What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this third movie in the fantastic
Harry Potter series is growing up with the Hogwarts crew; the
themes are darker, the peril is more intense, and the images of
some magical creatures are grotesque and Halloween-ish. For
most of the school year, Harry believes he is marked for death
and stalked by an escaped prisoner. He also battles a creature
of kids' worst nightmares: the Dementors are black-robed
floating beings that suck out happiness and feed on your worst
fears, which is why Harry hears the sound of his mother's last
scream when he sees them. While this can be tough for young and
sensitive viewers, the bright spot is the Boggart lesson in
Defense Against the Dark Arts. Boggarts can turn into what a
person fears most, but the kids learn to yell "Ridiculous!" and
turn it into something to laugh at.
Families who see this movie could talk about Dumbledore's statement that people can bring light to even the darkest moments. What can you learn from the way Harry and his friends learn to defeat the Boggarts? The Dementors? Older kids and teens could examine all of the Potter movies to see how different directors and cinematographers can take the same characters and settings and convey a different feeling. Notice how the colors and texture of the scenes and the movement of the camera help to create the mood and tell the story.
Common Sense Media Review
Harry Potter is 13 in this third movie based on the globally
popular series of books by
J.K.
Rowling, and the movie itself seems to be entering
adolescence, with its darker themes, darker images, and darker
emotions.
The first two movies were competently directed by Chris Columbus, with brilliant production design and meticulous attention to detail, making sure that the books' passionate fans were happy -- but playing it safe.
For the third, Columbus stayed on as a producer, but there is a new director, Alfonso Cuaron, whose previous work has demonstrated ferocious visual flair ( Great Expectations) and great sensitivity in working with and portraying children ( A Little Princess ) and teens ( Y Tu Mama Tambien). He has kept the best of the first Potter films and enriched it with his own splendid vision, meshing perfectly with the tone of the story and the increasing complexity of the themes and characters.
For the first two years, Harry has spent most of his time being grateful to be rescued from his awful relatives, the Dursleys, amazed at all the magic around him, and resolute in his commitment to loyalty and integrity. But now he is beginning to get angry. He is growing up and feeling everything more sharply and deeply, especially injustice in general and the loss of his parents in particular.
This year, when life with his aunt and uncle gets to be too much for Harry, even for summer vacation from Hogwarts, he packs up and leaves -- after extracting some revenge on a nasty relative. Soon he is back at Hogwarts school, where some scary creatures called Dementors, guards at the wizard prison of Azkaban, are there to seek the first-ever escaped prisoner, Sirius Black. He is the one who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort, and he may be on his way to Hogwarts to kill Harry.
