My love for the Harry Potter movies and my journey as a Potterhead!!

I am beyond thrilled to be taking part in the Harry Potter blog fest. Thank you Aentee for for organizing this entire event throughout the month. I can’t wait to blog-hop and read all the amazing posts everyday!! (Do check out the entire schedule here)

I was pretty confused about which topic to post on and then finally decided to pick up something which is not related to any specific character, plot or book. Because, it has been a while since I have re-read the books and I think I won’t be able to recall some of the finer points.

So, without further ado, here are my top 5 reasons I love the HP movies:

  I started reading the books in early 2000’s and at that time, it was hard for me to really imagine the world described in the books. Moreover, till then,  I hadn’t traveled anywhere beyond the south of India. But the Philosopher’s Stone movie changed everything. I could finally picture not just Diagon Alley and the Great Hall, but also the King’s Cross station and Privet Drive.

 Well, if it wasn’t for the movies, we wouldn’t have gotten all those amazing theme parks to put into our bucket list of Must-See places. It has been on my list for as long as I remember (even when there were no theme parks as such, but recreation of sets on a smaller scale) – to spend my 25th birthday in one of them. So it felt surreal when my dream actually came true last year. Ah, the feeling entering into the Diagon Alley … walking through Gringotts… I wasn’t the only one who let out a tiny squeal..

It is quite easy to lose track of time, especially when you are browsing through all the wands at Ollivander’s. After much deliberation:

 I think movies definitely contribute to the fandom growing bigger. It brings in more readers to try the books, and even if the movie-goers are not inclined to read the books after watching the movies, I think it is still cool that people have fallen in love with the franchise through the movies. And for the readers, well, it sort of kept the whole online buzz and updates active even after all the books were released.

 I could go on and on about this but… listen :

Special mention to the opening logos, like seriously, how can anyone skip the opening credits :

(credit: to the original uploaders of the videos)

 I love the cast as a whole. But, I would definitely like to single out the fantastic supporting cast. I mean, I love all the younger actors, but all of them were new and inexperienced and we have seen them grow into better actors over the course of the movies. I think it was very important to cast strong actors for the roles of characters like Mc Gonagall, Snape and Hagrid. And they have all been so amazingggggg for not just making the characters their own but also going beyond what the book material provided by bringing in something extra, either through their mannerisms or body language.

Special mention to Helena Bonham Carter and Imelda Staunton, two of my favorite on-screen baddies!!!!

By the time I started reading Harry Potter, the first four book in the series had already been released. I read the books in the order of 1->2->4->3 .. So yea, I found GoF super-confusing. I really liked the books, but till then I didn’t “lovveeee” them. All that changed pretty soon.

There was this three-year gap between GoF and OOtP . This was also the time when our family moved into another city. I was halfway through my 7th grade when I had to move into a new city and and new school. I guess, when you are older and look back at those years, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but at that age, there is nothing worse than abruptly switching from a school in one city (the one you have been in since kindergarten) to a school in another …

The next three years were kind of difficult, and it was during this time that I bought HP paperbacks and re-read the entire series. I got sucked into the whole online world of theorizing, essays, shipping, fanfics and I loved the distraction it provided. I loved the wait for OOtP , then HBP… for JKR to provide the next clue through her website and all the discussions over it.

So two things that provided me with a lot of cheer during my high school years were HP and two of my best friends (you know who you are!!!). I turned them into Potterheads too :p . And well, it started with HP, and continued with other bookish talk and recommendations. The three of us are now in different countries and it has been many years since we have met, and on the rare occasions that we successfully figure out the different time zones (and pray to all the internet Gods) and Skype, we do occasionally reminisce about this and swap reading updates.

I started reading when I was in first grade, but I think it is the HP books that made me think about different aspects that go into building a story. Prior to this, I never consciously thought about things such as character progression and world-building. This was also the first fantasy series that I started reading, and well, since then I have read a few others. While some of them were really good, I think what made HP so awesome was how it managed to address so many themes, how it stood on a strong foundation of some rich history and world-building and how the depiction of evil never felt gratuitous.

As usual I am meandering away, instead of figuring out a way to end this post. So, I think I will just shout-out my friend’s favorite catchphrase :