Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
(In which Harry has a unique family reunion and Hermione becomes a Time Lord)
This is the third installment of the Harry Potter series and the first directed by Academy award winner, Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, A Little Princess, Roma). Some hold that this is the best of all of the Harry Potter films and that the series would not have survived if not for the tone shift under Cuarón's direction. Up until this movie, this was a classic children’s series, there was a lot of warmth and all of the danger in the books was glossed over, Chris Columbus had taken everything in a “Little Golden Book” direction. But Cuarón embraced the edgier side for the story and increased the sense of danger for the kids and this really brought new depth to the story, depth that had been missing up until this point.
Another side of the story that Cuarón shone a light on was the adults around Harry. The first 2 movies felt like we were zoomed in on Harry, how he felt, what he wanted, and the rest of the world was a blur of wands and capes. But Cuarón expanded the point of view and we started to see the teachers as characters in and of themselves with complex emotions and motives. This also is highlighted by the recast of Michael Gambon as Dumbledore and the completely new direction they took with him. Where the headmaster had been stern and serious he is now whimsical and funny.
This character choice helped lift the whole movie up and added to the chaos of Hogwarts in a wonderful way. The balance of the wizard world is important, it is at all times chaotic, powerful, joyful and mysterious. This movie, more than its predecessors, captures that balance, and leaves the audience with the strangest mix of trepidation for what is to come and excitement at finding out more.
In embracing the edgier side of the Harry Potter universe, we are introduced to the Dementors in all of their creepy glory. The Dementors are the soul sucking (literally) guards of Azkaban (Wizard prison) and they are supposed to look scary. They do look a bit creepy, but not as much as I would have wished, although, they do get creepier looking as the series goes on, thanks to the improvement in CGI technology. The Dementors are the physical representation of pain and suffering; they use your pain and suffering to torment you, until you get the dementors kiss and your soul is taken from your body. After the Dementor’s kiss, you are left as an empty shell, with only a physical body and no soul. Now, if the movie had explained it like that, we all would have been far more afraid of the Dementors, as it is, we only really figured out what they did about 3/4ths of the way though the movie. The whole “they don’t actually attack random kids” and “they are deliberately attacking Harry because someone in the ministry of magic is evil” were also never explained in the film.
Another thing left out of the movie, that maybe would have been useful to include was the c plot in the books, specifically the C plot focused on Hermione. Everyone’s favorite “know it all”, has more to her than books and school, but you wouldn’t know that if you only watched the movies. Hermione is an activist, she is disgusted by the whole house elf system, she loves all animals and is generally always ready to defend the little guy (#gryffindor).
So the whole Malfoy getting Buckbeak executed really bothers her and we as readers of the books know why because stopping injustice is what Hermione does. However, all of that is missing in the movie. We don’t know that she is an activist and that she starts potions or loves animals, so when she punches Malfoy over the Buckbeak incident, while it is empowering, (I suppose), it makes no sense. Without the other half of her personality, the way she responds to major events like Lupin changing into a wolf also doesn’t make sense. This will be a continual source of frustration throughout the rest of the series because if Hermione is not extremely principled, she is just rather annoying.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the last of the PG Harry Potter movies and ushers in a new era of edgier but better storytelling. The cast really clicks in the movie and it works as both a contained story and part of the bigger narrative. This is the first movie that I was sad when it ended and so excited for the next film. There are bigger and better things to come for Harry and the gang, the story is really just getting started.
Content Overview
Language: Bloody Hell, Gosh, Darn Ect. We are still at PG level language.
Sexual Content: None
Violence: The whole movie Harry is scared that Serious Black, an escaped convict will come and kill him, so there is a lot of talk about murder. There is a fight between a Warewolf and a Giant Dog. The Whomping Willow does some damage. Buckbeak the Hippogryph is supposed to be executed and while we don’t see it, there a moment that where it is implied that he is decapitated, Buckbeak does survive the story. Ron’s leg is broken.
Objectionable content: The kids go to divination class, and try to tell their future using tea leaves and star charts. Divination is mocked as a form of magic and no one puts much stock in it, however, Harry does get the omen of death. There is a “Haunted” cabin called the Shrieking Shack. It turns out to be a hideout for bad guys but the kids are scared of it.
