Another year and more wizarding adventures

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2019)

Since the world has already been introduced to the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, and since all the major characters have all been introduced, what else is there to do to make the other movies special? In the second installment, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton all return to their magical school for another year. Somehow, even though they were all placed in a great deal of danger the previous school year, no one expects anything bad might happen. Bad things do happen, and even though the school is host to a staff of enormously competent and powerful wizards and witches, the little children find it's up to them to save the day! It's quite an accomplishment for the three heroes, since there's an army of giant spiders living in the forest, a mysterious villain lurking in the halls who literally petrifies its victims, and a magical diary with its own hidden agenda. Get ready to cut young Harry Potter some slack and keep in mind that he's only twelve years old and liable to make some pretty big mistakes; if you found a talking diary, would you confide in it?
Ironically, the second novel was my favorite of the series, but I don't watch the second film very often. The most memorable part of this installment-even more than the famous diary-is the arrival of Dobby the House Elf. While the little kiddies might be endlessly entertained by his scenes, I couldn't get past his squeaky voice. He's written that way in the book, but imagining his voice and having to sit through it in a movie are two different things. Probably the third most memorable part of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets can be summed up by Rupert Grint's line: "Follow the spiders? Why couldn't he have said, 'Follow the butterflies?'" Anyone out there who's afraid of spiders, let alone allergic to their bites, probably won't want to watch this movie very often either. When doing a marathon, as I recently did with my nieces, it's just blasphemous to skip any of the films, so you'll have to just close your eyes or use the spider scene as a popcorn break.
There are some fun parts to this movie, though, so when you're watching a marathon with your nieces, you'll be able to have fun once you return from getting more popcorn. Kenneth Branagh "guest stars" as a hilariously conceited and incompetent new teacher who has girls swooning at every turn. John Williams's beautiful music is still used, and the new themes he wrote for the second movie are just as lovely as in the original. The kids decide to go undercover by making a magic potion that turns their appearance into whoever they've stolen a hair from, and Emma Watson's potion backfires with a pinch of cat hair. And don't forget, this is the movie with the flying car! With all that to focus on, who cares about a few spiders and a squeaky voice?
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to an upsetting scene involving an animal as well as scary scenes involving spiders and snakes, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.