Beyond Freakier Friday, There’s a Vast Freakyverse You Probably Know Nothing About

This week, the archetypal sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday opens successful theaters.

This week, the 5th movie based connected the publication Freaky Friday opens successful theaters.

This week, the seventh movie based connected the Freaky Friday publication bid opens successful theaters.

Perhaps it’s lone appropriate, fixed the sanction of the franchise, but someway each of these things are simultaneously true.

Mary Rodgers’ 1972 children’s publication Freaky Friday has turned into rather the ongoing root worldly for Hollywood – and peculiarly for Disney – yet it’s comic however often lone the archetypal publication has been focused on, adjacent arsenic Rodgers herself offered up a precise antithetic roadworthy representation for wherever to spell successful follow-ups. With Freakier Friday reuniting Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan successful a sequel to the third adaptation of the novel, let’s instrumentality a look backmost astatine the freaky and amazingly convoluted past of Freaky Friday.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are backmost for Freakier Friday.

The Original Freaky Friday Book Trilogy

The archetypal Freaky Friday introduces parent and girl duo Ellen and Annabel and establishes their unusual time arsenic they find themselves swapped into each other’s body. But dissimilar immoderate of the adaptations, we instrumentality with Annabel (who narrates the book) for the entirety of the story, lone learning what her ma was up to portion wrong her daughter’s assemblage astatine the end, arsenic Annabel does. On apical of that, we don’t cognize the specifics of wherefore this occurred, but being told that someway Ellen was responsible. Ultimately, it’s beauteous inconsequential to cognize how though, since this archetypal mentation is much of a cute but comparatively elemental communicative for kids successful which our teenage protagonist comes to amended recognize her ma by virtually walking successful her shoes for a day.

The publication was a success, and conscionable 2 years later, Rodgers released a sequel, which is erstwhile things get weird. Well, weird successful a antithetic mode than a assemblage swap, since that’s plentifulness weird connected its own. 1974’s A Billion for Boris goes successful a radically antithetic direction, arsenic Annabel’s small brother, Ben, gets an aged TV acceptable that turns retired to magically amusement him the adjacent day’s tv programming. When Annabel and her pseudo-boyfriend Boris (a quality besides archetypal introduced successful Freaky Friday) observe what the TV does, Boris rapidly has thoughts of pulling a Biff Tannen and utilizing the accusation the TV gives them astir who volition triumph sporting events to go rich. Eventually though, things get retired of hand, earlier much invaluable beingness lessons are learned, arsenic others statesman to spot what’s connected the TV, starring to a large robbery taking spot acknowledgment to the criminals’ cognition astir an impending blackout.

Obviously, this is rather a departure from a assemblage swap movie, alternatively giving the aforesaid characters a wholly caller magical dilemma to woody with, which erstwhile much isn’t fixed a afloat mentation for however oregon wherefore it’s occurring - though Annabel continually mentions it arsenic “ESP” of immoderate benignant (A Billion for Boris was renamed ESP TV successful immoderate editions). But fixed these unexplainable, fantastic things support happening astir Annabal, possibly she’s conscionable a straight-up witch oregon something, and doesn’t recognize it? Hey, it could beryllium hereditary! Her ma did someway origin a assemblage power aft all.

Though determination aren’t 1974 connection boards we tin look backmost connected to check, it feels similar the assemblage effect to A Billion for Boris mightiness person been much muted compared to the archetypal book, due to the fact that it’s worthy noting that erstwhile Rodgers yet delivered a 3rd installment of her signature publication series, 8 years later, she went backmost to basics. In opposition to the acold much bold A Billion to Boris, 1982’s Summer Switch delivers a much modular sequel, returning to a assemblage power story. The large saltation present was “now it’s the guys successful the family,” with small member Ben and household patriarch Bill the ones swapping places. It feels similar Rodgers astir apt was greatly influenced by the attack she herself took with the screenplay for the 1976 movie (more connected that below), due to the fact that this time, we really travel some characters for the entirety of the story, with the begetter and lad alternating who narrates each chapter.

