Harry Potter...

For those of you who just want to see little Alex...scroll to the end of the post for some fun new video of her and daddy.

But on to my thoughts on Harry Potter. Steve and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Friday (thanks to my sister for babysitting!). I have read both positive and negative reviews/posts about the movie from Harry Potter fans. My own reactions have me thinking about the series as a whole, both of the books and the movies.

I first heard of Harry Potter in spring of 2000. The news was full of stories about parents/teachers/etc worried that children would "cast a spell" on their parents. And there was talk of banning the books in school libraries. Well, being an early childhood educator, with a strong interest in language and literacy development (thanks mom!) as soon as I heard that people wanted to ban this book, I had to read it. So off to Barnes and Noble we went to pick up the first book. I think I read the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in one weekend. I just could not put it down! I told Steve he had to read it. He was not as interested...so I suggested we read it aloud together. So we sat down to read it one night before bed, getting about 2 chapters in before calling it a night. The next day he sat down to read it, not being able to wait for us to have time to read together! He was hooked and I needed more Harry Potter so out to Barnes and Noble we went to pick up the next two books.

When I heard there would be a midnight release for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I had to go. Since Steve was working nights at this time, his mother graciously agreed to brave the late night and go with me. It was an amazing experience! I could not believe how many people, of all ages, were so excited for the release of a book. Not a movie, not a video game, but a BOOK! It was truly an wonderful surprise. Steve and I went to every book release together after that, and each time would spend the whole weekend reading the book aloud, as we could not agree on who would read the book first! These were long weekends full of soda, snack foods, and sleeping only when our eyes could not stay open, and then waking up to read some more. The world of Harry Potter created by JK Rowling is amazingly rich, detailed, and of course magical.

Then came the first movie. I was equal parts excited and nervous for this movie. I could not wait to see how the film makers would bring this magical world to life, but also cautious, as the books are so amazing, and movies are rarely as good as books (and sometimes just awful!). But we went on opening weekend...and I was very happy with how the movie looked, the choices that were made about what was in the movie and what was left out. Was it any where near the depth of the book? Of course not, but it was a nice compliment to the book. And honestly, except for the movie of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I felt this way about all the movies. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to me is the worst movie of the whole movie series...so much important information about Harry and his family was left out, I didn't agree with the visuals the director choose, and I just sort of felt cheated. I was very glad when a different director took over for the next movie (The Goblet of Fire-where I must add this side note...I thought Robert Pattinson was pretty darn cute as Cedric, before his iconic character, Edward Cullen in Twilight-another great series-was even on the radar). But back to Harry Potter.

There are many things left out of the latest movie, but at 2.5 hours, it would be hard to add more in and keep it movie length. I try to go into the movies with an understanding that it is going to have the same plot, but the execution may be different. I am not always a fan of when things are added to a movie that were not in the book, especially when there is already so much left out of the book! But I also realize that the movie has to try and condense so much narrative into a visual. What could be accomplished in 20 pages with 15 different characters has to be condensed to 5 min with 4 characters. As long as the intregrity of the story remains the same, I can live with that. There is only one scene at the Burrow that was added that I felt was totally not necessary. I miss characters left out, but understand that in a movie, you can not have as many secondary characters as in the book, or as many subplots happening and still maintain the main thread. With that in mind, the movie was wonderful. The director has a wonderful vision of making this magical world come to life and bringing out amazing performances by the actors. I am statisfied with the movie, as it fits in with the other movies. But if one were only to watch the movies, she would be missing so much as the books have a richness and depth that the movies can only scratch the surface of. I am anxious to see the remaining two films, but more excited for the time when Alex is old enough that we can introduce her to the world of Harry Potter.

and now for some video of Alex and daddy together. She is getting so big, so curious of the world around her, and as you see here, so vocal! We love each day we get to spend with her and just marvel at her growth and excitement for the world she is just beginning to explore.