Something Wicked This Way Comes
Someday I may attend the first showing of a new Harry Potter movie without a hundred kids in tow, but it is not this day. Today I trooped four classes of students onto two buses and headed off to the theatre to see "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban".
We arrived at the Silver City Theatre with about ten minutes to spare before our school showing and I was amused to see there were already half a dozen teenagers sitting on the steps in Hogwarts robes and wizard hats waiting for the first public showing. As I made the way through the doors to organize our group in I called, "Cool costumes!". "Thanks!", they said, then looking at the school buses, a light bulb went on. "Hey, wait," they said, "You're going in to see Harry Potter -now-?". Because, of course, they thought they were lined up for the first showing of the day.
Now, I felt for them :). I'm a fantasy movie buff, too, and many a time I was in that devoted early group of movie goers waiting in line for a few hours to be among the first to see the new Star Trek, Star Wars or LOTR movie. So, I knew they were bummed to hear there was a showing before theirs and they -weren't- going to be the first people to see PoA in this theatre. I had to smile when I saw them try to casually blend into our line as our students and parents came in (the Hogwarts robes made that difficult...) and, you know, I would have let them as we were the only people in our theatre, but theatre security stopped them cold. Sorry, fellow HP fans. I hope you found the movie worth your extra three hour wait :).
I presently have one of the most rambunctious Gr. 5 classes I have ever taught. They can't sit still in my classroom beyond about ten minutes, yet the 93 kids we took with us today to Harry Potter were silent and enthralled throughout the two hour and twenty minute movie. And I didn't have to take a single child to the washroom, so I was able to watch the movie uninterrupted, too. Yay.
Again, like previous Harry Potter movie excursions, I was fascinated to see that the kids' first reaction was unanimous. "Mrs. Durno, the book was -much- better than the movie.".
I still remember reading articles before the first Harry Potter movie came out predicting that the motivation to read brought on by Rowling's books would disappear once kids were able to get to Hogwarts by celluloid rather than literary means. The movies would possess a spell that the books couldn't compete with. With that in mind, it was highly satisfying to me first time I did a HP novel/movie study to see the strong loyalty the students did have to the book. They were keenly critical of the movie if it wasn't faithful to what they loved in the book and I've found that the case with all three groups I've taken to HP movies.
When I asked my class their thoughts on the movie today their first reaction were critiques of what the movie had done wrong, favorite book scenes they'd left out, important moments put out of sequence and I certainly agreed with some of their disappointment, as a few of my favorite scenes were left out, too. Still I was bemused that it was only after I told the class that I had really -liked- the movie and asked them what they had enjoyed that they were suddenly able to remember all the positive things about the movie, too.
I think it's just a bit harder for kids than adults to accept that your favorite books will never fully translate on the screen the way they unspool in your head. They don't yet have that ability to rationalize, "Well, the director only had two hours to tell the story and so many millions to make it work, plus it's an artistic -adaptation-, one director's vision, not a strict retelling..." (can you tell I still have these phrases down cold from discussing the LOTR movies? :)) Kids just want to see the story they love told in as much detail as possible with all their favorite moments included. And barring that, it's cool to know they'll just go back to get those moments in the books.
I'll have more to say about the movie itself after John and I see it again this weekend -without- a hundred kids in tow.
We arrived at the Silver City Theatre with about ten minutes to spare before our school showing and I was amused to see there were already half a dozen teenagers sitting on the steps in Hogwarts robes and wizard hats waiting for the first public showing. As I made the way through the doors to organize our group in I called, "Cool costumes!". "Thanks!", they said, then looking at the school buses, a light bulb went on. "Hey, wait," they said, "You're going in to see Harry Potter -now-?". Because, of course, they thought they were lined up for the first showing of the day.
Now, I felt for them :). I'm a fantasy movie buff, too, and many a time I was in that devoted early group of movie goers waiting in line for a few hours to be among the first to see the new Star Trek, Star Wars or LOTR movie. So, I knew they were bummed to hear there was a showing before theirs and they -weren't- going to be the first people to see PoA in this theatre. I had to smile when I saw them try to casually blend into our line as our students and parents came in (the Hogwarts robes made that difficult...) and, you know, I would have let them as we were the only people in our theatre, but theatre security stopped them cold. Sorry, fellow HP fans. I hope you found the movie worth your extra three hour wait :).
I presently have one of the most rambunctious Gr. 5 classes I have ever taught. They can't sit still in my classroom beyond about ten minutes, yet the 93 kids we took with us today to Harry Potter were silent and enthralled throughout the two hour and twenty minute movie. And I didn't have to take a single child to the washroom, so I was able to watch the movie uninterrupted, too. Yay.
Again, like previous Harry Potter movie excursions, I was fascinated to see that the kids' first reaction was unanimous. "Mrs. Durno, the book was -much- better than the movie.".
I still remember reading articles before the first Harry Potter movie came out predicting that the motivation to read brought on by Rowling's books would disappear once kids were able to get to Hogwarts by celluloid rather than literary means. The movies would possess a spell that the books couldn't compete with. With that in mind, it was highly satisfying to me first time I did a HP novel/movie study to see the strong loyalty the students did have to the book. They were keenly critical of the movie if it wasn't faithful to what they loved in the book and I've found that the case with all three groups I've taken to HP movies.
When I asked my class their thoughts on the movie today their first reaction were critiques of what the movie had done wrong, favorite book scenes they'd left out, important moments put out of sequence and I certainly agreed with some of their disappointment, as a few of my favorite scenes were left out, too. Still I was bemused that it was only after I told the class that I had really -liked- the movie and asked them what they had enjoyed that they were suddenly able to remember all the positive things about the movie, too.
I think it's just a bit harder for kids than adults to accept that your favorite books will never fully translate on the screen the way they unspool in your head. They don't yet have that ability to rationalize, "Well, the director only had two hours to tell the story and so many millions to make it work, plus it's an artistic -adaptation-, one director's vision, not a strict retelling..." (can you tell I still have these phrases down cold from discussing the LOTR movies? :)) Kids just want to see the story they love told in as much detail as possible with all their favorite moments included. And barring that, it's cool to know they'll just go back to get those moments in the books.
I'll have more to say about the movie itself after John and I see it again this weekend -without- a hundred kids in tow.