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...?!!

The books are great, although it improves dramatically from book 3 onwards.

The films are shit. All of them.

I've only ever read the first book and saw the first film, thought I 'should' to see what all the fuss was about.

I must say I enjoyed both immensely, entered into the fantasy and thought it was all great fun for kids.

I have seen all the films and so has my 8 year old and we really enjoyed them.
We live in London and go to the theatre often and have seen most of the shows apart from Harry Potter.
The reason being that it is totally sold out months in advance and any tickets available are over £130 per ticket,no kids tickets.
So obviously Harry Potter has a Huge Fan Base.

@DieAntword Absolutely. Plagiarism at its best.

That's not to say that I don't appreciate the HP books. I thoroughly enjoyed them - I do recognise a major source of the author's inspiration though, unlike the author herself.

liverbird10,
?

What? You're younger than 55 (I assume - as your DS is 6) and you've never read the books? You must read the books - but bear in mind they're not John Grisham or Iris Murdoch; they're written for children with the first four books targeted at age 9 to 12 and then the remaining books for young teens (as Harry grows older himself).

The films were just meant to be tie-ins - they're generally not as good as the books, although the third is not bad.

Jon Snow is a kinda adult Harry Potter

Jon Snow is 13/14 years old. Hardly an adult. They aged him for the HBO series because they knew there was no way they'd get away with him and Danerys being 13 & 14 respectively.

for me I love strong character development

There's plenty of character development in the books. Especially once you get to #3 onwards. You can't base the whole experience on one, rather cruddy, film.

Yes are are being unreasonable! Harry Potter is amazing I'm totally obsessed! Hahaha ⚡️

No one in our house likes it apart from me, my mum and my brothers gf. The kids just ain’t interested. I preferred the books so much better but the films get better with each one. Start with film number 3 it’s the best one by far. My DS loves the later movies due to the action, not the story 🙈 my little brother does he’s just finished reading the books.

You're never the only one. This sort of thing just doesn't appeal to me either. I've never read/seen anything to do with Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Mad Max, in fact anything 'fantasy', not even James Bond. I just can't see the appeal.

Based on having only watched the first film YANBU - it's shit!!

The other films do get better but as others posters have said, not a patch on the books.

I could read the books over and over but the films I can take or leave and have to be in the mood really.

Totally agree. I thought the books were shit too. For reading fantasy give me David Eddings. For watching fantasy give me Labyrinth, Stranger Things and Twin Peaks (if that counts).

Jon Snow is a kinda adult Harry Potter

Harry/Jon Snow/Luke Skywalker are the same literary trope - the neglected, unregarded and unprepossessing child who suddenly discovers that actually he is really important with parents who were not what he thought they were.

They are all imitations of the story of Jesus of course. (Or if you are not religious you would say that Jesus's story is the first example of this trope.)

Totally agree. Absolutely zero interest. I read the first book and saw a couple of the films and wasn’t interested but then I have no interest in any fantasy stories at all generally. Having said that HP world in universal is outstanding even for a non fan

(Or if you are not religious you would say that Jesus's story is the first example of this trope.)

Hardly the first. The story of Paris pre-dates it by a couple thousand years. Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh dates back to 2100 BC. Jesus is just another version.

I'm totally with you OP! But then again, it's a kids book - so it's meant to be enjoyed by kids/teens not adults (I find I weird so many adults love it)

The films aren't very good, the books are better but they aren't great works of literature and I could barely get through the last one - that needed editing. My DD has bought me the fully illustrated versions of the books (the ones that have so far been published), they are beautiful and do show the world that Rowling built far better than the films. You don't have to contend with the wooden acting of the three main characters.
I enjoyed Universal, it's just slightly spoiled by seeing "snow" on the roofs of Hogsmeade when it's so hot!

I agree...the other person I feel this way about is Ed Sheeran. Just can't see the attraction.

I think JK Rowling has been prettt open about where she got her inspiration from. She has said that she was inspired by Tolkien and CS Lewis. Dementors are clearly a cross between ring wrath’s and her own physical representation of what depression feels like and she has said this. Let’s face it Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is clearly a take on Jesus’ resurrection, and there are so many other stories that do the same. Yes Harry Potter is more basic that other adult stories of the same genre. But it is a children’s book. It was written to provide enjoyment to children and teenagers. Not to be a great literary work. And it obviously does wha mr it’s suposoed to for children and adults alike.
But like OP says, we can’t allile the same thing and that’s fine. Makes the world a more interesting place
(I don’t fancy Star Wars despite having never watched it. I should though I guess).

Gosh so many typos, sorry, hopefully you can get the jist 😁

I still don't really understand the problem with adults liking things "aimed at children". Is it such a big problem to not want to do adult things all the time? I'd rather go to a theme park and play video games than go out for a glass of wine and listen to the Archers, but I wouldn't dismiss someone who felt the opposite way as weird or odd.

I don't agree that The Chamber of Secrets was an awful film, it's one of my favourites. The actors had all calmed down and were learning their craft by then and the introduction of Dobby was brilliant.
I'm a huge fan though and can only find fault with the acting in The Philosopher's Stone.

We were at the Tour only last week and it’s not rushed at all. Once you are through the Great Hall you can take all the time you please. Our tour was at 12:30 and we didn’t leave until after 6.