Some of you will know that I’m not a huge fan of Disney films. I’ve seen remarkably few of them.
What is less well known, is that I don’t really like either the Harry Potter films or the books.
Actually, that’s not true. I liked maybe the first three. After that they just got too dark. (I found Deathly Hallows, Part 1 almost unbearably bleak and depressing. I have never read the seventh book.)
I’m reminded of this as I watch Order of the Pheonix, which happens to be on broadcast tv right now.
It occurs to me that this is, in fact, entirely normal and defensible.
Many of the most popular rides stand by themselves. There is no Haunted House movie, or BTMRR movie, or Space Mountain movie. There is a POTC movie, but the ride came first.
I love Cindarella Castle because it is a striking piece of architecture, that looks particularly beautiful when it’s dressed by projections or during MVMCP. Similarly Main Street is an impressive and attractive piece of architecture.
You really only need to know the basics to get some backstory for those rides that need it. Often Disney provides it for you. You could perfectly well enjoy Pandora without having seen Avatar.
I have to say, my kids and I actually like the Haunted Mansion movie. I wouldn’t say it’s high-quality, but we find it comical. There is also a Tower of Terror movie and a Country Bears Jamboree movie as well. I have never seen The Country Bears one, but we watch the Tower of Terror one before a Disney trip and around Halloween.
This is true, as long as the role matches the personality of Eddie Murphy!
I always find Eddie Murphy over-the-top unbelievable. I used to feel the same way about Jim Carrey, until I saw him in The Majestic. That’s when I first realized he can really act!
Intentionally so. It is supposed to make you FEEL much in the way the world felt around the time period of the second World War.
The seventh book is my least favorite of all the books. But not because it is too dark. Because it is just too much time having them wandering around seemingly doing nothing. I still like it…but just I like all the others better.
Oh why did you have to go and make a good point. It makes it so much harder for me to hate you. Which is all I really want from this site.
I didn’t know that and I guess it makes a lot of sense and maybe makes Rowling a genius or something.
Except (a) I don’t like books or films that make me sad, and (b) I never really cared about the characters in Harry Potter — either the books or the films — to care about them being sad.
I am now thinking about the series in a whole new way. So thank you for that.
A podcast I enjoy, “How Did This Get Made”, is all about bad movies. One of the hosts is a major Disney nerd. I’ve been hoping they’d do HM as a movie pick for a while now so I’d have an excuse to watch it. They just did Country Bear Jamboree a couple weeks ago, so that may have “used up” their Disney movie slot.
Yes! And I also always enjoy seeing how the literal coloring of the movies gets darker and more drab as they go on to intentionally bring you down and show how the mood has changed.
My youngest DD felt the same as you regarding the movies and WWOHP. She has tried to watch the movies, but just doesn’t like them. However, she enjoyed WWOHP very much. Loved the rides, the butterbeer, etc. Thank goodness…I was worried we’d be dragging her through Diagon Alley whilst telling her not to be selfish and whiney.
