Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Movie Review

When I watched the third Harry Potter movie I was outraged. The movie was disappointing next to the book. The third book was my all time favorite and I have read it a total of 43 times now, so upon watching the movie I was disgusted. To me (and those I have discussed it with) it seemed as though Alfonso Cuarón were poking fun at the book. Of the things most hated by my friends and family were the talking heads, the way the Fat Lady (used to be respectable) was reduced to a joke, the change in wardrobe—there is a strict rule in the book about the dress code! The change is understandable for Hogsmeade trips, but not for corridors. Another thing was if someone had not read the book had watched that movie they would have no idea what the story was supposed to be about. The growth of relationship between Harry, Hermione, and Ron was not shown very well at all. Where, might I ask, was Ginny? She should have, at the very least been in the car when the dementors showed up on the train. Harry was not the only one badly affected by the dementors! I completely understand the need to find a new Dumbledore, but what was with all the babble? Dumbledore was NOT a quack!

After the first movie the Hogwarts castle became an actual place for all Harry Potter fans, and after two years we knew the castle and loved it. So why did they move the castle from a nice open, beautiful place to a rocky mountainside? The first castle was better, in my opinion, than the one used in the third movie. Last, but not least, the Womping Willow is not a carnival ride!

Of the things done right was Buckbeak. I was more impressed with Buckbeak than anything in any of the three movies, or many others I have seen. Hats off! I also think that the blowing up of Aunt Marge, the transformations of Lupin and Black and the Shrieking Shack were done very well.

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