To not understand the appeal of Harry Potter...?!

[Scaramoose]

This is lighthearted btw...

I am off to Florida with DH and DS (6) in a few weeks and we have watched the first Harry Potter film and also been looking at the Harry Potter stuff at Universal.

The film bored me to absolute tears. The characters seemed two dimensional and wooden, the story dragged and the names for things, eg Muggles, just irritated. I shared this view with my sister who couldn't believe I didn't like it as she thinks it is 'absolutely brilliant' and 'incredibly clever.'

DS will love it, as he did love most of the film (I say 'most' as it's so long) and I wouldn't want him to know what I really think but I really, honesty, don't get it! The pretend platform at Kings Cross and the queue outside the HP shop in York also flummoxed me as it's obviously such a big deal for so many people! Im amazed something that seems so dull has done so incredibly well (and from what I have heard about JK Rowling she is very level headed about it, which is lovely.)

Am I the only one...?!!

And yet still certain people on Mumsnet slate something that they don't like but others do. Does it give you a sense of superiority that you don't like Harry Potter? Does your sneering at those who do make you feel good? Don't you think you should be asking yourself why this is? It's not a nice part of your character, if you don't like it when other people are happy and enjoy something - perhaps seek some help.

ProfessorMoody I think you might need to lighten up a bit!

Thanks for the replies, everyone else. Its looks like it's a marmite type issue, some love it or other's find it dreadfully dull. As we are off to the HP world in Universal, which does look impressive (even if I don't find myself thinking the same way about the books) I have bought the first book to read to DS before we go. Until then, the jury is out!

We live in strange times, where some adults admit to enjoying Harry Potter and Disney theme parks without a trace of self-consciousness.

Firesuit Yeah, I’m not self conscious about loving Harry Potter or Disney; I’m proud.

I’m proud because I’ve found things that I enjoy and embrace them and I’m proud that I won’t allow judgemental people like you to attempt to shame me for my likes.

I feel quite sorry for you that you live so rigidly that anyone who likes anything even slightly out of the societal norm is judged. I would hate to live such a life.

You need to read the books. The films are ok but a lot is lost in the translation to screen

Even though I think the books are derivative and badly paced, I did love the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio tour. There's lots to enjoy about the film making process even if you're not that enthused about the film or the books. I imagine Universal will be the same.

JessicaJones I suspect it will

Maybe try reading the books when you get back. They are brilliant and well worth reading. Your son may enjoy them as well.

The films are utter shit. Those directors need to be forced to never make any films ever again, they just dont know what they are doing. I was even disappointed in Michael Gambon because he became Dumbledore in the 3rd film after the original actor died and decided to make Dumbledore Irish! He was fucking English in the first two films, but can become Irish across one summer holidays? Which numpty agreed to that stupid idea? If he had been Irish from the 1st film, fair enough, but you cant just randomly change a characters accent.

The 4th film was the worst to me. So badly edited, the script was awful, the acting was worse (although not their fault I guess when the writer was useless).

The only good part of the HP films is Alan Rickman. At least he was believable.

Never read the books, never watched any of the films. However I am glad that they appealed to many children and adults, and in particular young boys who were not often reading for pleasure.

I love the Harry Potter books, and I'm completely unashamed.
I'm roughly the same age as the characters and read the books as they were released between age 6 and 16.

I didn't have a particularly stable childhood, and this set of books really game me a sense of belonging.
I longed for my Hogwarts letter, so that I could escape for real, spent carefree hours imagining I had friends as loyal as Hermione, or Mum as kind and selfless as Molly Weasley.

They took me through my teenage years gently, when the real world felt like too much I found courage in reading about characters who felt like old friends, whose carefree adventures had too become heavy and serious.

Harry, the boy whose childhood had been miserable, found people who loved him and grew into a good person, and most importantly, for me, when things were really tough, he got scared. He was human, and vulnerable, and a kid trying his best just like me.

My nan bought me each one, on the day it came out and seeing them on the shelf always reminded me that I had someone who cared. She loved books and we could talk for hours about the fabulous stories we'd read. I can still hear her version of Hagrids voice in my mind whenever I read it.

I'm 27 now and still re-read those 7 kids books at least once a year. And yes, I still laugh and cry at them just like I always have.

I think it's quite badly written and I only bothered to read the first 3 books. Even though I read books 2 and 3 on separate occasions when I had the flu or similar and was woozy (I thought they would be more enjoyable then and that I'd nitpick less) I was still noticing sentences I thought needed editing.

My mother thought Enid Blyton books were badly written and despaired at the amount of her stuff I read (and re-read) from 7 onwards, but it didn't stop me reading stacks of classics a few years later so I don't think it really matters for kids' reading habits.

