Principal Jenkins (also known as Mr. Jenkins) is a character who appears in Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle in Time. Two different incarnations of the character appeared in two Disney-produced adaptations of the book: the 2003 Dimension Film adaptation and in the 2018 film adaptation.
Background[]
Personality[]
Jenkins is the school principal who often discusses with students who have good behavior throughout their school year. A student would often be sent to his office if they behaved badly during school. However, since the It began spreading negativity across Earth, Jenkins began to deny Meg's answer, explaining to her that Dr. Murry's disappearance cannot be used as an excuse all the time during his conversation with Meg. However, to Meg's frustration, Jenkins is also shown to have a dislike on students who do not finish conversations with him.
Appearances[]
A Wrinkle in Time (2003)[]
Jenkins only makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film where Meg Murry was sent to the Principal's office for detention. Meg talks with the principal when she tells him that her teacher Mr. Porter gets things wrong all the time, which he replies to her that she is old enough that when one adult disappoints her, she can't take it out on all the rest. During the conversation, Jenkins explains that he does care, although he tells her that her father's disappearance cannot be used as an excuse just before Meg leaves and exits the Principal's office, much to Jenkins' frustration that he is not finished talking with her. He does not appear again throughout the rest of the film, not even after Meg defeated the It, undoing all the negativity that the he spread throughout the universe.
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)[]
In the 2018 adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, Jenkins' full name was "James Jenkins", unlike in the original novel and 2003 adaptation, which do not mention his full name.
After hitting Veronica with a basketball during physical education, Meg is sent to the Principal's office for an action she did to her. Principal Jenkins explains to Meg that Veronica's parents are on their way to pick up their daughter who are worried for their safety. Meg denies, only for Jenkins to also tell her that she deliberately hit her in the face. He also recaps to Meg that she was a top student with top attitude, but is now aggressive and hostile throughout school. During the conversation, Jenkins tells her that her father's disappearance cannot be used as an excuse. To her frustration, Meg leaves and exits the Principal's office, much to him feeling furious that he is not finished talking to her just before Meg returns home and approaches her mother who tells her to write an apology letter to the Principal as well as Veronica.
During a montage of the It's negativity, Jenkins later appears in a vision sequence where he is being promoted to principal for being three-times science teacher of the year, much to another person feeling jealous about his position as principal. He does not appear again throughout the rest of the film, not even after Meg defeated the It, undoing all the negativity that the It caused. Therefore, it is unknown if he was affected after the It and the darkness of negativity were wiped away, thanks to Meg's heroic actions while saving her father.
Trivia[]
- The name "James Jenkins" was only used in the 2018 film adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time and the name was not mentioned in original source material.
- In the printed material, Jenkins had a more major role in another Madeleine L'Engle novel titled "A Wind in the Door" despite his minor role in the original Wrinkle in Time book.
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