I always thought the three boys were between 15-17 years old, but the youngers who've been casted are only 13 (and don't really look like Jupe, Bob and Pete). Too young in my opinion...
Reminds me of the terrible young!T3I novels which have been published in Germany some years ago.
The boys were actually 13ish in the original stories. That is why winning the Rolls Royce was such a good thing because they were too young to drive places, etc.
sharebut it was never said they're 13 years old. Only that they're too young to have a driver's licence. Robert Arthur mentioned that Skinny Norris was actually too young to drive a car, but he's a legal citizen of another state, so he's around 16, 17 years old I suppose.
shareYes, it emphasizes the point that each reader will have their own idea of the age, look , etc. Although the bookcovers gave a look over the year for each boys the book covers also changed so everyone sort of has their own idea.
share[deleted]
I think you might be over thinking this point. When I read the books, I took it to mean that he was too young to drive here, but because of being a citizen in another country he could drive earlier. These were written back in the 1960's and 70's and some countries didn't have nearly as strict of driving rules as today.
If the boys were old enough to drive...they would have been driving. That is why getting the Rolls Royce was such a big deal...they NEEDED transportation. Titus would have had Jupiter out picking up stuff if he was old enough to drive.
Of course, that is just my instinct from reading the books.
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I'd say 14-15, and their age never really varied.
Dude, those pics are old of course but jeez, looks like those actors still have baby fat on their face
"I'm your huckleberry."-Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone
The actors are the correct age, in my opinion - don't forget that THREE movies are going to be produced, followed by a TV series. By the time the third movie is filmed ('Terror Castle') the boys will be about 15 years old. If you had actors that age starring in 'Skeleton Island', then by the time the TV series come about, they would be around 18 or 19, which would be ridiculous, let's face it.
The best policy is to start young, and let the actors grow into their roles over the following few years.
Ian.
Skinny was a resident of another *state*, not a "citizen of another country."
I don't know what age California licenses were granted in the 1960s, so I can't speak authoritatively, but assuming the age then was the same as it is now (16), then Skinny would likely have been around 15. He was ahead of the 3I in school, suggesting that they were between the ages of 13-14. That jibes with the representations of them in the original artwork (though they look older in some of the later editions).
I'm more concerned that the actor playing Jupiter isn't overweight. His intellect (as a response to his weight problem) was central to his character.
Skinny Norris was a legal resident of another state where the "driving age" was 14. Not another country.
Wikiipedia is a horrible source for information...the "driving age" in Canada and most of the United States is 16.
"Now, in other countries the youngest age that you can drive (according to www.wikipedia.org) is 17", Wikipedia.org is wrong, you can get your drivers licence in South Australia at 16 and learners at 15.
shareBased on Harry Kane's original illustrations from the first 12 novels, I thought the 3I were about 12 when they first started (in Terror Castle)... After all, the adults would say things like "You're just a boy!" ... "They're just boys." In later novels (#30-42), they seem a bit older but it might be because of the new illustrations which make them appear to be around 15 or 16 (or even a bit older).
See original covers here
http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/originalseries.html
I think the actors look same age as the pictures of the early book covers...should be the right age.
shareThey has their licenses in later books, right?
So they grew older.. Point viewed, so now I got a question :)
Which is the latest 3I book?
I'm waiting for Terror Castle!
But who will play Hithcock (spelling)?
Lucy:Was the music too loud?
Dr. Carter: No, the furniture was too on fire.
Hitchcock won't be in a Terror Castle movie since the story will take place in the present day, not the past. They probably will replace Hitchcock with the fictional Reginald Clark from the later Terror Castle editions.
shareI take point for Bob's "curly" red hair that I saw in another preview of the movie. I remember Bob's hair being a reddish tint, but carrot red with loads of curls!!! I never saw that on any covers....
share[deleted]
Bob's blond, I thought. At least his hair is blond on all the book covers.
--->http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8155/06hcaj6.th.jpg
On the books I have, Pete and Bob flip flop back and forth between red and blonde. Pete's sometimes is reddish looking. I think since he is sort of the "beach guy" of the group...they may have settled on blonde for him and then made Bob red. Never really cared if the hair was curly or not.
sharestill it's stupid, because Pete's hair is described as red ^^
sharethey should at least be 15-17 in my opinion.
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The actors look like they're TEN! I think their minimum age should have been fifteen, at worst 14. But even for 13-year-olds those actors are far too young-looking. All the above comments are very valid.
Also, Bob is blonde in the books. I always though Pete had dark-brown hair, but I'm not sure that was in the books.
Nevertheless, I look forward to this movie, hopefully it won't be marred by childish acting !!! And those kids had better grow up in time for the next movie(s).
BTW, why haven't they followed the book series chronology (i.e. start with Terror Castle, 2ndly Stuttering Parrot, then Whispering Mummy)
I'm not being a bitch but Skeleton Island is one of the weaker books in the series. They should have started with The Secret Of Terror Castle. Or even set it in the days of Alfred Hitchcock and have an actor playing Hitchcock himself, that would appeal to adults as well.
shareme too.
oh and by the way: Peter's hair is described as red, I imagined Bob's as hazel and Justus (Jupiter) should definitely be overweight!
----
I do whatever the voices in my head tell me to do.
Bob had blond hair in the books, Peter's hair is red, though.
shareI think they're way too young as well...
They're about 16 on the cover of the Skeleton Island book - http://i8.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/8e/2a/d884_1.JPG
In the begining of the series they are like 13.
Everybody laughs at them being investigators and they need the Rolls Royce.
Later they are like 17, they have girlfriends and cars. (in the german series)
Later they are like 17, they have girlfriends and cars. (in the german series)
They're already of that age in the second wave of the American series called "Crimebusters". The German episodes picked up from there when the series was shut down in the US.
These actors are exactly the age I pictured when reading the original books and I was so happy they didn't make them too old. Jupiter and Pete looked a lot like the illustrations of editions I had and as I would have pictured--I don't know what illustrations others saw. Bob was very different than the book description or illustrations, but the right size in relation to Jupiter and Pete and his great personality added a lot to the movie. His character certainly gave me all the best laughs. Also, these kids can at least act and I've seen a heck of a lot worse carrying some pretty major roles.
shareThe same three actors two years later look about right in 'Terror Castle.' But they do across as too young in this one.
share