Julie Murphy’s YA novel Dumplin’ (HarperCollins, 2015) stars a Texas teen who describes herself as a “cashier, Dolly Parton enthusiast, and resident fat girl.” Willowdean Dickson has never felt the need to apologize to anyone about her body—certainly not her mother, a former beauty queen. Murphy’s body-positive book sees her protagonist through new experiences, including dating a boy from the fast-food restaurant where she works, and entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet beauty pageant (which her mother now runs) in protest of its narrow definitions of beauty.
Willowdean’s audience is soon to broaden, with the release of a Netflix original adaptation of Dumplin’ on December 7. The film stars Danielle MacDonald (Patti Cakes$), Jennifer Aniston (Friends) as Willowdean’s mother, Rosie, and Odeya Rush (Goosebumps) as Willowdean’s best friend, Ellen. The film is directed by Anne Fletcher. Dumplin’ is the latest YA movie to premiere on a streaming service (the film will have a limited theatrical release), following adaptations of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Beth Reekles’s The Kissing Booth, among many others.
Murphy, who lives in Texas, spoke with PW about writing Dumplin’ and about the experience of having her book adapted into a film. “When the book first released, my greatest hope was that someone—anyone!—would connect with Willowdean’s story and be seen by reading about a person in a fat body who didn’t have to lose weight or constantly hate themselves to have a fulfilling character arc,” Murphy said. She couldn’t be more satisfied that the film captures the essence of the book. “Of course the film is different from the book. You can’t do what a 400-page book does in an hour and a half–long movie, but the spirit of Dumplin’ is there and that’s been the priority from the beginning,” she said.
There’s another way that the film honors the novel, and in the manner only a movie can: through its soundtrack. In Dumplin’, Willowdean’s Dolly Parton fandom leads her and her fellow pageant crashers to a Dolly Parton-themed drag night, and Willowdean performs Parton’s “Jolene” during the pageant. The soundtrack features classic Dolly Parton songs, as well as six new songs, which Parton co-wrote with Linda Perry. On the soundtrack (which Parton co-produced), Parton also sings duets with Sia, Alison Krauss, Elle King—and even Jennifer Aniston.
Murphy herself is a big Dolly fan. In 2015, Murphy told the B&N Teen blog about her affection for the singer-songwriter: “What I love about Dolly is that she lives life on her own terms. She is the mistress of her body, her life, and her career,” Murphy said. A few years later, Murphy actually got to meet Parton face-to-face. “I never dreamed Dolly would read the book or even be involved in the film to the extent that she is,” Murphy said. “There’s something really beautiful and pure about the fact that I created a book inspired by Dolly and Dolly then created new music and new versions of her classics inspired by my book.”
Seeing Willowdean’s story being told on the screen has given Murphy hope that “more fat-positive and body-positive books” are on the way, she told PW. Earlier this year, HarperCollins released a follow-up novel by Murphy, Puddin’, which focuses on a supporting character from Dumplin,’ Millie. Readers can now also read the Dumplin' movie tie-in edition of the book, which features an image of MacDonald as Willowdean on the cover. Murphy added that, “Dumplin’ is one book about a straight fat white girl. That’s one experience. We need to see so much more. And that’s also my hope for the film: that viewers will feel seen and that in a broader sense it helps to create a path for more entertainment like this,” she said.
