Basic Trope: A character lacks or has a lessened version of the disability they had in the original work.
- Straight: Book Alice uses a wheelchair; Movie Alice can walk just fine.
- Exaggerated: Book Alice is a quadriplegic capable of only involuntary twitches. Movie Alice becomes an Olympic athlete.
- Downplayed:
- Alice used crutches in the original work. She walks with a limp and a cane in the movie.
- Movie Alice can walk, but with a limp and low endurance that keeps her from doing anything intensely physical.
- In the original work, Alice couldn't stand; but in the adaptation, she can walk for short distances without her wheelchair.
- Alice in the original work is missing an arm and a leg, but in the movie only the arm is missing.
- The adapted Alice's prosthetic is far more sophisticated and versatile than the original's.
- Adapted Alice still needs a cane, but she does not lean as heavily on it and walks much faster than the original.
- Adapted Alice is given a set of cybernetic braces that help her walk and for the most part forget they exist.
- Subverted:
- In the adaptation, Alice is able-bodied at the beginning of the movie, but then she becomes disabled.
- Alice has a different disability in the adaptation than she had in the original.
- Double Subverted: ...But then that disability is removed, too.
- Justified:
- In the original story, Alice was paralyzed by polio. The adaptation is set in modern times when polio has been nearly eradicated, so it wouldn't make sense for her to have that particular disability.
- The adaptation is a prequel; the car crash that resulted in Alice's paralysis hasn't happened yet.
- Averted: Alice retains her disability in the adaptation.
- Inverted: Disabled in the Adaptation
- Enforced:
- The director didn't feel like bothering to actively recruit a disabled actor and specified "able-bodied" in the casting call.
- The original work was made when mental illnesses and disorders were poorly understood, and thanks to Values Dissonance, its depiction of an Insane Equals Violent Flat Character Serial Killer simply wouldn't fly today. The people adapting the work choose to completely remove the killer's implied mental disorder, and rewrote that person's backstory and motivations with fewer implications of "mental illness = evil".
- As awesome as it sounds to have a character with brittle bone disease pull off stunts worthy of Ethan Hunt on paper, in reality that is a one-way ticket to lawsuit-land if you endanger a performer with said disease, complicated in terms of post-production, and asks too much of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief once placed on the screen (everybody will notice the Obvious Stunt Double). Better to just not deal with it.
- Parodied: Alice originally had leprosy. Now she has acne amounting to a single zit easily hidden by her bangs. Everyone treats her exactly the same.
- Zig Zagged:
- Alice appears to have no disability. Then it turns out she has a hidden one... which later progresses to a visible one.... before being cured in the end without so much as a scar.
- Unlike the original, Alice in the adaptation does not have a missing limb... until it is cut off in a similar accident. Then Alice gets an advanced prosthetic limb... only to have it destroyed and replaced it with a crude hook. Then she develops Telekensis which she initially has problems controlling, but she is soon able to lift items as well as she could with her original hand.
- Lampshaded: There is a Mythology Gag about what Alice would do if she used a wheelchair.
- Invoked: The character deliberately seeks out a treatment or intervention to modify or remove their disability in the adaptation. For example, Alice undergoes a groundbreaking medical procedure to regain her mobility.
- Exploited: Another character takes advantage of Alice's modified or lessened disability for their own personal gain. This could involve manipulating her abilities or using her condition to further their own agenda. For instance, a villain exploits Alice's newfound ability to walk for a nefarious plan.
- Implied: Alice's left hand was occasionally seen shaking involuntarily in the source material. Her actress's also does so, but more subtly. Whether she is supposed to have a milder neurological disorder or whether that's just how the actress portrays that disorder is never addressed.
- Defied: The director makes an active effort to ensure Alice is played by an actress sharing her disability.
- Discussed: Characters engage in a conversation or dialogue about the changes made to Alice's disability in the adaptation. They may express their opinions, concerns, or confusion regarding the alterations. For example, characters discuss whether it was necessary to change Alice's disability for the adaptation.
- Conversed: "I hate it when they randomly make disabled characters lose their disabilities in adaptations for no good reason."
- Deconstructed:
- The modifications to Alice's disability are examined in a realistic and critical manner, highlighting the negative consequences and challenges she faces as a result of the changes made. This could involve exploring the emotional and physical toll of the modified disability on Alice's life, showcasing the limitations and difficulties she encounters.
- Alice's disability is removed early in the adaptation, which ticks off viewers with the same disability because Alice was their hero and representation of their disability is rare in media. The snowball begins to roll and people just jump at any and all errors (real or imagined) in the production and leads to it becoming a box office bomb.
- Alice's disability is cured early in the adaptation and leads to different issues for Alice: Survivor's Guilt over her disability being fixed while other people don't get the chance, the belief that it is Too Good to Be True and the cure will malfunction and leave her worse, beginning to believe that she is hallucinating being cured and eventually begin to hurt people hoping it will "wake her up"…
- Reconstructed: The modifications to Alice's disability are then used to create a positive and empowering narrative, emphasizing the strengths and opportunities that arise from the changes made.
- Played For Laughs: Alice's attempts to walk with a limp and a cane result in humorous mishaps and pratfalls.
- Played For Drama:
- Alice's struggles to come to terms with her new prosthetic limb and she undergoes the emotional journey.
- Alice cured her disability with an risky and experimental surgery.
Wait, why are you able to click the link back to Abled in the Adaptation. Shouldn't you be completely paralyzed?
