Lovely . . . book purists get off your high horses.

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2004)

I rarely comment on movies, but the stupid backlash against this film by book purists is really making me angry, and I wanted to give them all a good, sound lecture. And I'm just as big a Harry Potter fan as any of you; and yes, Azkaban is my favorite book; and yes, I could quote you verbatim from almost any section of the book. So don't just sneer and dismiss what I'm about to say.
So what if there were changes and deletions to the book? If any of you had seen A Little Princess you would have known that Cuaron made drastic changes to the story line there too (moving the book from London to New York, having Captain Crewe alive at the end, etc . . .) and it still made for an effective and moving film. A BOOK IS NOT A MOVIE! Sometimes changes fail completely (think the Count of Monte Cristo film version with Jim Caviezel), but many times they work amazingly (think Michael Mann's Last of the Mohicans). Granted, I was hoping to see flashbacks to Sirius' laughing in the street before Pettigrew's supposed remained, the scene where Harry bends down to tie his shoe so that Lupin won't see his tears, a more detailed pub scene with Madame Rosmerta, and a more in-depth Shrieking Shack. Still, even without these scenes, the heart and soul of Rowling's book was captured to perfection. Harry is becoming a more independent, angry, and less "gee-whiz!" boy. Hermione learns to put her foot down and stop playing by the rules so much. And Ron is . . . well, he's just Ron.
Changes I Liked:
Dumbledore: Gambon was RIGHT ON Rowling's depiction of the character. Not to speak ill of the dead, but Harris was just too SLOW. Dumbledore's mischievous and young-ish and, in Percy's words, "a little mad." Personally, I've always found Dumbledore to be somewhat unsettling, something more along the lines of Lewis' Aslan (not tame, but good) than the 'grandfather-figure' everyone else sees him to be. And what about that flash of triumph in his eyes at the end of book 4? Weird.
Hagrid: Kudos to Kloves and Cuaron for making Hagrid less pathetic. He's probably my least favorite character from the books, but one of my favorite from the movie. I'm glad they made him a much more competent teacher and really stressed the fact that Malfoy was just being a git, as always.
The Animal-Noises Scene: Priceless. I thought I was watching my brother and his friends goofing off as always.
Big Band Music: Used AMAZINGLY in the Boggart scene, and also very well when Harry says goodbye to Lupin. It gave the movie a more real feel.
Costumes: I'm glad Cuaron got rid of the robes. I re-watched Chamber of Secrets last night, and you wouldn't know that these were kids in the movie.
Especially in the scene where Harry ends up in Knockturn Alley, he looks old, stuffy, and boring in that cape and sweater (isn't he hot?), instead of the spritely, mischievous boy we all know and love.
Harry's Hair: Finally, a director who understands what messy means. I probably would've taken it even a step more beyond what Cuaron does. Think Tim Burton-esque style. Note for Warner: Has Burton been offered any of these movies? If not, you should. He would be amazing if he would do it (which I somewhat doubt, but hey, it's worth a shot).
Quidditch: Wow, that was pretty intense! Loved the way Cuaron made the crowd more 'crazy' (painting Neville's face, etc. . .). Felt like a real NFL match. Loved the icy rain. Loved the fall. And one Quidditch scene is enough.
Dementors: Looked like creepy jelly-fish. And since jelly fish really scare me and I thought the Ringwraiths in LOTR were fairly moronic (come on, people! These are supernatural beings who can sense the ring and yet can't find four hobbits right under their noses? And how in the world are hobbits supposed to outrun horses! Sheesh!), I think making them more fluid was a great idea. The soul-sucking technique was a little awkward, but how else would you have shown the dementors' effect physically? Viewers can't get inside Harry's head.
Buckbeak's Flight: Incredible. Enough said.
Werewolf Class: Loved Snape's slides showing the history of werewolves. Brought the whole thing into real-world, historical context. I'd never really thought of Anubis as a werewolf before. Interesting. Smart.
Change/Omissions I didn't like:
Okay, the shrunked head on the Knight Bus was just stupid. I'll give you that.
Snape(kinda): The only scene in the movie where the omissions really hurt was when Snape simply appears in the Shrieking Shack. That really did need more exposition, and seemed too much like a deus ex machina device than it was in the book. My feeling here is that Cuaron wanted to cut Snape from the Shrieking Shack, but that Rowling wouldn't let him. (This goes of all the other omissions too. Apparently, Cuaron wanted to add 'little people' to the movie and also have a cemetery, but Rowling vetoed these changes. This gives me the feeling that whatever changes Cuaron made had to have her stamp of approval. So let's trust, JoRo on this one, she know what she's doing. Either they'll show up in later films, or they're not important to the final conclusion of the books.)
Bottom Line: If you watched this movie and couldn't get past Cuaron's artistic liberties, I have a suggestion for you. Go watch the second/first movies, and then re-watch Azkaban. Keep an open mind, and enjoy the movie rather than watch for changes. You'll realize just how improved Azkaban is over the other two. The plot is leaner and meaner, the costumes snazzier, the acting better . . . hell, everything is better. And look at this as an expansion of the Potter universe. Instead of one brilliant Azkaban, now we have two. And there can never be too much of a good thing!