans, and Jup is ''huge'' for his species, so the cornered, frightened ape should realistically have maimed if not killed its attackers. He'd also have ripped his way loose easily from any cordage the castaways (who hadn't yet manufactured chains or cable) had at their disposal.

* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: Pretty much any creature the protagonists bother to capture (as opposed to shoot and eat on sight) are quickly and easily put to use as livestock. This is even true of animals like bighorn sheep or onagers, which violently resist human contact in real life, and several kinds of birds that rapidly die in captivity.

* AllAnimalsAreDomesticated: Pretty much any creature the protagonists bother to capture (as opposed to sheet and eat on sight) are quickly and easily put to use as livestock. This is even true of animals like bighorn sheep or onagers, which violently resist human contact in real life, and several kinds of birds that rapidly die in captivity.

* DownToTheLastMatch: The castaways lose all their matches save one in the balloon crash. Pencroff fails to get the match to light, since he is too nervous; his hands are shaking and he's afraid he will snap it.

* DesertedIsland : Played straight with Lincoln Island and subverted by the isle of Tabor.

* WithThisHerring: The characters start out with not much more than the wreckage of a balloon and whatever little is in their pockets, and end up with a working telegraph line, railway, and iron mine. It's basically the 19th century equivalent of Minecraft without the creepers.

* DeusExMachina: The whole plot is basically a sequence of those [[spoiler:Cyrus and Top being rescued, finding a crate of tools and useful items, tossing down a ladder, lighting a beacon during a storm, blowing up the pirates...]]. In a surprisingly TropesAreNotBad way, they almost always create ''more'' suspense than they resolve, until the very end.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: [[spoiler:The animal characters are all quickly killed off in the finale.]]

If this sounds familiar, it's because it's based on Alexander Selkirk, whose life-story had already served as the basis for ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' and ''Literature/TheSwissFamilyRobinson''. Possibly as a way to distinguish itself from the other two books, Verne's yarn adds a mystery sub-plot. Someone or something is watching over the castaways; apparently aiding them at times, but whether their ultimate objective in doing so is for good or ill remains unclear for much of the book.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Ayrton]]

* GoMadFromTheIsolation : [[spoiler:Ayrton.]] He's in a pretty bad state when they find him, to say the least...

* HappyEnding: [[spoilert:Verne originally wanted a BittersweetEnding where the castaways are somewhat depressed at having lost the Island. His editor had him change it to an upbeat one where they buy some territory in the state of Iowa and create a replica of the island to serve as a colony and a tourist attraction.]]

* MisplacedVegetation / MisplacedWildlife: Lincoln Island has almost implausible levels of biodiversity and has species that couldn't realistically exist in the latitude it's supposed to lie in. This was something that even Verne's ''contemporaries'' noticed. His answer? A wink, followed by a 19th-century version of the MST3KMantra slash RuleOfCool argument.

* [[spoiler:HappyEnding: Verne originally wanted a BittersweetEnding where the castaways are somewhat depressed at having lost the Island. His editor had him change it to an upbeat one where they buy some territory in the state of Iowa and create a replica of the island to serve as a colony and a tourist attraction.]]

* IslandOfMystery: possibly the Ur-example.

* SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass: Cyrus Smith McGyvered a water-filled lens from two watch glasses as the castaways initially had no other means of starting the fire.

It was adapted into film as ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' in 1961, and featured Herbert Lom (Chief Inspector Dreyfus from ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films) as Captain Nemo. While (mostly) faithful, there was a lot of AdaptationExpansion with the addition of numerous gigantic creatures on the island, brought to life courtesy of special effects maestro Creator/RayHarryhausen.

Fun fact: While this isn't the most famous of Verne's works, it has the distinction of having inspired two major franchises: ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' and ''Series/{{Lost}}''. It was also loosely adapted into the sequel to the 2008 film version of ''JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'', as ''Journey 2 The Mysterious Island''.

* BadAss: [[WorldOfBadass Everyone.]]

* FlippingHelpless: It was done by the protagonists to a giant sea turtle, who then left for some reason. While they were away, the turtle was carried away by a high tide.

It was adapted into film as ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' in 1961, and featured Herbert Lom (Chief Inspector Dreyfus from the ''PinkPanther'' films) as Captain Nemo. While (mostly) faithful, there was a lot of AdaptationExpansion with the addition of numerous gigantic creatures on the island, brought to life courtesy of special effects maestro Creator/RayHarryhausen.