Every summer, Muggles of all ages put aside their telly watching and flock to a regional theatre—where they partake in one of the most interesting and magical experiences within the muggle world—the summer “blockbuster.” “Muggles desire unique entertainment as much as wizards do,” says Thomas McGrain, a wizard who works in one of the Muggle divisions of the Ministry of Magic. “But the form theirs take is most certainly unique—it involves a great deal of make-believe, and even a particular form of magic.” This “magic” is known as a special effect…and allows muggles to bring almost anything they can imagine to life. (For more information about special effects, please see “what is a film”, pg 2) This year, the muggles have chosen to vivify one of the most important stories of the wizarding world—the life of young wizard Harry James Potter. Harry Potter’s story has long been an obsession with the muggle world, ever since the adventures of his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were put down on parchment. From that time, four more years of Mr. Potter’s life have been related to the muggle world, along with two film productions based on those books. The films, which detailed Mr. Potter’s First and Second years at Hogwarts, were considered “blockbusters” because they grossed a great deal of muggle money. This year’s film, based on the third year of Mr. Potter’s life at Hogwarts, is expected to outshine its predecessors. For one, the movie has been released during the summer season, which is the greatest time for a “blockbuster” film (the first two released in the Fall); secondly, it boasts a new director, who has given the movie a darker, grittier feel. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as its called, is certainly one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer,” says Erika Shadowstein, a young witch who spends most of her The director, named Alfonso Cuaron, is no stranger to making movies about children. In 1995, he adapted a version of the muggle story A Little Princess to great acclaim. Since then, he has been involved in much more adult work, but the chance to work on another children’s film, particularly one with burgeoning teenage kids, seemed to entice him. In an interview with the muggle publication Premiere magazine, he mentions working with teenagers and how they viewed the creative process: The first few rehearsals were pretty much about sitting with the kids and just talking—what it means to be a kid, what it means to turn 13—and they had a lot of things to say. Particularly for men, 13 is a very archetypal age; different cultures have different things about boys turning 13, rites of passage and stuff, and so we talked a lot about that, not related to Harry Potter. In addition to the new director, other elements of the story have changed, including wardrobe, scenery, and perhaps most importantly, the experience of the young muggle actors. The young man portraying Harry Potter, named Daniel Radcliffe, truly does seem to be coming into his own as a muggle actor. Only the release of the film, scheduled for June 2 in London, and June 4 in the United States, will display just how well this particular version of the Potter universe has been done. “It’s a bit humbling, really,” says the center of the excitement, young Mr. Potter, “that so many muggles find my stories exciting. The last two have been fairly faithful to the telling, although Mr. Radcliffe is lucky his hair does not stick out quite so much as mine. I am looking forward to viewing it though…before Hogwarts, I really rather enjoyed the theatre. Although, of course, nothing they show on the silver screen can be as enjoyable as the real thing.” Indeed, it cannot. |