Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (the movie) is the long awaited movie that comes from the iconic 2012 book Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Followed by the sequel, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, published in 2021, however, this movie mostly only covers what happens in the first book of the Aristotle and Dante series, although, I recommend reading both books before watching the movie. 

Overall this movie was really good. This opinion comes from both me and my grandmother who, after reading both books, loved the movie and said that it was very good and she liked how they portrayed Ari and Dante.

The beginning of the movie was basically what I remember happening in the first part of book #1. However, Ari’s brother Bernardo and how he ended up in jail is mentioned in the movie and is not mentioned until the second book. 

The scene that was a big change from the book was the scene when Dante kisses Ari for the first time. In the movie version, Ari not only gets annoyed and confused with Dante, but he yells and chases him out of the red truck. However, this change does make sense based on the period this movie is set. 

Besides the changes in the plot, the movie also had several scenes that if you had not read the book prior, you may be lost, which is why I recommend reading the books first. The key scene I remember thinking this was the scene where Dante asks Ari: “Are there going to be rules for us?”, In the book this makes total sense because early on in their relationship Ari tells Dante that he lives according to the rules he makes for himself, but this was never explained in the movie. 

The main issue I have with this movie actually comes from the costume design department. My main issue is Dante’s costume design in the movie. This is because while, yes, the character Dante is portrayed differently in the movie then in the books, his costume design is what pushed it over the top for me because it felt way too fake. Overall, his outfit choices in the movie feel very much like the stereotypical gay male character with his colorful clothing, cropped shirts, and accessories. And Ari is not dressed the same way and is also homosexual. How Dante is portrayed is very much stereotypical for a gay male character, and his outfits show outwardly how “different” he is from the other boys in the story, especially because he is the only character in the movie to dress like this. 

Overall, I was so incredibly excited for this movie and I knew that I would probably really like it because Lin Manuel Miranda was one of the producers. And while I did really like it, it ended up being a little different than I expected. Nonetheless, I still loved this movie adaptation and recommend it, but you should definitely read the books first!