The 2 authoritative publication sequels to Freaky Friday would spell connected to get non-Disney movie adaptations.

Oh, and “fun” (which is to say, odd) fact: Summer Switch makes a beauteous chaotic determination for a kids publication (and I retrieve it surely felt astonishing speechmaking it arsenic a kid) by having the assemblage swap instrumentality spot portion Bill, the dad, is lasting astatine a urinal peeing. The narration makes it wide that young Ben is amazed at, um, what he’s seeing compared to what he’s utilized to seeing portion peeing, with an each caps, triple exclamation of Ben’s thoughts speechmaking “OH WOW!!!”

It’s besides worthy noting that it’s Ben randomly wishing helium could beryllium his dada that is the inciting incidental for the assemblage swap. Which erstwhile much has maine suspecting that, successful the books astatine least, possibly this is simply a full freaky household of witches.

(Also worthy noting: Before she passed distant successful 2014, Mary Rodgers co-wrote 2009’s Freaky Monday, which could beryllium described arsenic a spiritual sequel to Freaky Friday, fixed it’s different assemblage power story, this clip astir a teenage miss and her teacher. But since it has nary overt ties to Freaky Friday beyond the concept, we’ll presume it’s not meant to officially beryllium portion of the aforesaid franchise… until the time idiosyncratic says it is).

The Many Freaky Movie Adaptations

As mentioned above, the archetypal occurrence of Freaky Friday brought astir a beauteous speedy movie adaptation by Disney, with Rodgers herself being asked to constitute the screenplay. Whether it was her ain thoughts connected however to shingle things up, a petition by Disney, oregon a spot of both, she utilized the accidental to really travel Ellen’s travel excessively this time, thing that would go the modular going forward. And, of course, the movie stands retired for starring Jodie Foster arsenic Annabel (alongside Barbara Harris arsenic Ellen), successful the midst of Foster having a alternatively insane breakout twelvemonth successful 1976 that included six movies successful total, 1 of which was her Academy Award-nominated relation successful Taxi Driver. While we’re inactive near to ponder the cosmic reasonings for wherefore it happened (though the movie explicitly takes spot connected Friday the 13th, for what it’s worth), the assemblage swap present occurs erstwhile parent and girl some simultaneously privation to commercialized places with each other, not realizing it volition really happen.

Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris starred successful the 1976 Freaky Friday movie.

Though Freaky Friday 1976 was a hit, and would beryllium shown connected TV a ton for galore years to travel – which is wherever I and galore different ’80s and ’90s kids archetypal saw it – Disney didn’t straight bash thing with the rubric for astir 20 years. Then, successful 1995, they produced their archetypal remake of Freaky Friday, this clip arsenic a TV movie that debuted connected ABC’s The Wonderful World of Disney. This mentation starred Shelley Long arsenic Ellen and Gaby Hoffmann arsenic the otherwise spelled “Annabelle” and was the archetypal Freaky Friday to marque Ellen a azygous ma progressive successful a caller romance, an constituent that has stuck astir done each consequent version. It was besides the archetypal mentation to supply a circumstantial extracurricular unit arsenic the crushed for their assemblage switch, via a brace of magical amulets. For immoderate reason, this is the lone mentation of Freaky Friday presently not disposable to watercourse connected Disney+, nor tin you legally watercourse it, rent it, oregon bargain it digitally anywhere. Though rumor has it, you mightiness find it connected a Tube called You…

Then, conscionable 8 years later, Disney made yet different Freaky Friday remake, this clip returning the rubric to theaters for a high-profile movie starring a longtime movie star, Jamie Lee Curtis, and a young histrion who’d already recovered occurrence successful different Disney remake - The Parent Trap’s Lindsay Lohan. This was the archetypal mentation to person an extracurricular person origin the assemblage swap, arsenic Lucille Soong’s quality gives the renamed mom, Tess, and her daughter, present shortened to Anna, luck cookies she knows volition origin them to power places erstwhile they work their fortunes aloud. Curtis and Lohan proved to beryllium a winning combo successful a movie that did a coagulated occupation modernizing the story, and Freaky Friday 2003 was some good reviewed and a large hit, bringing successful implicit $160 cardinal connected a $26 cardinal budget.

Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann starred successful the 1995 TV movie remake.

Despite however good it did, Disney inactive didn’t deem their 3rd spell astatine Freaky Friday worthy of a sequel (well, not yet astatine least), but the continued spot of the rubric led them to crook Freaky Friday into a signifier philharmonic successful 2016, which successful crook got its ain movie mentation successful 2018 - bringing america up to Freaky Friday’s fourth movie incarnation. Once more, the rubric returned to tv for the 2018 version, which debuted connected Disney Channel. Freaky Friday 2018 besides ported implicit immoderate reasonably large changes from the root worldly successful the signifier version, starting with the parent and girl present fixed yet different sanction overhaul to Katherine (Heidi Blickenstaff) and Ellie (Cozi Zuehlsdorff). Was it an unusual prime to springiness the girl a sanction truthful akin to Ellen, the archetypal sanction of the ma successful earlier versions of the story? It definite was! Oh, and the origin of the assemblage swap this clip out? A magical hourglass.

The Mostly Forgotten Non-Disney Sequels

Freaky Friday has present been made 4 times by Disney, and they’re yet doing a sequel to the 3rd mentation 22 years aft that movie came out, but evidently 2025’s Freakier Friday is not in immoderate mode based upon A Billion for Boris oregon Summer Switch. So what happened to those 2 publication follow-ups arsenic acold arsenic Hollywood doing their happening with them?

It seems, arsenic was often the lawsuit backmost past (when studios weren’t reasoning arsenic acold up with franchises and IP building) that the 3 Freaky Friday books were each optioned separately, with Disney not being straight progressive successful the accumulation of the surface adaptations of either publication sequel… But yes, they did get adapted. And notably, they some received their adaptations successful the aforesaid twelvemonth too, 1984, yet successful wholly unrelated productions, contempt their shared past and shared characters.

That means successful 1984, determination were wholly abstracted live-action projects featuring the full Andrews household – Annabel, Ellen, Bill, Ben – with A Billion for Boris getting its ain debased fund theatrical merchandise and Summer Switch getting a hasty adaptation arsenic a 46-minute Afterschool Special. For those who loved the books, it was a veritable Multiverse of Freaky!

Neither of these adaptations are each that good, though A Billion for Boris stands retired for marking the onscreen debut of Seth Green, who plays small member Ben, AKA Ape-Face (his large sister’s not-so affectionate nickname). What’s besides notable astir A Billion for Boris is it’s the past clip the quality Boris would beryllium included successful immoderate surface mentation of Mary Rodgers’ Freaky Friday universe, contempt erstwhile being deemed important capable by Rodgers herself to beryllium the lone 1 from the books to go a genuine rubric character. Though you tin find immoderate precise faint traces of him successful characters similar the 2003 Freaky Friday’s Jake, Boris himself has remained sadly sidelined, but for the 2003 mentation sneaking successful an Easter ovum cameo by Marc McClure (best known arsenic Jimmy Olsen successful the Christopher Reeve Superman movies), who had played Boris successful the 1976 movie. McClure’s transportation feline successful the 2003 movie is successful information besides named Boris, but he’s sadly lacking successful a magic TV and he’s mode excessively aged to beryllium Anna’s classmate, overmuch little her emotion interest.

Even if the surface rights to A Billion for Boris oregon Summer Switch were present available, it seems improbable Disney would beryllium funny successful them, since they person their ain precise antithetic way for this communicative going with Freakier Friday. Then again, who knows, possibly they spell backmost to straight adapting Freaky Friday itself adjacent for a fifth time. And possibly this clip it’s a planned trilogy from the start, with the characters and events of A Billion for Boris and Summer Switch meticulously acceptable up and mapped retired for aboriginal installments!

Okay, astir apt not. But possibly determination successful the immense Freakyverse that’s precisely what’s happening close now…