If a kid was a big reader and hadn't already found various books of which Potter is derivative, I would recommend they read those (e.g. lots of old boarding school stories from Victorian onwards, low fantasy and magic novels -predominantly late Victorian and then 60s onwards - the handful of predecessors like The Worst Witch) but Potter is a massive part of kids' culture over the last 20 years so they should absolutely know it well if they want to.

I know very intelligent adults with good senses of humour who both love and hate the books (all uni student age or older when the first one was published) so I also don't think it means anything much about the people.

The films work rather well as a Christmassy / comfort viewing sort of thing, though I only really continued watching them to see Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith.

I do cringe a bit at twentysomethings still having Harry Potter parties and putting their house on Twitter, (same with their Disney movie obsessions) as we didn't make kids' stuff such a big part of our culture, but it's just one of many things about people 10-20 years younger that are not on my wavelength - it's this sort of thing that gets generations classified differently.

pennycarbonara
I think with Harry Potter it's probably ore of a generational thing. Possibly because if you read the books before you turn 11 you still believe your Hogwarts letter could come.

I'd have to disagree about Disney and generational differences though. Disneyland opened in 1955 and Disney World in 1971. There are absolutely millions of people who "get" the Disney obsession and grew up with it who are much older than 20-30. My own parents stay in Disney every year and they're nearing their 60s, as do many of their friends. None of them have children living at home anymore. People involved in planning Disney trips can make large amounts of money because the market for it is vast.

I really don't think it's me who needs to lighten up, as I'm the one saying that people should enjoy what they want to without being sneered at and told their interests are shit.

I don't know anyone though who harped on about Disney films when they were student or recent graduate age, and there was hardly anything about them in media directed at late teens and twentysomethings in the 90s and early 00s. (I used to read a lot of music publications and both women's and men's mags).A handful of people at school still went to see new Disney films in secondary school but it was just a few and they didn't make a bigger thing of them than other films. British adults who were really into Disney stuff for themselves and didn't have small children were something you might hear about in a novelty feature. I haven't met anyone now 35+ later through work or general social life who mentioned they were into Disney beyond what they had to be for children or grandchildren. (Complaints about too much of it seem common from people with small kids.) I'd assume that big fans tend to make friends with one another, as do most people with other shared interests that seem niche to others their age.

I wouldn't mention it though unless someone else said they were a fan really. As with many interests you wouldn't necessarily bring it up in conversation. My mum's a teacher and about 6 of her teachers are off to Disney over the summer. Granted, it's far more common in America to be big into Disney than the UK because of the proximity to parks and the media I would guess.

The lion, the witch and the wardrobe is far superior!

I think the whole HP thing is a well trodden path and has been done to death. Theres nothing remotely original about any of it.
You've got to take your hat off to JK Rowling though, shes done very well for herself.

I really don’t understand how adults are so into it. It’s a children’s book!!

@pennycarbonara
I thought this too... then we took DD to Disneyland Paris and I was totally shocked at the amount of adults there who did not have children with them. I know there's plenty to do there that's not just for small children but there were plenty of adults partaking in the kiddie events and attractions as well. It was very peculiar.

Harry Potter stuff gets on my nerves.. I don't really rate the books, I'm not a big fan of JK Rowling's writing, and the films are a bit of a cash grab.

We are all massive Potter fans in our family, ages ranging from 4 to 64. We have done the Leavesden tour 24 times and love it more every time we go.
Books and films just brilliant but the films leave a lot out. There is a huge amount of expansion going on at the tour with more sets going on display from next Summer; we can't wait!

MrsGB - you aren't getting it! You don't have to understand!

I really don’t understand how adults are so into it. It’s a children’s book!! My adult children are roughly the same age as HP and his contemporaries. We had the Stephen Fry spoken books for holidays when they were younger and we all enjoyed the films when they came out. HP was a bit part of their growing up and has always been something we continue to enjoy together, though going back to the Warner Bros tour is too £££, as we can no longer buy a family ticket!

For us, the books and films became available as my DC were growing up, and were age appropriate to them during that time. Each book and film left us wanting more . . . and we had to be patient and wait.

Certainly, Stephen Fry and a long car journey to, and a two week holiday in, Pembrokeshire got us hooked, and HP has certainly been enjoyed to the full.

I have no issue with anyone enjoying HP, and as a child, I’m sure I would have loved the books and the films.

But as an adult I read the first book and thought it was complete rubbish; the prose is so bland and pedestrian.

I used to think like you OP before listening to Stephen Fry reading the audiobooks.
You should be able to get them free via your local library.
Listening to him read whilst walking the dog really got me hooked but I wouldn't have been interested at all, had I only watched the first film. My DS (9) loves HP and it's another topic of conversation we can share that's got nothing to do with Minecraft or other similar computer games.

I read the first three Harry Potter books ages 13 and the subsequent ones as they were released - the last one came out the summer I finished university, so it was very much a part of my teens and young adulthood. I think for many people, that's why they're so important. The third film is excellent and the later ones aren't bad either, but the first two films are dire!